"Sophie Dubois," the soprano replied.
"That's very nice, Sophie. Now, who's next?" he demanded.
"I am!" the gentleman who was seated next to me called out as he rose form his seat and made his way to the stairs on the left side of the stage.
"And your name, monsieur?" asked the director.
"Carlos Montoya," the man replied, as he walked confidently onto the stage.
"And you will be singing...what?" the director asked as he again looked at his clipboard.
"Que Pronto," Carlos replied, as he first handed his music to the piano accompanist and then walked to the center of the stage.
"In Spanish, I presume," the director replied dryly and then muttered, "Just what this opera house needs-another Spaniard!"
"Oui, monsieur, I will be singing this in Spanish. And just for the record, I'm from Mexico, not Spain," Carlos replied.
The music director sighed, and then waving his left hand, he said in a resigned tone of voice, "Proceed!" M. Montoya had a very agreeable tenor voice and after he finished singing the Spanish love song, the director looked up from his clipboard and said, "Very nice, monsieur! The gala chorus can always use another tenor. Rehearsals start Monday evening promptly at seven so please be on time. You'll find additional information in the packets on the table by the main doors as you leave the theater. Take one on your way out and we'll see you Monday evening." Then, returning to his clipboard, he added, "Now, we have time for one more audition before we break for lunch, so...who's next?"
I rose from my seat and said nervously, "I...I...guess
I am, monsieur."
The director looked up at me from where he
was seated in the middle of the row and said, "I've seen you before.
What is your name?"
I cleared my throat, which was probably the wrong thing to do just before an audition but my throat had gone dry because I was so nervous and it was an almost automatic reaction to the circumstances. I finally managed to say, "Roberta Martin, monsieur."
"Roberta Martin? From the costume department?" he asked. After a brief moment of silence, he finally shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, why not? Stranger things have happened here, God knows! What are you going to sing for us, madame?"
"La Marseillaise, monsieur," I replied as I walked over to the steps on the left side of the stage and ascended them.
Just as I got to the piano to give the accompanist the music, I heard Carlotta cry out, "Just what do you think you're doing?"
"She's attempting to audition for the gala chorus," the music director replied, standing up from where he was seated as Carlotta made her way down to the front row.
"She can't do that! She's only a costume girl, and none too good at that, I might add!" Carlotta retorted.
Just then, I noticed both Michel and Jacqueline seated a few rows behind the director. Jacqueline spoke up and said, "Why don't you let her sing? She's got a pretty voice."
Carlotta turned to her and snarled, "You stay out of this, beanpole!"
"What's going on, NOW?" M. Hauptmann's voice boomed out from the back of the theater. A second later, both M. Hauptmann and Mme. Giry emerged from the shadows, and walking down the aisle to the front row, M. Hauptmann called out, "What's going on, Carlotta?"
Standing imperiously, Carlotta asked, "Is it your habit monsieur, to allow costume girls to audition for the chorus?"
"It's only for the gala chorus, for Christ's sake, Carlotta!" the music director exclaimed.
"It's all the same!" Carlotta retorted, and then turning to the manager, she reasoned, "Surely it must be written down in her contract somewhere that she can't sing in the chorus!"
Both the managers shook their heads. Then M. Hauptmann turned to the director and said, "Allow Mme. Martin to audition. I am curious to hear how she sounds."
Seeing that she had lost her appeal, Carlotta said bitterly, "By all means, let's hear how she sounds! I could use a good laugh right now!"
At that, Mme. Giry grabbed Carlotta by the arm and hissed, "One giggle out of you Carlotta, and I'll have you thrown out of here on your ear! Now, sit down, shut up and let her sing!" She then forced the diva to sit down in the seat between M. Hauptmann's and hers, and then she herself sat down and glared at Carlotta as if to dare the prima donna to disrupt the audition.
