Manuscrit autographe, notes sur "Les Chaises" d'Eugène Ionesco

Handwritten manuscript by Maurice Béjart, written on the verso of 5 Hotel Gloria (Rio de Janeiro) headed leaves. 46 lines in black ink, with handwritten pagination.

This text, written in Brazil, is a collection of notes taken on Les Chaises by Eugène Ionesco, that Béjart adapted into a ballet with music by Wagner at the Rio de Janeiro Theatro Municipal in April 1981. Béjart offers a series of humorous thoughts and aphorisms: "Le temps est passé aussi vite que le train. Il a tracé des rails sur la peau. Vous croyez que la chirurgie esthétique peut faire des miracles ?” “Time passed as quickly as a train. It drew train tracks on the skin. Do you think cosmetic surgery can perform miracles?” There is a certain melancholy running through the leaves, dealing with old age, loved ones dying, the inevitable passing of time. There are also literary allusions: "Bois ton thé Sémiramis. Voulez-vous être mon Ys.[eult] et moi votre Tr.[istan] - La beauté est dans les coeurs. Comprenez vous ?” “Drink your tea Semiramis. Do you want to be my Ys.[eult] and my Tr.[istan] - Beauty is in the heart. Do you understand?”

Provenance: Maurice Béjart's personal archives.