Page 18 - Unlikely Stories 2

Blind Faith

the hook, if you will, for the opera. For each of the men will have a
tale of his own to tell, stimulated by and related to the specific part of
the elephant they confront. Thus an Arabian Nights format will be
employed, the linking device being that source of perceptual error; in
the six small dramas our actors and musicians will sequentially
present, the results of that error may be tragic or comic, involving
any and every element of the human condition—all having some
connection to physical as well as intellectual blindness.”
Fluegelmann paused. His guests appeared to be listening
attentively.
“Although it is beyond my meager talents, I can imagine such tales
following analogically from the resemblance of the elephant’s trunk
to a snake or a hose, its tusk to a pointed weapon, its foot to a stone
column, its ear to a sail, its tail to a tufted whisk, its back to a
mountain. The elephant would remain on stage during the
performance as, one by one, the principals introduce their plays
within a play. Perhaps it could function as a prop or backdrop—but
that is getting far out of my area of expertise and into yours. With
you, Señor Rodrigo, composing the music, and you, Señor Borges,
writing the libretto, we shall create a zarzuela both timeless and
avant-garde. In short, a grand success!”
“Very interesting,” said Borges. “I do not, however, understand
what is particularly new dramaturgically in this idea.”
“Nor,” said Rodrigo, “do I comprehend why you do not desire
sighted artists to bring life to your conception. Music, yes; and poetry,
indeed: those we can supply. But other elements, which I cannot
conceive, must take place on the stage, using space, and color, and
costumes and lighting—I have no great ability to compose music
conforming to those components of an opera.”
“What do you intend to be the title of this zarzuela?” Borges
wondered. “Six Characters in Search of an Elephant?”
“Ha! Very witty, Señor. Exactly what I would expect from the
cleverest man in Spanish letters. But I must disappoint you: it will be
known as The Blind Beggars’ Opera.”
“But our questions, Señor Fluegelmann, remain unanswered.”
“Yes, of course, Señor Rodrigo. They both have the same answer:

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