M. Hauptmann then nodded to the music director who then said, in a relieved tone of voice, "You may proceed, madame."
Even more nervous than I had been at the start of the morning's auditions, I gave the music I was still holding to the accompanist, and as I walked to the center of the stage, I prayed a quick prayer which consisted of only two words-God! Help! I then tried to place my music on the stand which stood in the middle of the stage and promptly managed to drop the music at least twice before I finally got it to stay on the stand. I noticed that Carlotta had tried to giggle at the whole proceedings but had been stopped by Mme. Giry, who gave a very sharp nudge to the diva's left side. Then, trying to calm my nerves, I took a deep breath, and after the two measure introduction given by the accompanist, I sand the French national anthem. The first few notes came out much more softly than I had wanted them to, but after that, the notes began to come out more easily and by the end of the anthem, I found myself singing just as I had for Erik. I must admit, however, that I had to force myself to think positively. All I could really think was Sophie did it! Carlos did it! Erik has invested so much time and effort to teach you to do this! He's counting on you! He's dreamed of seeing you on stage-don't disappoint him! He believes in you! You can do it!
Thankfully, I quickly got through the anthem, and as I stood on the nearly empty stage, still quite nervous from the whole ordeal, I scanned the audience to get their reaction. Carlotta looked as if she wanted to be someplace else, anyplace else but in the amphitheater, which was understandable since the managers were looking at each other in amazement. The director seemed pleased as well and, after a moment of silence, he said, "Very good, madame. We'll see you Monday evening." Then turning around to catch the managers' attention, he added, "That is, if monsieur doesn't mind."
M. Hauptmann shrugged his shoulders and said, "Why should I mind? This was a pleasant surprise to find out that Mme. Martin has more than one talent in life! Giry, we'll have to get together with Martin and figure out a way to pay her for her efforts without violating union rules."
"Union rules? What about my rules?" Carlotta demanded, and then she angrily added, "If she sings, I don't! I refuse to share the stage with that...thing!" She quickly stood up, and looking down at Mme. Giry, she said forcefully, "I've got vacation time coming to me and I'll just take that time right now! I'll see you all in September!" Then, she turned around to look at me, and even though she was a few rows in back, I could clearly hear her say, "Except you, of course! Believe me, you won't be here in September, if I have anything to say about the matter." With that, she stormed out of the amphitheater in a huff, leaving the rest of us shaking our heads.
Michel then rose from his seat and went over to where the two managers were still sitting. Clearing his throat, he said softly, "Monsieur?
M. Hauptmann looked up at him and asked, "Can you spare Roberta a couple of hours a day so she can practice with the chorus?"
Nervously, Michel replied, "We're all caught up in the costume department as far as costumes go but...I agree with Carlotta. I'm not comfortable with the idea of Roberta singing in the chorus when she was specifically hired to be Buquet's replacement!"
"The position which you now have, at Carlotta's insistence, I might add! You didn't answer my question-can Roberta be spared?" M. Hauptmann demanded.
"Well...yes, but..." Michel replied.
"Good! Then it's all settled! Roberta will sing with the chorus, at least until after the Gala. Now, let's go to lunch!" M. Hauptmann said as he rose from his seat and held out his hand for Mme. Giry and helped her out of her seat.
"And after that, monsieur?" Michel asked.
"After that, it's up to the music director...and Roberta to decide. If the director thinks she good enough, she can audition for the regular chorus in August. We can negotiate her contract then," M. Hauptmann replied, and then seeing the stricken look on Michel's face, he added, "Her contract will have to be re-negotiated in any case. The one she has now is only good until August anyway."
"I see, monsieur," Michel replied dejectedly, and then added, "I thank you, though, for letting us keep her until after the gala, anyway."
"And thank you for letting the music director have her for the chorus Who would have thought she could sing?" M. Hauptmann replied as he and Mme. Giry left the amphitheater.
"Who, indeed!" Michel muttered to himself as Jacqueline walked up and stood next to her father.
