Marie Antoinette:
If I wasn’t who I am1, then I’d run away with you
Axel von Fersen:
If I wasn’t who I am, I’d stay forever here2
Axel & Marie:
Why has the accident of birth imprisoned me in this life?
Something in me longs to one day be completely free3
Margrid Arnaud:
If I wasn’t who I am, people would fawn over4 me
Duke of Orléans:
If I wasn’t who I am, I would rule this land
Duke & Margrid:
Why has the accident of birth imprisoned me in this life?
Something in me longs to one day be completely free
Ensemble:
Our fate is fixed
The wish to escape remains a fantasy
And so we put on our masks
In the hall and the gallery5
But we’re never content6
Margrid & Axel:
Is the path we travel also determined
Desire has another end in sight7
Marie & Duke:
We would like to see into hearts
But what we see is always just
A masquerade, masquerade8
Ensemble:
Our fate is fixed
The wish to escape remains a fantasy
And so we put on our masks
In the hall and the gallery
But we’re never content
Marie & Margrid:
Something in me longs to one day be completely free…
All:
Don’t expect too much from here,
In the end9 its just a masquerade...
1. literally “that which I am”2. ”with you” is implied here3. literally “something in me longs after one day being free” as in “what I long for is to one day be free”4. or “flatter”5. perhaps this refers to paintings in galleries - they’re all fake and staged6. or “satisfied/happy”7. literally “has another goal/destination”8. literally “mask game” - in German “die Maskerade” is “masquerade”, but the point here is the same.9. literally “end-ly” or “finally”