Chapter 4
Excitement filled the Opera Populaire, as aspiring soprano's hopefully trilled and scaled throughout its vast corridors and vaulting dressing rooms. Marianne longed to play the part of Lolita with all her heart, but knew that her fear of singing in front of others would not allow her to. As she heard the hopefuls singing the wonderful songs composed by the mysterious conductor, she physically ached with desire to sing, to make the talent she felt sure she had, known. Despite her knowledge of her musical ability however, she was sure she would be laughed at if she expressed her wish to anybody. Her voice was surely not powerful enough! And Lolita was supposed to be a beauty! How could a Marianne be a believable Lolita, when the audience were used to the magnificence and charm of Christine Daae. It was hopeless. Utterly hopeless. Sometimes, in the dead of night, after her solitary dance practises were over, she crept silently onto the stage, where she knew she could not be heard from any of the dormitories, and lifted her voice, imagining herself on stage, adorned with glittering jewels and moving her audience to tears. When she opened her eyes; when her song was finished and she returned to her own body, she often wept bitter tears that the thing she longed for with every fibre of her being could never be. Her own fear stopped her. Even in the silent Opera House, she was physically unable to truly revel in song, as she so wished to.