"Papa! Can you believe this? Roberta did a really good job don't you think? See! I told you she could sing and you just wouldn't believe me!" she exclaimed as her father merely grunted his obvious disapproval.
As for me, I was still standing alone on the stage, not quite believing that I would actually be singing with the chorus on that very stage in only a few weeks. "Can I come off the stage now?" I meekly asked the music director.
He looked up from his clipboard and exclaimed, "Did I forget about you? Of course you can come off the stage. We'll see you Monday evening. There are information packets on the table by the door, so don't forget to pick one up on your way out. Well, so far, so good. If the afternoon goes as well as this morning has, I'll have the whole chorus put together by tonight, in spite of Carlotta! Well, Guillaume, let's break for lunch!" He then gathered his papers and motioned to the accompanist to join him, and in a few minutes, the accompanist joined him and the two made their way up the main aisle to the doors of the amphitheater.
I got off the stage and ran to catch up with them. "Will we be able to do the gala without Carlotta?"
As much surprised by my actions as by my question, the director quickly turned around and said, "Oh, sure! The regular chorus has several sopranos I can borrow-Gabrielle, Claudine and Isabeau are just three I can name off the top of my head who have voices just as good as Carlotta. Don't tell her this, but Carlotta isn't nearly as good as she thinks she is, and with her temper, who needs her? Anyway, we'll see you Monday. Oh, and by the way, tell your teacher that I think you have a sweet voice."
"My teacher? How did you know that I've had lessons?" I asked, suddenly afraid that Erik's secret would be discovered.
"Madame, when you've been in the business as long as I have, you recognize trained voices from untrained voices, and voices like yours just don't happen. Tell your teacher that if she...or he keeps working with you, I'll see you at the auditions in August," he replied as he walked backwards out of the doors of the amphitheater.
I, too exited the theater, and as I stood in the spacious lobby, somewhat in shock from the audition, Michel and Jacqueline joined me. Jacqueline excitedly gave me a hug and exclaimed, "I'm so proud of you! See, I told you that you could sing, didn't I Papa! And, weren't you scared being all alone on that big stage? I sure would be! That's why I'm content to stay in the background!" I returned her hug, and after Michel grunted his disapproval, I gave him one as well. "Oh, Papa! Don't be such a grouch!" Jacqueline exclaimed.
"It's not like I'm leaving you forever!" I exclaimed.
Michel broke his silence and muttered, "The last time I heard anyone say something like that, she was out of the chorus and on her way to stardom...and damned near lost her life in the process!"
"Who was that, Papa?" Jacqueline asked.
"Why, Christine Daee, of course!" he exclaimed.
"Oh, Papa, not another of your stories!" Jacqueline exclaimed.
Ignoring her reaction, I said, "I'm going downstairs to get my things to go to lunch. Michel, unlike Jacqueline, I can never resist hearing your stories about this place. Tell me about Christine after we get downstairs."
When we got downstairs to the workroom, I pulled my chair next to Michel's workstation and said, "Michel, I want to hear all about Christine."
Michel looked at his daughter, who had followed us downstairs and said, "Unlike you, there are some around here that actually like my stories!" Then, turning to me, he said, "You may not get a lot of time to eat because this story's a long one." Sitting down in his chair, he started his story ;by saying, "It started about twenty-five, maybe twenty-six years ago. I had just started working here when auditions were held for the chorus. In those days, you had to be able to dance as well as sing and on this particular day, us guys were standing around backstage watching the dancing auditions, when in walks this girl from Sweden. Now, I always thought that Swedes were tall, cool blondes, but not this one. Christine was a cool blonde all right but tall she wasn't! And to make matters worse, she couldn't dance worth a flip! But could that girl sing! In fact, she was provisionally hired on just her singing ability alone! But she nearly quit just as soon as she was hired, for you see, one of the provisions was that she take singing lessons. She was on the apprenticeship program and her father had just died as well, and she didn't have a dime to her name!"
"So what did she do?" I asked, intrigued by his story.
