Disclaimer: As much as I wish I did, I don't own any of these characters (though I do wish that I owned a nice tenor like Ubaldo! Come on Santa!)… but you already knew that. Anyway. This is a spur-of-the-moment idea that just came to me… and needless to say, this story is a prequel to another one of my stories, though I cannot say which one as to not give away the ending of that story.
Ubaldo Piangi waited in the wings until the time came for him to make his next entrance. On the stage was Carlotta Giudicelli, also known as La Carlotta and the leading soprano of the Opera Populaire, singing her way through a complicated German aria. She hated singing in German, he knew; she felt that she could never quite connect to the emotions as she could with Italian because she was too concerned about the proper pronunciation of the complicated German text. One would never have guessed the diva's uncomfortable ness, however, as her silver-soprano voice soared impeccably through the lavish trills, scales, roulades, cabalettas, and cadenzas of the aria.
She finished the aria and went straight into the following recitative. Ubaldo watched as the visiting bass made his entrance from the other side of the stage, and proceeded to sing his chanson d'amore to her. Oh, how beautiful she looked… and oh, how that voice had soared with such ease. He watched as Carlotta batted her eyelashes flirtatiously at the lyrics that the bass sang. What a terrific actress she was!
Monsieur Reyer suddenly interrupted the rehearsal.
"Monsieur, please… you are still anticipating the phrase; you have a half rest before you come in".
He sang the phrase correctly to the bass.
"That's what I did", answered the bass snootily.
Reyer ignored the comment.
"Once again, please, if you will then, Monsieur".
The bass made the same mistake again, and Reyer once again stopped the rehearsal to correct him. Ubaldo saw Carlotta start to turn red from the anger. She and the bass had been arguing nonstop since his arrival due to what Carlotta described as "an arrogant attitude and horrible musicianship", and it was no secret that the prima donna was anxious for this opera to be over so that she would no longer have to work with him. The third time that the bass sang the phrase incorrectly, Carlotta exploded.
"Will you pay attention!"
Her heavy but beautiful Italian accent rang loudly throughout the house and seemed to echo due to the acoustics, acoustics that thankfully alerted Monsieur Lefevre, the Opera's manager, that there was a problem unfolding on the stage. Within seconds he was standing next to Ubaldo watching the scene unfurl. Carlotta sang the phrase correctly to the bass before continuing on her rampage.
"This is every time! We cannot get through one rehearsal without your deplorable lack of proper musicianship wasting my time-"
"Oh, do shut up, woman! You're one to talk about deplorable musicianship; we're the ones who have to stand here and listen to you shriek your way shrilly through those goddamned arias!"
Carlotta backhanded the bass so hard that her rings cut his cheek. Everybody present gasped collectively at the scene, particularly Monsieur Reyer. It was certainly true that Carlotta's voice sometimes left several things to be desired, but she was nonetheless the leading soprano of the Opera Populaire; and while the things that the bass had said were things that the ballet rats and chorus members often snickered about in private, it was quite something for a visiting artist to declare Carlotta incompetent to her face and in front of the entire company. In all of her years at the Opera Populaire, no one had ever dared to address her in such a fashion.
"Signora!" Reyer choked out, half afraid that the diva's tirade would turn on him. Oh, where was Monsieur Lefevre? Surely he could put and end to this before he himself was injured!
"Hijo de putana! How dare you speak to me in that manner!"
Carlotta turned to Reyer and he instinctively backed away.
"I have had it! I will not work under such conditions!"
Carlotta started to cry, and Monsieur Lefevre chose this moment to enter from the wings. He was accustomed to her crying bouts and made his way over to the soprano.
"Signora, please…" he started.
"No! Basta! Is finito! Either he goes, or I go! I will not work under such conditions!"
"There conditions!", shrieked the bass, "I'm the one who's bleeding, you bloody witch! It is I who will not work under these conditions, I quit!"
With that, he flung his score of the opera down on to the floor and started to walk off the stage. Carlotta, in her rage, quickly grabbed the score up and hurled it at the bass's head as he walked off.
"Never in my career have I worked with such a terrible person!" she screamed as tears once again consumed her violently. "I will not take this abuse!"
She stormed off the stage headed to where Ubaldo was. Lefevre stood frozen in his place, his body not allowing him to move or respond to the terrible scene, while Reyer had backed clear out of Carlotta's path. He wanted to remain out of her sight as to not become her next victim. Apparently so did everybody else, for as soon as they saw her coming, they ducked and ran. Ubaldo remained the only one who did not run and hide, and he made his way over to Carlotta. He increasingly seemed to be the one person who could calm the diva when she was in one of her moods.
"It's okay, cara", he said as he put his arms around her in a comforting hug. "He is gone… you will not have to work with him again".
She sobbed into his shoulder.
"Grazie, mio caro… you are the only one here who understands me!"
Carlotta continued to cry and Ubaldo started to rub her back gently to relax her. Within seconds, she had stopped sobbing and her breathing had returned to normal. He pulled away from her and wiped a tear from her cheek with his hand before taking out his handkerchief and wiping off her make-up so that she no longer resembled a raccoon. She smiled at him; it was not her usual press smile, but a more intimate shy schoolgirl smile. Ubaldo had never seen her smile that way at anyone before.
"Thank you…"
"My pleasure, Signora… my pleasure."
Silence.
"May I escort you to lunch, Signora?"
Carlotta stared back at him, her big dark brown eyes sparkling back at him.
"Thank you Signor. We must stick together, you and I, you know… there are no others like us… we will find no comfort in anybody else".
Ubaldo looked at her.
"Come again, Signora?"
"I said thank you, Signor…"
Ubaldo smiled at Carlotta as he extended his arm to her. She returned his smile and graciously accepted his arm. As they went to lunch, Ubaldo regaled in his thoughts. Tempestuous diva or not, Carlotta had stolen his heart and taken his breath away the first time he laid eyes upon her; it was no longer the glorious performances or copious galas at the opera house, but these private moments with her that he lived for.