Chapter 47 II Departure from Montparnasse to the Battle (II) The breasts of Tirias

… I am still terrified and unable to extricate myself from the excessive nervous tension, and it seems that I have to wait more than a year before I can barely recover from the severe mental trauma. Guillaume Apollinaire Kisling, Fujita, Modigliani and Apollinaire were all in love, and Picasso did not escape the pursuit of love.Fernand is far away from him, Eva is dead and buried, and Gabi, Parklet and others are forgotten by him.Now the tall, radiant, dignified and wealthy Olga Kocrova appeared on the canvas of Picasso.She is 25 years old, Russian, a ballet dancer of the Russian Ballet, and her father is a general of the Tsarist army.Picasso met her at Diaghilev's place in Rome.He followed her as far as Naples and Florence.The two met again in Paris, and then went to Barcelona together with Olga's ballet company.

Picasso is not the original Picasso.He wears a suit and leather shoes, a tie around his neck, a chain watch on his wrist, and a handkerchief knot in his suit pocket.His Spanish friends didn't recognize him anymore.The great reputation of the Ballet Russes to which he attached also brought him a dazzling aura.This is what he failed to achieve after many years of painting. The love is still going on... In March 1917, Ruby told Apollinaire that she was pregnant.The child did not survive.I don't know if it was accidental, Apollinaire was preparing a play at that time: "The Breasts of Tirias".The central idea of ​​the play is the problem of population growth in France.The play was staged at the René-Mobel Theater in Montmartre, Paris on June 24, 1917.The decoration on the cover of the distributed program list is a work by Picasso, and the banner of the play is Picasso.The play caused a great shock in the society, bigger than that of "Burlesque".It became "the most significant event of the avant-garde in 1917". [Excerpt from Michel Decodin's preface to Guillaume Apollinaire's The Witcher of Decay. ]

The idea for the script of "The Breasts of Tirias" came from Pierre Albert-Biro. One night in November 1916, Albert Biro and Guillaume Apollinaire were in the office of the "SIC" magazine.Biro said he wanted his magazine, SIC, to publish not only new poetry, but also modern plays.Therefore, Apollinaire recommended to him a tragedy he wrote in 1903: "The Story of Thales", and suggested to replace the protagonist Taylor in the script with the god "Tireas" in ancient Greek mythology. Silk, so its heroine was changed to a man, and he was given masculine authority.This work reminds people of the work "The Gathering of Women" by Aristophanes, the greatest poet of ancient Greece.

Biro agreed with Apollinaire.The latter proceeded to rewrite the script, which undoubtedly required profound major revisions.Most notably, a prologue has been added to the original version, which fully embodies the deep thought of the author: I bring you a script whose purpose is to reform people's habits of thought and behavior... (lines) He denies the past: The dramatic art before the war had neither lofty ideological realm nor noble moral sentiment.People are wasting long evenings watching such dramas. (lines) He advocated that women play the same roles and functions as men in social life:

I also hope to play a leadership role in public affairs as a member of Parliament, a lawyer and a minister. (lines) He showed strong anti-militarist ideas: They bombed with cannons, not only destroying everything in the world, but also destroying the stars in the sky. (lines) All these ideas are expressed through the script with a lot of reverse actors, sound effects and exaggerated performances, but it is also these performances that provoke an outcry among the audience.Not only because the play is pacifist (a tendency that Apollinaire has only recently emerged) but also defeatist, but also because, in an age when men were massacred at the front, while procreation should be valued and encouraged, Nor should women be allowed to take off their bras on the theater stage and release countless balloons at the audience, symbolizing the expression of full milk.

The rehearsal begins.It couldn't be called a rehearsal at all. In Pierre Albert-Biro's own words, it should be called "a show of invective" [from Pierre Albert-Biro's notes "Guillaume Apo Linel "].The whole rehearsal constituted a hodgepodge without any professional level at all: none of the actors were professional actors (Apollinaire had considered playing one of the roles); the set was nominally designed and produced by Serge Ferrat It was improvised until the opening; because the necessary instruments could not be found during the war years, a woman who could play the piano twice replaced an entire orchestra to accompany the play; the signatory for the musical effects was Germena Arle Bay-Biro, it was the poet Max Jacobs who actually led the chorus.

Apollinaire never liked music. In 1917, a concert was held in the Garvo Hall.While playing a work by César Frank on the stage, he felt bored and wrote a poem on the spot. During the intermission, he took the opportunity to slip away quietly... In "The Breasts of Tirias" "During the rehearsal, Apollinaire suddenly applauded the accompanying female pianist, but what he praised was not her playing skills, but her slim figure and moving appearance; he also praised the famous French composer Satie, only Because Satie was his friend.In any case, he was very interested in "The Breast of Tirias", because it was related to the important cause of defending the literary avant-garde.