"Well...it wasn't what she did so much as what was done for her! Tomislav Dubrovnik stepped right in there ;and offered to give her singing lessons, free gratis no less! It shocked the hell out of me and everyone else that was there that day! You see, Tomislav was our resident infant terrible! If you think Carlotta is bad, you should have been here when Tomislav was around! Brawling at all the local bars! Drinking binges! You name it! Judas Priest! I never saw anyone like him pull the crap he pulled and get away with it! But his voice! If Christine sounded like an angel, so did he! What a tremendous voice! And what a waste as well! Anyway, I don't know what she did to him, or said to him but within weeks, he was a changed man! No more drinking! No more fighting! No more arguments with the director! Meek as a lamb, that man was! To this day, I can't get over it! And to his credit, Christine's voice changed, too. It got stronger and richer, too, if that was possible. Her technique improved as well. She didn't sound like a nightclub singer anymore, but was on her way to becoming one of the opera company's best sopranos. That's why I was so unhappy earlier. Your technique was almost exactly the same one as Christine had, and if I didn't know better, I'd say you two had the same teacher-Dubrovnik!"
"Tomislav Dubrovnik? Isn't that the guy who tried to kill Christine?" I asked.
Michel nodded and replied, "The same. Damn that man! Damn him to the very depths of Hell itself!" After a moment of silence, Michel regained his composure and said, "I'm sorry about my outburst but the memory of what he did still infuriates me!"
"Did he ever say why he turned on her like he did?" I asked, curious, I suppose as to why anyone would commit a senseless act as violent as Tomislav committed.
Michel shrugged his shoulders and said, "I suppose Christine shouldn't have dumped Dubrovnik like she did and then immediately move in with Raoul, but that doesn't excuse what Dubrovnik did either! But, I suppose...when a gifted man like that gets hurt...well, you know the saying about there being a fine line between genius and madness...well, I've talked your ear off, as usual, and it's past noon already! If you're not too excited with being accepted into the gala chorus, we'll see you back here after lunch!"
Michel was right. I was excited about singing in the chorus but his story began to put a damper on my enthusiasm. "Michel, do you really mind if I sing with the chorus?" I asked.
He shook his head, and after a moment of silence, he replied, "I do mind a little but I also want you to have some success. God knows you won't get it in this department! Jacqueline told me why you were auditioning this morning right after you left, and I understand why you want to sing in the chorus. Besides, I know jobs are hard to find and if you absolutely have to leave us, I'd rather you not go too far."
I smiled and then said, "Thank you. It's always nice to know someone appreciates me and my work. Besides, I'm really not leaving. I'll still be here most of the time. It looks like rehearsals will be in the evening, so that shouldn't interfere with my work schedule."
Michel nodded and said, "I'm glad to know that but...I'm still concerned about the late hours you'll be keeping. Get someone to go with you when you leave the opera house after rehearsals. Don't even try to be the independent American you've been in the past!"
"Still worried about the ultra-nationalists? I thought Le Pin agreed to bring his people to heel!" I exclaimed.
Michel nodded again and replied, "He did! But you never know what another crackpot is going to do. Promise me you won't leave here alone after rehearsals."
I smiled and said, "I promise! Now can I go to lunch?"
Michel chuckled and said, "Very well. We'll see you back here at three. There's some costumes that have to be mended and we may have to alter some others for the upcoming gala. It'll be here before you know it, so we'd better get started as soon as we can."
Michel was not joking about the increase in the work load for, after I returned from lunch, I found a large pile of costumes on my worktable, all of which had to be mended. "Welcome back. I see you found Carlotta's parting gift!" Michel said sardonically when he saw the expression on my face.
I walked over to my table and picked up the long skirt at the top of the pile and looked at it. After a moment, I sighed and said, "Well, at least she didn't slash it like she did the breeches. Why is it this place always makes me feel like Cinderella? One minute I'm at the ball and the next I'm back scrubbing floors!" Jacqueline, who had been seated at her table working on her own pile of mending, giggled at my remark.
