[The Phantom of the Opera] The Beast and the Canary

The public casting is in a side room of the theater.I estimated the time slightly and found that it would take at least 30 minutes to walk there. I was a little discouraged and wanted to put on a quilt and continue to sleep, but Christine forcibly dragged me off the bed.

Along the way, I saw many popular singers, and some of them have even become senior courtesans in the upper class.They had high-cut hair, wore all kinds of flowers and wide-brimmed hats, and long skirts with whalebone skirts. They passed me by with ivory-handled folding fans.

Looking at myself in a flowered sarong on the marble floor, and at the diamond earrings worth several thousand francs on the earlobe of a certain red actress, I turned my head and asked Christine in confusion: "Isn't the heroine a shepherdess? "

Christine held up the white cotton skirt on her body, remained silent for two seconds, and also showed a confused expression.

Fortunately, this feeling of confusion disappeared after stepping into the side hall—those singers who were full of fragrance and jewels were asked by Hearst's servants to take off all their jewels.

The singers did not resist, and obediently took off their jewelry, and placed them one by one on the velvet cushions in the hands of the servants.When it was my turn, I touched the humble pearl headband in my hair and asked him, "Do you want this too?"

The valet took a look at me and said my surname accurately: "Yes, Miss Geary."

I nodded and put the pearl headband on the cushion.Compared with the bright and clear gemstones and emeralds next to it, this pearl looks small and dull.However, I have passed the age of vanity, and I looked calm when I put it on.

There was a chuckle from behind, and when I looked back, it was the Hong Ling who I met earlier with the diamond earrings.She waved her fan, walked forward slowly, pinched my pearl headband with the gesture of dancing peacock, and asked the servant in a sweet voice: "Can I wear such a small pearl? He is really getting more and more stubborn." .”

Sparse laughter rang out all around.

The manservant replied, "It is the order of the master, madam."

Hongling put away her fan, and pressed the ivory fan handle to her lower lip lightly: "Do I have to abide by such a rule?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"I'm his queen actress."

As soon as these words came out, the laughter immediately turned into a gasp.

The servant's tone was as cold as his master's: "Mr. Hearst has never had a queen actress, Madam, please don't spread rumors."

If it were Carlotta, she would have thrown her fan and left at this time, but the red actress was not angry. Instead, she smiled and said, "I'm just kidding, after all, I have acted in every one of his operas." Said Then, she lowered her head slightly, and lightly took off the earrings, necklace, and bracelet, and put them on the cushion, "Don't sue him, I'm afraid he will be angry with me."

I was stunned by the side. I have always heard that it is best for a woman to be both charming and innocent when dealing with a man, but who knows how to allocate charm and innocence? I have seen it today—her figure is absolutely mature and plump, but her eyes and voice are like a little girl. As naive as a girl.

After she left, someone muttered behind me: "The voice is disgusting." I thought it sounded good, but of course, I would never admit that my voice was somewhat similar to hers.

As the crowd walked to the auditorium in the side hall, someone on the stage began to perform: a girl in a light gauze dance skirt, holding a folding fan, pointing her toes to the ground, hovering proudly among several men, sometimes raising her wrist to wait They kissed, and occasionally sneered and pushed them away.

This is the prologue of "The Shepherdess". After the heroine learns that the hero is disfigured and bankrupt, she pretends to appease the hero, and at the same time frequently attends bachelor dances to find her next partner.In the prologue, the heroine has to walk on tiptoe throughout the whole process, there is no libretto, and all the parts that require the heroine to sing are replaced by the treble keys of the harpsichord.That's why some sopranos have put the opera on the rejection list - they can't show their graceful singing voice, and they have to accept the torture of walking on tiptoe.Playing this opera is asking for trouble.

Just in time, the plot on the stage developed to the point where the hero sees through the heroine's true colors, and the accompaniment is as quick and cold as spring thunder.The girl in the veil skirt stood in the shadows, her left leg was raised high, her right foot was on tiptoe, she bent down and kissed one of her male partners; Stretched toes.

This action should be like being framed by a picture frame, and last for 3 minutes to match the actor's position on the stage—he first lingered on the other side in pain for more than two minutes, then went to the heroine's side in a rage, squeezed Grabbing her jaw, he pulled her out of the courtship of the two men.

The actor's role is omitted here, but this action is not omitted.I saw that the toes of the girl in the gauze skirt were trembling a little. In fact, I can tell from her figure that she is not a professional ballerina. Being able to do this has proved that she is very dedicated to this opera.If I were to comment on this performance, it would probably be based on gentle encouragement.Unfortunately, it's not me.

