The Phantom Ascending |✔| [Phantom of the Opera Fanfiction]

An Irresistible Offer

"Miss Daae, you have a visitor, a signor Manelli. I know Vicomte said not to receive unknown callers, but signor Manelli is well known here. He works at the Teatro," the maid added with a dash of excitement.

"Thank you, Sophia. Bring him up to the salon, then," I replied, curbing my own excitement and then letting it spread into a wide smile as soon as the door closed.

I knew who Manelli was. He produced some of the most renowned works in La Fenice in the last two decades. Him being involved in a production was already a good sign. Him coming personally to see me was beyond exciting!

I hurried to the salon to meet him, glad that Raoul was away visiting some old friend of his father's.

Signor Manelli was a man in his fifties, but his manner was energic enough to make him seem younger, and he had the air of a sly old fox about him. We greeted each other pleasantly and began our conversation, in which he did not waste much time to get to the point.

"Miss Daae, I have heard that you are staying in Venice to rest, but I will say that it pains us all at La Fenice to have a rising star for so long in our vicinity and not hear a single aria sang by you on our stage."

"Please understand, signor Manelli, that I would be honored to sing at La Fenice, but this is simply an inconvenient time."

"I understand. I was told you have already refused one offer earlier upon your arrival," he waved his hand at this, "but clearly, that was such an unimpressive piece that even I did not want to work on it."

He then leaned forward and pulled out a leather-bound stack of papers.

"It is all here. We will perform the libretto in Italian, not French, and it is still being translated. Other than that, the score will remain unchanged. Look at this, miss Daae, just look. La opera grande in its scope, la opera comique in its form! And the music itself... Powerful, yet full of pain. A starring role for you, signora, in something new and impressive. You surely must know that the roles you've played so far haven't been the most prestigious ones. This one could become one such role, and you would be the one to originate it."

I took the score from him, curious and hopeful, mesmerized by his words. Was this what I've been waiting for all along?

"We would need you to come to the Teatro and sing one piece before your role is secured, but I trust this will be mere formality."

Manelli rose as if to leave, but I motioned to stop him.

"You said that libretto is still being translated. When do you expect to schedule the premiere?"

"We will need some time, true, given the scope of the opera, but we are trying to rush this. The costumes and scenography are already in the works. An early November, perhaps."

My enthusiasm faltered.

"By that time I should be in France."

"Miss Daae," he rose once again, "there are other sopranos who might sing this, but I feel none would surpass you in this particular role. Please give this some consideration. If you decide to stay, we will cover your housing expenses on top of your salary."

With that, he said his farewell and left me to study and ponder the opera score in peace.

Titania Enthroned. I imagined the music in my head as I read. Full of ethereal, otherworldly beauty, full of loneliness and pain, and at the same time there was a thread of optimism, power and triumph interwoven through the entire piece.

And the story... For its faerie setting, it felt like a darker sister of Midsummer's Night Dream, but was otherwise too different to make any comparisons. The composer was a name unknown to me, but that was irrelevant as long as his work was one of quality.

I wanted to do this. The wedding would have to wait, or we could be wed in Italy. Raoul will have to understand... But first I needed to make sure that I do get the role. I chose an aria that was already translated, and began to practice.