The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1274: Chapter 161: Investing in Unicorns

The backstage of the Leipzig Theater was bustling with preparations for tonight’s new production, ”Turandot”.

In the busy backstage of the theater, you could find the anxious lovers, Robert Schumann and Miss Clara Wieck, worrying due to paternal disapproval. You could also see the male lead, the superstar of the European opera world, the principal tenor at the Paris Opera House, Adolphe Nourri, practicing his vocals. You might catch sight of Garibaldi, bustling about but seemingly unsure of what he was doing, or Great Dumas boasting about his creative abilities to German actresses.

However, the busiest of them all was none other than Mendelssohn.

Leipzig, second only to Vienna, was the second most important musical city in the Great German Area, having established the earliest large concert hall in all Germany in 1743.

The father of Western music, Bach, lived in this city for a full twenty-seven years, serving long-term as choir conductor and music director at Leipzig St. Thomas Church, and ultimately passing away in this city.

Bach’s famous works, ”Sacred Music” and ”The Passion of Jesus”, were premiered in Leipzig, and the St. Thomas Choir, personally nurtured by him, remains to this day one of Europe’s top musical ensembles.

Mendelssohn, recognized as Bach’s successor in the European music scene, had an extraordinary significance performing in Leipzig.

Therefore, for today’s performance, Mendelssohn demanded not just perfection, but to make breakthroughs on the foundation of perfection.

In order to facilitate the love between Schumann and Miss Wieck, and to pay tribute to Bach, Mendelssohn recently took on the role of chief conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, thereby legitimizing his invitation to this century-old orchestra to participate in the premiere of ”Turandot”.

By this point, perhaps someone noticed that the theater’s backstage was missing a few key figures.

Two main creators had disappeared from the theater’s backstage, and coincidentally, both were Britons.

Indeed, they were none other than Mr. Benjamin Disraeli, responsible for adapting the script, and Sir Arthur Hastings, composer of ”No One Sleeps Tonight” and ”Jasmine Flower”.

However, none of the backstage personnel held any complaints about this, as they all understood that these two had more important tasks to attend to.

Today, those coming to the Leipzig Theater to watch the premiere of ”Turandot” included not just Miss Wieck’s father but also many local dignitaries from Leipzig. Furthermore, many noble lords, dignitaries, and high-society ladies from the Saxon Kingdom hurried from the capital Dresden just to catch a glimpse of the ’successor of Bach’, Felix Mendelssohn.

And when it comes to the number one opera enthusiast in the Saxon Kingdom, regardless of how the candidate list is selected, King Anton I of Saxony should rank first.

From a young age, Anton I was a faithful follower of Mozart.

In 1787, when Anton I, then a prince, married Great Princess Maria Theresia of Tuscany, he planned to celebrate the occasion with the premiere of Mozart’s opera ”Don Giovanni”, and the script even mentioned the names of Anton and the Great Princess to express blessings for the couple.

Unfortunately, due to time constraints, the premiere could not be arranged in time, and under the direct order of Joseph II, Holy Roman Empire Emperor and uncle of the Great Princess, the performance was changed to ”The Marriage of Figaro”.

Regrettably, the Great Princess’ relatives felt that ”The Marriage of Figaro” was inappropriate for the bride, as it was a play about a certain count attempting to exercise ’droit du seigneur’ over the bride. Thus, the Great Princess left the opera partway through, not watching the entire performance.

However, although the bride did not watch the complete show, Anton I thoroughly enjoyed all four acts.

Four years later, Anton attended the Prague premiere of Mozart’s opera ”La clemenza di Tito”, composed to celebrate the coronation of his father-in-law, Leopold II, as King of Bohemia.

Nowadays, Anton is no longer young and lacks the energy to attend numerous opera premieres across various places. After becoming King, his movements are not as free as they were when he was a prince.

However, if the opera premiere is held on the land of the Saxon Kingdom, Anton I is still willing to leave the comfortable Zwinger Palace to move around a bit.

Especially, he has a very legitimate reason to attend the premiere of ”Turandot” in Leipzig this time — to conduct a royal exchange with the visiting Duke of Sussex.

Hearing this might make someone feel that Anton I’s behavior does not resemble that of a typical German autocratic monarch at all.

That is because this elderly gentleman is indeed not an absolute monarch.

Influenced by the July Revolution of 1830 in France, an uprising broke out in Dresden, the capital of the Saxon Kingdom, in the same year.

Fortunately, Anton I did not replicate the foolish actions of Louis XVI back then. Instead, he made timely concessions, thus preventing large-scale bloody conflicts.

Shortly after the uprising broke out, he relieved Count Ainsidel and Lindemann from their Cabinet positions, heeding the people’s call by appointing his nephew, Friedrich August, as co-regent. The following year, he issued a constitution, established a bicameral legislature, and a responsible governmental department, transforming the Saxon Kingdom into a constitutional monarchy.