If you think this is bad, wait until we get to the alterations! We've got at least two more people that need to be fitted before we leave tonight. In fact, it might be better to wait on the mending for now. Sophie and Carlos will be here any minute for their fittings," Michel replied.
A few minutes later, someone knocked at the door of the workroom. Michel called out, "Entrez!" and the two singers I had heard at the audition earlier that day walked into the room. "Vous etes Carlos? (are you Carlos?)" Michel asked.
"Oui, et vous etes Michel? (yes, and are you Michel?)" Carlos replied as the two men shook hands, and then looking around, he spotted me and cried out, "You! What are you doing here? I thought you were singing with us in the chorus?"
I smiled and replied, "I am when I'm not working down here. By the way, I'm Roberta Martin."
"Americaine?" Carlos asked, and then switching to English, he asked, "What's a nice American girl like you working here in a place like this?"
Still smiling, I replied in French, "It's a long story. If you work here long enough, you'll get to hear it. This place is full of stories, as Michel will attest!"
Clearing his throat, Michel said, "Indeed! Well, let's get down to business, shall we? Mlle. Dubois, I understand you'll be singing Juliet's aria from Act One of Gounod's "Romeo and Juliet", correct?" She nodded, as Michel continued, "Jacqueline, would you and Roberta take Mlle. Dubois to the costume room next door? There's some renaissance costumes she might want to try on. As for you, monsieur, I understand you'll be singing an aria from "Carmen". I brought some costumes up from the storage room downstairs. You can try them on and we'll see how they fit."
Jacqueline and I left the room with the soprano and went to the adjoining room, where Jacqueline and I picked out a few dresses for Sophie to try. The first two were too small, and the third was too large, but after a few minutes of pinning the waist in, and the shoulders and hem up, the dress fit perfectly. "What a lovely Juliet!" Jacqueline exclaimed, and then added, "But something's missing...I can't quite put my finger on it, though."
"A head-dress, perhaps?" I suggested, and then after walking over to the shelves that held all the hats, I picked out one and said, "Here! Try this one!" I had picked out what looked like a royal blue velvet doughnut with a string of pearls wrapped around it. Sophie took the head-dress from my hands and placed it on her head. The royal blue complemented the red and gold court dress the soprano wore so well that I exclaimed, "If Romeo doesn't like that, he's crazy! What do you think, Jacqueline?"
"Roberta, I don't know how you do it! The head-dress really goes with the gown!" she exclaimed.
I nodded, and said, "I think so, too. Now, mademoiselle, if you would be so kind as to take off this gown so Jacqueline can get it altered, we can have it for you by Monday." Sophie nodded her head and after she finished changing her clothes, we returned to the workroom.
"Well, good news ladies! We won't have to alter Carlos' costume one bit! His matador costume fits him like a glove!" Michel announced as we entered the room.
"That is good news, Papa! We...or should I say I only have to take a few tucks on Sophie's costume and she'll be ready to go by Monday!" Jacqueline exclaimed.
Michel nodded and exclaimed, "Excellent! Which one is she going to wear?"
"The gold and red one," I replied, and then added, "As far as head-dresses go, I couldn't find one in either gold or red. I could only find a royal blue one, and I noticed that there's a matching gown for that head-dress hanging on the clothes rack."
"Why didn't you get it out for me?" Sophie asked, speaking at last.
I shook my head and said, "You're way too tall to fit into it. It almost looks like a little girl's dress, as short as it is!"
Michel nodded his head again and said, "If it's the one I'm thinking of, Roberta's right! It was custom-made for a soprano that used to sing with this company many years ago, and we haven't had any woman that short sing with the company since! Well, monsieur and mademoiselle, now that you've been fitted for your costumes, if you don't mind, we would like to get to work!"
"Very well. I'll see you then on Monday," Sophie said as she left the room.
