The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1177: Chapter 127: Beating the Mandarins Apart

Even if he only has one representative work in his life, with just this one piece, Sir Arthur Hastings is sufficient to rank as one of the pinnacle figures in opera art. This is not just a world-class work that spans Eastern and Western cultures, but more importantly, its birth saved a pair of ill-fated lovers and restored the life of a great musician to the world.

——Heinrich Heine

“Oh, right, the concert, I almost forgot the serious business!”

Liszt, whose face was shining brightly from drinking, took a large gulp of beer and laughed heartily, saying: “If I don’t get this matter done properly, when I return to Leipzig, my dear little Eliza will definitely scold her old father again.”

At this, Liszt scratched his bald head, pondered for a while, and finally cast his eyes onto Mendelssohn beside him: “Sorry, Mr. Mendelssohn, which opera was Eliza planning to use for her debut performance?”

With a flush on his face from the alcohol, Mendelssohn took the thread and said: “Beethoven’s ‘Fidelio’.”

“‘Fidelio’!”

Disraeli, who was quite knowledgeable about opera, exclaimed: “My heavens! Miss Liszt intends to choose such a difficult piece right upon her debut?” The heroine Leonora’s aria ‘Anch’io dischiuso un giorno’ requires a soprano with a full voice and strong power. Are you sure Miss Liszt can really handle this style of singing?”

Mendelssohn brushed the disheveled hair from his forehead to the back and let out a breath of alcohol: “Benjamin, worry not; the role of Leonora is not prepared for Miss Liszt. Playing Leonora is Mr. Robert Schumann’s girlfriend, Miss Clara Wieck. By the way, Arthur, have you heard of Robert Schumann? He is a piano genius on par with you. The first time I saw Schumann, I saw your reflection in him. And your time learning piano should be about the same; both started learning piano in 1830 and raised their performance level to Europe’s top within merely 3 years. In the music world, what kind of person can be called a genius? Arthur, people like you and Schumann are genius figures indeed!”

Arthur humbly replied: “Felix, perhaps Mr. Schumann is a genius, but I am far from being called a genius. But if you’re so keen on discovering musical geniuses, I do have someone to recommend to you. The violinist Jacques Offenbach from the Paris Music College, though I’ve only seen him once at a dinner at Kaidao Sai Mansion, this lad left quite a deep impression on me. This lad told me he admires you greatly; he especially likes the overture you composed for Shakespeare’s play ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’.”

Mendelssohn couldn’t help but laugh at this: “Ah ha! ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’, that is indeed one of my proud works. Hmm… it’s better that you did not mention it, but your words have inspired me somewhat.”

Arthur asked: “Hmm? What’s the matter?”

Mendelssohn pondered while pinching his chin: “Arthur, the situation we’re facing now is somewhat complex, and I’m not sure how to tell you. Because we’re dealing not merely with a regular opera performance, this performance is about whether lovers can finally become a couple.”

“Lovers finally become a couple?” Arthur turned his head to look at Liszt beside him: “Is your daughter planning to elope with some rascal?”

Liszt blissfully waved his hand: “This has nothing to do with me; this is the emotional entanglement of Mr. Schumann and his girlfriend.”

Dirichlet from the side interjected: “Sir, if this were just an ordinary performance, Felix wouldn’t have come looking for you, after all, he’s a piano player renowned across Europe.”

Arthur was dizzy from all their chatter: “So, what exactly is going on? Aren’t you here to have me play piano?”

Mendelssohn replied: “These are two separate matters. Miss Liszt is your fan, so the young lady hopes you will agree to appear as the pianist for her debut. As for Schumann, his matters with his girlfriend are quite complex. Put simply, her father disagrees with her dating Schumann, as he believes Schumann is not good enough for his daughter.”

Krupp, who was already drowsy, forced himself to speak: “Why? Didn’t you say Mr. Schumann is a first-class pianist in Europe? Isn’t such a son-in-law good enough? This old man is too picky!”

“Sigh…”

Mendelssohn sighed: “Schumann originally indeed had a chance to become a great pianist. But he learned piano too late; to quickly improve his piano skills, he fancifully used a thin rope to hang his fingers from the ceiling to practice secretly, attempting to enhance the fingers’ flexibility and strength in key touching. But this incorrect practice method not only failed to help him advance quickly but also injured his hands.”

Dirichlet added from the side: “What’s worse is, his girlfriend’s father is also his piano teacher. The old man initially valued this disciple highly, imparting all his lifelong learning to him wholeheartedly and firmly believing he would have a bright future. But after Schumann injured his hands and the old man learned the whole story, he became very angry, believing Schmann’s actions were absolutely foolish. Schumann’s eagerness for quick success destroyed his own bright future, and the old man resolutely wouldn’t entrust his daughter to such a principled young man.”