Phantom Child

5. Hannibal rehearsal

So I have to admit that the beginning of this chapter was pure pain to write; I hate writing about the things that are better shown by the movie or the play. When the POV changes to Maya's however, that is when the fun begins.

3rd POV

Christine with other dancers and actors were getting ready for the next day of rehearsing "Hannibal" at the opera house. While dancers were streching, they saw a crowd of people entering the stage. Carlotta and her suite arrived.

Meg and Christine were looking at the primadonna as she was petting her doggie, getting her hat done and some "magic juice" sprayed into her mouth.

"Why is she so... self centered?" Meg rolled her eyes, whispering to her best friend.

"Don't worry, noone here likes her anyway." Christine laughed quietly. She pointed at the two ladies, who had been cleaning the hall, now putting earplugs in. The blonde girl looked over in that direction and they both chuckled.

"Silence."

They heard a voice of an older woman, as well as a sound of a cane against the floor. The order immediately made them straighten up. It was Madame Giry, ballet teacher, Meg's mother and Christine's kind of adoptive mother.

"Focus on your own excercises." She finished, examining two girls.

Right after that she smiled at them and saw them return the feelings. She couldn't be angry at them for long. She was rather a warm-hearted woman. She tried to stay strict, but in the end, she always forgave her daughters.

Meanwhile the actors were ready to begin the rehearsal. Everone was in their positions. Carlotta began the song, which everyone just hoped to finish. And though it seemed like ages, when it finally did, the dancers, including Meg and Christine, came on stage. After their dancing part, onto the stage came Hannibal himself, portrayed by Ubaldo Piangi. He was a lead male singer of the opera house and Carlotta's lover. His singing wasn't bad, but he was always forgetting or singing wrong lyrics.

"Sad to return to find the land we love
Threatened once more
By Roma's far-reaching grasp..."

Piangi sung out, but was iterrupted by Mr. Reyer, the conductor.

"No, no, no, no! Signor, if you please "Rome". We say "Rome", not "Roma"!"

They argued for a bit and then Piangi started singing again. After his another attempt to sing the right lyrics, the stage crew saw four men marching onto the stage. One of them was Mr. Lefevre, so far the owner of the opera house. He was accompanied by two other men, around his own age, and one much younger, about 20.

"Rehearsals, as you see, are under way, for a new production of Chalumeau's 'Hannibal'." The manager explained to the other three.

"Monsieur Lefevre, I am rehearsing." Reyer whispered to him from under the stage, but his request was ignored. The man had something important to announce.

"Monsieur Reyer, Madame Giry, ladies and gentlemen. Please, if I could have your attention, thank you." He said, making a gesture towards them all to get seen.

"As you know, for some weeks there have been rumours of my imminent retirement. I can now tell you that these were all true and it is my pleasure to introduce you to the two gentlemen, who now own the Opera Populaire, Monsieur Richard Firmin and Monsieur Gilles Andre." He introduced his two guests to the public.

"I'm sure, you've read of their recent fortune amassment in the junk business..."
He explained but got cut off by Andre's quiet "Scrap metal, actually..."