"I suppose I should leave as well," Carlos said, and then turning to me, he asked, "Do you need a ride home?"
I shook my head and said, "If you'll notice, there's a large pile of mending on my table that has to be done before I can leave tonight. I'm afraid I won't be able to take you up on your offer, but thanks for asking."
After Carlos left, Jacqueline exclaimed, "Roberta's got a beau!"
I shook my head and said in exasperation, "That's all I need! I really wasn't trying to put him off. I really would like to get the mending done before this weekend."
Giving me a sly look, Jacqueline replied, "If you say so! Fortunately, it won't take me long to get this costume done."
"We should all have your workload, daughter! After you're done, we can go home. As for you, Roberta, remember what we talked about earlier. After you're done, have André call you a taxi. I wish you would have taken Carlos up on his offer. God knows, it would be a load off my mind!" Michel exclaimed as he sat down to wait for his daughter to finish her work.
It was nearly nine o'clock by the time I got the last of the costumes mended and placed in the laundry bin. "Congratulations!" a familiar voice exclaimed softly.
Looking up from where I was standing next to the bin, I saw Erik standing next to me, holding a single long-stemmed red rose. "Thank you! I still don't believe I was able to get through the audition!" I exclaimed as I took the rose he offered to me. I smelled it, and then added, "It's a red rose this time! What's the occasion?"
Erik smiled as he pulled Michel's chair out from under his worktable and then sat on it. "Just congratulations for a job well done!" Then, changing to a more business-like tone of voice, he added, "But I can see there's still a lot of work yet to do. You sand pretty well considering you've only had eight months of lessons, but your voice is still pretty thin yet. Monday morning, I'm going to start you on more vocal exercises, and we'll start working to improve your overall technique." Then, seeing the expression on my face, he added, "What's wrong, my dear? Aren't you happy?"
"I thought I was finished taking lessons now that I've made it into the gala chorus!" I replied.
Erik shook his head and said, "The Gala is just the beginning! If you want an invitation to audition for the regular chorus this August, you'll have to increase your range and stamina, as well as learn how to properly project your voice. And if you really want to sing-and I know you do-you'll need lessons for a long time to come."
I walked over to the coat rack to get my coat
and mulled over what he had just said. Then, after I got my coat,
I turned to him and said, "You do know, of course, that I have no way of
paying you for these lessons! Even though I'll earn more money by
singing in the chorus, my ex-husband has seen to it that I pay for my daughter's
college expenses, including the tuition. With all my other expenses,
I simply can't afford singing lessons. Please, don't misunderstand.
I want to take lessons, of course, but I don't know how I'm ever going
to pay you for them!"
Erik merely sat and nodded as I spoke. After a moment of silence,
he said, "I understand. You feel you are obligated to me, and you're
right. The best way you can pay me back at this point is to sing
so well that you will be invited back to audition in August. Now!
No more talk of giving up lessons simply because you feel that you can't
afford them right now!"
Realizing that he was not going to give up on me, I asked, "Erik, why are you doing this for me, giving me what amounts to free lessons?"
He remained silent for a moment, and then said, "Please don't take what I'm about to say wrong. I'm a man, and like all men, I like a challenge. Teaching someone like you to sing has been a challenge, but a pleasurable one. Also, I need a purpose, something to do besides catch rats for a living. And, as I told you when we first met, I need beauty in my life and wandering around the vaults in this place, nice as it is, simply doesn't meet my needs. I need more than what I've got so far in life. Besides, I've had the additional comfort of your friendship these last eight months, and I have to admit, I don't want to give that up."
As usual, he left me speechless. Part of me wanted to scream out A challenge? Is that all I am to you? And yet, part of me was touched. A purpose for him? A source of beauty? A comfort in his lonely life? I could only shake my head and after a moment, I said as I put on my coat, "It's getting late and I'm more tired than I thought. I think I'm ready to go home now."
Erik smiled as he rose from the chair and then
said, "As you wish, my dear. To home you shall go."