Murder at the Cosmopolitan
Part 3. Noussoir's Story
Thaumont 6, The Cosmopolitan Theatre.
Noussoir was thrilled to be at the Cosmopolitan. This was the first time he attend a grand opera—at the Cosmopolitan Theatre and from a Prince’s theatre box no less! (The little perks of being the lover of a Princess of Glantri!)
“You mean, Malachie never brought you to the theatre?” Dolores had asked earlier, genuinely incredulous. “What did he become a Prince for?”
Noussoir knew she was just being difficult.
“Even Kol has brought his own family to the Cosmopolitan!”
Now that, Noussoir knew was an outright lie (although Kol did have a strange fascination for the human custom of theatre acting). Dolores was trying to further widen the gap between him and his brother that was already as wider than the Great Crater itself. But Dolores could intrigue and connive all she wanted—nothing would spoil this night for him!
Noussoir paused from admiring the view for Princess Dolores’ theatre box and took a look at the program for the opera.
The composer of The Doom of Alphatia was Herr Otto Theodor von Werner, the celebrated Aalbanese musician who inspired the trend for the grandiose, the extravagant, and the pompous on the Glantrian stage for the past century! He was a terror to work with—His temper was nothing short of feral!—but audiences loved his work, especially the noble audiences! Herr Otto was an occasional guest at Château Morlay (Of course, he was a werewolf!) and his music was one of the things Malachie and Prinz Jaggar von Drachenfels of Aalban agreed on passionately and wholeheartedly—besides the desire to see Dolores dead.
Playing the lead role of “Eriadna” was the soprano Catalya Larkstryll—or as she fancied herself, Catalya Erewan, after a short romance that allegedly ended with a secret marriage to Thendain Erewan, son of Princess Carlotina Erewan. (So short was the romance and so secret was the marriage that no one ever heard of it! Even Sire Thendain himself does not remember it!) But for all of Catalya Erewan’s offstage dramatics, her onstage talent was not less than phenomenal. Rumor has it that Herr Otto composed a particularly astronomically high-pitched aria, “The Height of Alphatia,” to showcase Catalya’s vocal prowess.
Opposite Catalya was Maximiliano Pampinei, the Caurenzan virtuoso tenor, playing the role of “Jaggar.” The theatre mavens have been all abuzz about some difficulty with Maximiliano’s massive size—not so much for the costume of white military uniform—but in the special effect where he had to ride into the air riding a (charmed) pegasus. Even with the animal handler’s expert magical control over the creature, the pegasus would still buckle under Signor Maximiliano’s hefty weight and could not perform the choreographed aerial maneuvers properly, bumping into the other flying actors (a regimen Military Wizards flying alongside their general). Herr Otto had to change the script, such that Jaggar would be flying into the air solo, while the Military Wizards were looking aloft from their formation on the ground.
Noussoir was pleased to see the Sylaire actor, Grégoire Beaucourt, playing the role of “Zandor,” the evil Alphatian Empress’ power-mad son. Noussoir had seen Grégoire perform in Nouvelle Averoigne. He was a gifted dramatic actor and had a solid singing voice—but this was his first true Glantrian opera. His soliloquy in Act III, “Zandor’s Pride” would be the true test of his talents. At rehearsals, it has been said that Grégoire was able to move Herr Otto to tears—whether out of pathos or out of sheer frustration, remained to be seen.
It was a quarter past the hour and Noussoir noticed from his vantage point the musicians taking their places in the orchestra pit. Knowing that Catalya Erewan was starring in this show, and knowing her notorious reputation of last minute histrionics, delaying the show for hours at a time (no matter how many Princes of Glantri were in the audience!), Noussoir was surprised that the curtain would rise so soon.
The lights dimmed. The theatre silenced. And with a first tremulous notes, The Doom of Alphatia began!
From the earth-shaking overture, The Doom of Alphatia was a spectacle that could have rivaled the historical event. The plot was simple enough. The proud and evil Empress of Alphatia, Eriadna, had the arrogant ambition to conquer the whole world, beginning with defeating their age-old enemy of Glantri.
