Before the Phantom

A Disaster

   Nadette played quite well in the performance of Il Muto, but she was slightly nervous, as the managers had disobeyed Erik- er, the Phantom's orders.  The imbeciles had placed Carlotta in the lead, and had cast Christine in the role of the page boy.  Not only that, but they had sat in Box 5 with their new patron -and Christine's lover from what the girl had told her - Vicomte Roul de Chagny. Trying her best to focus, she was still somewhat distracted and almost missed one of her cues.  She was just beginning to relax, when it happened.

"Did I not instruct that Box 5 was to be left empty?"

The orchestra slowed to a standstill as the haunting voice echoed throughout the theater.  Nadette saw Christine whisper something onstage, to which Carlotta replied.

"Your part is silent, Little Toad!"

"A toad, Madame?  Perhaps it is you who are the toad."

Carlotta, the stubborn woman that she was, gave instruction to the orchestra to begin in a place whose prop had already been used. So the diva sang, and Christine mimed, and all seemed to be going well until a hideous croak sounded throughout the Opera Populaire. Then another, and a few more until the Spanish soprano was ushered offstage.

The voice sounded again, this time with a threat to bring down the chandelier.

A decision was made, and Christine was pulled through the curtain. Yes, Christine would resume the role of the countess after a brief intermission, and in the meantime, the audience would witness the Ballet from act three.

Nadette joined the rest of her orchestral peers in scrambling to find the right page, and the enchanting ballet began. After a few trips from the dancers it once again seemed to be going smoothly.

And then Joseph Buquet dropped from the rafters, hanging for a moment, before dropping to the floor.

"Ladies and gentleman! Please! Remain in your seats! This was simply an accident! An accident!" Andre shouted over the chaos.

Nadette was in shock over two things, first, that Buquet was killed in such a public manner, second, that the managers intended to continue tonight's performance! Nadette followed instructions, once again taking her place at the piano, and waited. A stage hand came to the conducter and whispered a message, which was then relayed to the orchestra: They could not find Christine or the Vicomte, and until they did, the orchestra were to play something to fill the silence.

However, when they tried, they found that they were too shaken up to do so. Poor Reyer looked as though he would die of embarrassment, so Nadette took a deep breath, opened the lid of the grand piano and made eye contact with him.

Reyer cued the orchestra to be silent, and Nadette began to play some complicated piece whose name she could not remember. A hush fell over the chaotic crowd, the first few rows went first, since they were the first to hear, and it was like a wave of silence all the way to the back. She kept her eye on Monsieur Reyer, so that she would see when it was time to continue the performance. It was as if she had cast a spell, and calm fell over those who listened to her. Nadette thought of Christine and of Roul and of Erik, and she hoped her old friend wouldn't do something completely reckless.

Reyer cued her to stop, so she resolved the piece, and Christine was onstage, smiling from ear to ear. 

The orchestra collected themselves and began playing and it seemed that finally everything would be alright.  In fact, they made it all the way to the end of the performance and to the curtain call. 

A harrowing shout was heard.

And the chandelier began to fall.