Hearst was wearing a windbreaker, with his arms folded, sitting behind the harpsichord, looking indifferently at the girl in the veil.I heard that the harpsichord is an elegant and fragile instrument, and the toba is the plectrum. The player must treat it gently as if caressing the snowy skin of a girl, otherwise the keys will easily break on the spot.And I read in the newspaper that Hirst's best instrument is the organ.The pipe organ is another magnificent, solemn and complex instrument. The performance styles of the two instruments are completely opposite. I really wonder how he can comprehend the essence of the harpsichord while being proficient in the pipe organ.

Two minutes later, the girl in the veil skirt put down her left leg with a pale complexion, shook her body, and almost fell on the stage.Two male companions quickly supported her.However, Hester lowered his head, flicked a ditty with his slender fingers, ignoring her exhaustion: "Do you still have strength?"

The girl in the veil skirt nodded feebly.

"Then I'll improvise a piece of music, and you can dance for me."

The girl in the gauze skirt opened her eyes in astonishment.

Before she could speak, the playing had already begun.Compared with the loud and thick tone of the piano, the sound of the harpsichord is thin and crisp, and each syllable is exquisitely carved, with a strong sense of elegance.I always thought that an instrument like this could not express a sense of love solo, but when the first note sounded, I felt the strong love from the player, like the hot sun, kissing the green leaves to curl up.

It was obviously not played for me, but the vibrato made by the feathers lightly plucking the strings reminded me of the phantom's light kiss in the dark.Once the idea started, it was out of control.The tune became slower and slower, and the more he played it, the more gentle it became. At this moment, the sound of the piano actually had a burning temperature, and it was the summer's light spots splashing into the ears.

When the song ended, I blushed inexplicably.

The girl in the gauze dress frantically performed several dance poses with her male partner, which even made me feel stiff when I saw it.After Hearst finished playing, he immediately broke away from that obsessive state.He loosened his tie, and his tone was very cold: "Go down."

The girl in the veil skirt limped off the stage with tears in her eyes.

After that, several actors auditioned for the stage, but they were all sent away mercilessly by Hearst.There is a soprano who has solid singing skills and dances well, especially the improvisation part, which in my opinion is perfectly handled, but still fails to pass Hearst.

Some people in the audience complained about her.Someone sneered and said, "Didn't you ask for information before auditioning? Hearst prefers blonde actresses. All the pieces he wrote, whether it's ballets or operas, lead actresses with blonde hair. That soprano with brown hair, of course she couldn't pass the audition."

This sentence garnered a lot of shocked wails.Christine was thoughtful, and her first reaction was: "My hair is also brownish red, does that mean I don't need to audition?"

"...you don't want to be prima donna?"

"Fortunately, I don't really think about it. Meg, let me tell you a secret," she leaned into my ear and whispered, "Actually, after my father died, I didn't have that much interest in music. For a while I couldn't even sing the bass. Later, when I was in the room holding my father's gold badge and thinking about my father, a voice suddenly sounded and asked me if I wanted to widen the range. I thought to myself, did you just expand the range? , He said he wanted to. Unexpectedly, he really helped me expand to an unimaginable width."

The voice in her mouth was obviously the phantom.My heart beat heavily, and my voice was dry: "What happens next?"

"Later, I found out that he was a big liar!" Christine said angrily, "He only taught me for two or three months, and then he ran away. And I found that my vocal range did not widen at all, but The illusion created by his hypnosis, as long as he is not by my side, my bass is still so hoarse, and my treble is still so flat, it pissed me off."

Me: "..." Wait, wait a minute!

Christine continued: "He also said, 'One day, Paris will be shocked by me', and I actually believed it. Now that I think about it, he probably wanted the gold badge that my dad left behind. , after all, every time I only take out this, he will show up."

I:"…………"

This passage was like a hammer blow, which made me dizzy.I swayed, leaned on the seat and sat down: "Isn't he your music angel?"

Christine blushed when she heard this: "How do you know I call him 'Music Angel'?"

I said vaguely, "I've seen him too."

Christine didn't delve into it, she seemed to think of something, two blushes of shyness appeared on her cheeks.I looked at her expression, and my heart sank gradually. Could it be that the title "Music Angel" still has some special meaning in this life?

She clasped her hands tightly, lowered her eyelashes embarrassingly, and said in a low voice: "Dang, at that time, I really missed my father, and his voice was indeed a bit like Dad... Dad said that after he died, he would become a musical angel." Guide me, I yelled out when I was excited. Who knew him, he admitted it so shamelessly!"

I:"……"

She said: "Meg, I regard you as my best friend. You must not tell others, especially Viscount Shani. I almost took a liar as my father's story."

I opened my mouth in a complicated manner: "...OK."

After saying this word, I sat in a daze for half an hour as if blindfolded.During these half an hour, my mind was blank, I didn't think about anything, and I couldn't think of anything.Until someone patted my shoulder and said loudly in my ear: "Miss Geary, it's time for you to audition."