In Act I, Eriadna plotted her grand plans of domination, while the Prince Jaggar raised his army for the threat of war. Catalya Erewan was absolutely powerful as Eriadna, her presence making the audience cower and tremble, her voice rising above the chorus of Alphatian Wizards shaking the very rafters of the Cosmopolitan. Grégoire Beaucourt was nothing short of remarkable. A lesser actor would have been completely upstaged by Catalya’s Eriadna, but Grégoire’s sniveling, conniving Zandor evoked such a tangible loathing from the audience it was almost frightening! His singing ability was admirably displayed in the quartet together with Eriadna, Jaggar, and the traitor Volospin, entitled “Dare I.” Maximiliano Pampinei’s performance was also solid, but it would not be until Act II that the limelight focuses on him.
And the spectacle of the stage was tremendously breathtaking! The theatre wizards had outdone themselves with the magical effects, illusions and scenery. And with Herr Otto’s penchant for enormous scales and full regalia, The Doom of Alphatia would be an opera that would be remembered for centuries to come!
At the end of Act I, Noussoir found himself shaking. The whole experience was simply overwhelming. The music and emotions were still welling up in him, it took a while for him to take it all in.
Dolores, beside him, was as cool and nonchalant as she could ever have been. Nothing seemed to be able to faze her, even if Death himself stood before her.
Before Noussoir knew it, the lights of the auditorium were dimming once more, the orchestra was banging and clanging out the entr’acte, and the curtains were raising for Act II. The spy Volospin had decided to betray the Principalities, and Eriadna had decided to wage war. Maximiliano Pampinei, as Jaggar, took center stage and sang his virtuoso performance with a voice that in itself could stop marauding armies. Jaggar gloriously rode off on his white pegasus (The stunt was a success!) while the Military Wizards fortified themselves for an attack.
The climax of Act II had come. Eriadna in full battle regalia commanded her army of Alphatian Wizards to fly off into the skies to bombard the Principalities. The whole cast, including Zandor and Volospin, prepared for her signal, while in the background, Jaggar still rode on his pegasus as the Military Wizards marched on.
At Eriadna’s signal (an unbelievably high-pitched command that caused the crystal chandeliers of the Cosmopolitan to quiver and threaten to shatter!), the Alphatian Wizards flew off the stage, high above the audience. Through the chorus of voices, and Catalya Erewan’s resounding vibrato notes, the amazement and awe of the audience was audible. And as the Alphatian Wizards performed their astounding aerial maneuvers, the auditorium burst into brilliant flashes of phantasmal lightning bolts and wind clouds, and illusionary djinn and air elementals! The spectacle was engulfing the overwhelmed audience, and the view from the box seats was phenomenal.
Noussoir was holding back his tears while staring into the exploding lights and sparks in front of him, when the first explosion hit. It took him a second to realize that the tingling all over his body was not from excitement or exhilaration but from a lightning bolt that knocked him out of his seat onto his back on the box floor. That lightning bolt was real—and so was Noussoir’s pain!
Noussoir propped himself up and saw Dolores picking herself up. The blast of the lightning bolt had knocked her off her seat, but she did not seem to be in pain.
As Dolores got up, Noussoir was able to see the second bolt strike Dolores squarely in the center of her chest.
The air was exploding with lights and illusions. Noussoir’s ears were filled with crackling and clanging, clamor and clangor. Dolores was lying flat on her back. The lightning from the second bolt did not hit Noussoir. Blue boots and a blue robe landed on the ledge of the theatre box. Noussoir realized what to do.
Noussoir clenched the cold handle of his stiletto and swiftly swung his arm until the stiletto was embedded in the folds of blue.
The blue-robed assassin fell out of the box. Noussoir weakly propped himself to look over the ledge and into the box below.
Noussoir saw the figure of the fallen Alphatian Wizard burst into a million infinitesimal specks that blew away into nothing.
