The Shadow of Great Britain

Capítulo 1616: Chapter 28: Master Among Masters (2)

These things are basically an open secret in Paris; you can find out just by asking around, or even without asking. You just need to show some financial power, and the theater manager will come and tentatively inquire if you have an interest in that area.

As for most ballet dancers who came from working-class families, they are well aware of the “unspoken rules” of the theater.

For these “little mice” (a derogatory term for ballet girls at the time), most ballet dancers remain at the bottom all their lives. Not everyone can be like Mary Taglioni, born into a dance family and having a father like the Swedish court dance master Carlo Tario.

If they want to become famous, the most realistic scenario is to be kept by a generous patron like Alexander Dumas. Although this fat man is fickle and indulgent, it must be said, he indeed lavishes great care and effort on the actresses he fancies.

From tailoring scripts to investing heavily in productions, and finally sending people to publicize and create momentum in the Paris newspapers.

Although Alexander is not handsome, his efforts aren’t too outlandish in capturing the hearts of many actresses. At least Arthur, Heine, and other friends wouldn’t dare utter a single word against him.

Of course, patrons as talented as Alexander are in the minority after all.

For most ballet dancers relying on patrons, the theater will give them a role out of respect for the patron’s face. Whether it’s a lead role or a supporting one, a fixed role or a replaceable one, depends on how capable the patron is.

While this unspoken rule originated in Paris, there’s an old saying in Arthur’s hometown: learning good is not easy, but sliding into vice is quick.

The counterparts in London soon mastered Paris’ “advanced” experience and copied the whole set to London.

At least as far as Arthur knows, the French bad practices have already spread into the Alhambra Theater.

Conroy keeps a “little mouse” at the Alhambra, and the theater manager there obviously considers this future “Royal Chief Steward” worth paying special attention to, worth at least a leading role.

However…

The important roles in the current scheduled productions have been pre-ordered by other patrons. Changing the cast temporarily might offend others, so the Alhambra Theater is urgently arranging a new play.

Putting on a new play might sound easy, but in reality, it’s a troublesome task of coordinating scripts, choreography, and composition as a whole.

But as the saying goes, there’s always a way when a car reaches the mountain.

This time, the Alhambra Theater was quite lucky. Sir Arthur Hastings from “The British” suddenly visited a few days ago and asked if they were interested in taking on a newly launched ballet from Paris.

The theater manager took one look at the script and was instantly struck. The script was penned by the highly sought-after Alexander Dumas on both sides of the English Channel. The choreography was by Lucien Petipa, the chief classical artist of the ballet troupe of the Paris Opera House, and the composer was Felix Mendelssohn, who had just become the music director of the Dusseldorf Opera House this year.

A pie falling from the sky, even delivered to one’s mouth! The Alhambra Theater didn’t hesitate for a second and immediately took the bait.

However, with such a major production entrusted to them, the theater dared not arbitrarily decide all the roles for Arthur.

Still, without arranging everything now, they worried Arthur might back out in a few days.

After all, everyone knew that among the theaters in London, “The British” is closest to the Astley Circular Theatre, where Dickens’ “The Pickwick Papers” and Dumas’ “The Count of Monte Cristo” were both adapted.

If the Astley Theatre got wind of it and personally visited “The British,” such a good opportunity might end up in someone else’s hands.

After reading the script, the theater manager immediately set out to summon Alhambra’s ballet troupe and almost wanted to hold onto Arthur’s leg to beseech him to finalize the actors today. He even pounded his chest to assure that even if Alhambra’s actors were not suitable, it didn’t matter if Arthur fancied actors from other theaters; Alhambra would pull out all the stops to borrow the actors Arthur had his eye on.

But there’s one thing; before everything is settled, they pleaded with Arthur not to reveal any details about the play to outsiders.

Arthur’s heart wasn’t made of iron, and Alhambra Theater’s sincere attitude naturally “moved” this so-called “master of masters” as per the theater manager.

Yet, despite Alhambra’s ballet troupe being excellent, Arthur’s standards were high enough. That day, he distributed many roles, large and small, but the lead actress remained undecided.

Sigh, how’s the lead actress so hard to finalize?

Conroy didn’t want to discuss ballet with Arthur, but Arthur insisted on talking today.

“Speaking of which, sorry about this.” Arthur explained the circumstances: “I have high hopes for this show and am confident it will be an instant hit. With Alexander’s script, Petipa’s choreography, and Felix’s composition, it’s simply unreasonable if this play doesn’t become a sensation. But the lead actress, till now, I’ve found no suitable candidate in London. After much deliberation, I think perhaps only Miss Mary Taglioni could do justice to this role…”

Arthur didn’t need to say much, his bait was enough to remind Conroy of his little sweetheart at the Alhambra Theater.

He had promised her a perfect and indisputable role.

Months had passed, yet there’d been no news from the Alhambra Theater, only arranging her with a few insignificant small roles.

Every time Conroy urged them, the theater merely fobbed him off saying they were still looking for a good script.

What the theater said was true, but it didn’t stop Conroy from fuming.

As an important person at Kensington Palace, a future close aide to the Queen of the Great Britain and Ireland Kingdom, he couldn’t tolerate such a small theater treating him with such disregard.

If Arthur hadn’t mentioned it, Conroy had planned to visit Alhambra next week to discuss the matter earnestly.

But Arthur’s appearance showed him a new possibility.

Conroy, with his Oxford-accent mingled with a touch of Irish homeland flavor, feigned a nonchalant sip from his wine glass, concealing his thoughts: “Miss Taglioni indeed is impeccable, but you know, the Royal Family has always been cautious about introducing these… continental fashions.”

Arthur slightly nodded with his pipe in his mouth: “I think so too. Although this play is introduced from France, it still needs proper adaptation to suit the local market. And your decision to employ Miss Taglioni shows you must have studied ballet. It’s a good chance to run into you today; hearing advice from a professional art connoisseur like you is undoubtedly valuable.”

As Arthur spoke, it was as if a thought struck him. He turned, retrieved a script with a gold-embossed cover from his handbag hanging on the coat rack: “Take a look at this segment of a court intrigue; the actress must possess both wildness and nobility.”

Conroy’s Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed, unable to help remembering the girl named Lily at the Alhambra Theater.

“Well… Wildness and nobility, Miss Taglioni is definitely noble enough, but when it comes to wildness, she might be a bit lacking. After all, her ‘La Sylphide’ was so memorable that audiences couldn’t associate wildness with her. And, perhaps you didn’t know, but Miss Taglioni has a pretty packed schedule lately, with two plays besides teaching at Kensington Palace. It might be hard for her to squeeze in time for your play.”

“Is that so?” Arthur’s eyes showed undisguised disappointment: “This…”

Seeing Arthur’s expression, Conroy swallowed his drink and opened his mouth, feigning calmness, asking: “But do you consider other actresses? Like a native rising star more aligned with British style? I remember there’s a Miss Lily at Alhambra who dances ‘Giselle,’ and her modified 32 fouetté turns have a flair of Irish step dance.”