Intermezzo
(to be performed in the foyer, during the interval)
9. Victorious Men
(Song from Cupid and Death)
(soprano and alto)
(the women are dressed as whores, each waving a long "shepherd's staff" adorned with ribbons, with on the top three balloons: two round and one oblong, which is emptied at the appropriate moment in the song.)
Victorious men of Earth, no more
Proclaim how wide your Empires are;
Though you bind in every shore,
And your triumphs reach as far
As Night or Day,
Yet you proud Monarchs must obey,
And mingled with forgotten ashes, when
Death calls ye to the crowd of common men.
(James Shirley, 1596-1666)