After the rewriting of the script of "The Breast of Tirias", Biro asked the poet Apollinaire what title he should write on the cover.Apollinaire proposed to write "The Breasts of Tireas".Biro felt that the title of the play was not enough to express their thoughts, and the play had to be given its own characteristics.Apollinaire also proposed: "tragedy." "No, it's too short for a title. Audiences might think it reflects a Cubist tragedy." Apollinaire considered for a while, and said: "Let's write a supernatural tragedy." Biro retorted: "Absolutely not. We are neither naturalists nor supernaturalists."

"Then we can only write The Breasts of Tirias, which is a surreal drama." As soon as the words came out, André Breton and Philippe Suppo continued to use the title of the play, and congratulated Guillaume Apollinaire on his successful transformation of the play from the original "Taylor". Silk's Story" rewritten as the surreal "The Breasts of Tirias". When Breton attended the rehearsal of "The Breasts of Tirias", he was very disappointed.He is not only dissatisfied with the work, but also with the actors.At the end of the first act, he finds an audience in British military uniform at the orchestra pit so enraged that he draws a pistol from its holster and threatens to shoot.That was Jacques Vachet.Breton finally persuaded him and appeased him.The two continued to watch the rehearsal without further intervention.Vache was irritated mainly because of "the dryness of the lyric poetry on the one hand and the recurring cubist costumes and sets on the other". [Excerpt from "A Conversation with André Parino" by André Breton]

That show was just the prelude to a hysterical series of scandals that constituted Surrealism.As soon as the play came out, the entire press and public opinion exploded.Although Pierre Albert-Biro was very cautious, the work was still accused of Cubism, Apollinaire was insulted in it, and Picasso was nailed to the national art because the script used his paintings as cover illustrations. The pillar of shame.Cubism is seen as an art influenced by "German art", and the French art world was much more influenced by German art in 1917 than it was in 1914. However, some painters in Paris considered themselves adherents of orthodox pure Cubism.They declared firmly belonged to Cubism.Even after The Breasts of Tirias was staged, they protested violently against comments in the press, declaring that their work had nothing to do with "certain whims of the literary and theatrical worlds."

On the second day after "The Breasts of Tirias" was performed at the René-Mobel Theater in Montmartre, Paris, on June 25, 1917, Apollinaire was assigned to the press office of the Ministry of War, the Press Review department work.So he wrote to "Information", "SIC", "Excesior", Pierre Levedi's magazine "North and South", Pierre Albert-Biro's magazine.In the past, Apollinaire had worked with Andre Billy in Paris Noon, and he still did not abandon the aggressive spirit that his friends appreciated very much at that time.He sent Paris Noon some news from London, Tokyo and New York, but it was false news... Apollinaire inherited the tradition of Paul Fore and called everyone to gather at the Fore's tavern every Tuesday from 5 pm to 7 pm.Max Jacobs called these gatherings "Paul Fleur Tuesdays" and Pierre Levedi called them "Tuesday Fauvism". Apollinaire met Louise by chance in Paris' Opera Square, and the relationship between them completely dried up.Since then, he has been living with Jacqueline in an apartment on the Avenue Saint-Germain.Their suite was on the top floor, and one had to climb countless stairs to get to his house.In order to see the face of the person coming before opening the door, Apollinaire dug a small hole on the skirting board of the stairs from the door.If the visitor is not a friend, he will not open the door.A note tacked to the door: "Do not disturb people." [Excerpt from André Breton's "Equidistance Projection", published in 1970] The corridors in his suite were winding.The aisles were filled with books, figurines, and many other odds and ends.It was a strange place, and amidst rows of miscellaneous small objects he had miraculously arranged some large and heavy pieces of furniture.There are already some paintings hanging on the wall, and many are piled up along the wall, waiting for friends to help hang them on the wall.Because Apollinaire is clumsy, he can't hang a painting without hurting three fingers. In his house, Apollinaire's favorite room is the dining room.The room was small and dark, with several chairs with legs of different lengths and a table, and the plates and saucers on the table were incomplete.There is also a kitchen and an office in the house.A desk stands in front of a small window in the office.An interior staircase in the room leads to the bedroom.A small platform beyond a sliding glass door offers a view of the spiky rooftops of Paris. After Apollinaire was injured, it was in this house that he recuperated and gradually recovered.Then he developed emphysema.He was devastated by the death of his childhood friend René Dalize on the battlefield.Daliz often participates in various activities with him.He always holds an umbrella under his arm, often faces the mirror, looks at his aging face and says: "How much life tortures people!" At that time, Apollinaire reached the peak of honor: he was recognized by others everywhere, he was invited to participate in various projects everywhere, and many new projects were waiting for him.However, he gradually abandoned many of the joys of life at the front, began to worry about the future, and his mood became more and more irritable.When friends came to his house for dinner, they were all careful, paying special attention to accommodating him and not provoking him.They looked at the artillery helmet with a hole in the temple placed prominently on the table just after entering the door, feeling very disturbed. In January 1918, Apollinaire suffered from pulmonary congestion and was sent to the hospital again.By the time he was released from the hospital shortly after, the tide of the war had radically changed.