Old Opera tenor Marco Lazzaro in the morning drinking brandy.
No, he wasn't an alcoholic, just felt power leaving him overweight, pampered, flabby body..And today, his concert, the last concert.
Even the old man understood that he can't take the notes, so that waiting audience. I drank another glass. Tried to warm up...No. "Laugh clown" today will be cancelled...
Yesterday the audience, his devoted and beloved audience, wore it on his hands, was showered with gifts, flowers and deafened with shouts of "Bravo!", "Bravissimo!"..However, they still love him, his "Marco-Canio" - so dubbed his local Opera lovers of a small town, where shone the singer.
Yes, he was a star. Worshiped it. Even when twenty years ago there was a rumor that Marco is leaving for the invitation to Naples in the Opera house "Teatro San Carlo", local elders, women, men, all, from workers to high officials came to the house of his favorite and begged him not to leave them..
And the tenor gave up. And left...
On Saturdays and Sundays Marco gave concerts in the old, but a pretty good look at him in five places. The repertoire was almost the same. It was the Neapolitan songs, jokes-recitative, Church and of course madrigals, arias from operas. His "Concerto Grosso" Marco has always finished Aria Canio from "Pagliacci". It was his signature issue.
A small Amateur orchestra of nine, or five, depending on the disease, musicians, always willing to led his party and watched as a single body for each movement of the singer. He was conductor and an idol, and God on stage.
And today, Marco, seems to like.. No, concert with songs it can hold, but that damned note, extreme LA in Arioso him this evening not to take...And waiting for him. It is always waiting. He should do this music. Which acts on the fascinating people, the breath, solar plexus clenches and releases with atomnym exhalation.
"Oh Holy Mary! Help me" - and Marco-"Canio" comes on the scene...
The concert is two hours. The hall shook with applause, shouts,..the Musicians on tonight, caught the spirit..Marco hurries backstage, quickly swallowed a shot of alcohol...Now. I must admit that this is the last in his life concert. To declare urgent...But people want the Aria. The tenor goes. He says that old that sat voice, muttering about the fact that the public can't speak their impotence...They don't want to hear. His favorite citizens, neighbors, friends want to sing. And always sang.
He bowed in a familiar gesture and nodded to the musicians.... Leoncavallo "Pagliacci" Canio's Aria...Now, something happened that he was so afraid of the morning...Fail.
The melody flows, the quiet, anxiety-sweet Voice slightly quivering. In the hall of silence, everyone held their breath..Here it is, this La! Marco goes to upper case, enough air, ligaments pinched...And then, he realized that no, it's...Music - stop! And in the place where he needs to impress the audience with their stunning LA, suddenly...silence and in that silence, instead of the sweet brevis, Marco Canio raises up his index finger.
All in deathly silence, heard that the note of the singer, herself, as if from the past sounded in the heart of every listener...
The old man stood with his head bowed. Another minute, the LA hovers over the ceiling of the theater and disappeared along with the whistle of a boat came from the Marina, which is echoed in the old cello musician of the band.
It was a real sensation. Marco made from the stage on his hands...He didn't resist, he had no strength...It carefully as a precious thing, despite his painful fullness, passed from hand to hand...he was carried down the street.
Then he kept on singing their concerts. And so, with a raised finger, showed all that there was his signature, the note and all believed him best of all, heard of this extreme of the first octave....