XXVI Brockengespenst

Though Katherina’s legs ached from kneeling on the cold rock, and she almost staggered, she left the performance site the minute rehearsal was concluded. Dazed and furious at the thought of being tricked, she was in no mood to banter with the others. The young ones seemed to cluster adoringly around the frenetic Radu, and she had no patience for that. She wanted nothing more than to get back to the hotel, have a bath, and telephone her agent.

There had been no mention of nudity in the contract, of course. Staging details were never part of a business agreement. But if that was the case, could she be forced to disrobe against her will? Whose decision was it in the first place, she wondered, if not the stage director’s? And what would happen if she refused?

As she limped past the soldiers standing guard before the entrance, they seemed to laugh at her, though it could have simply been her grim mood. Sullen, she made her way carefully along the frozen path leading down to the train station. The night sky was beginning to thicken with mist and the air was damp on her face. She formulated phrases of complaint to make to Charlotte or to whoever was responsible for the oversight. Anastasia, she was sure, would not have tolerated such staging.

Finally she reached the station itself, a looming gray-black shadow guarded by another detachment of Grenzpolizei. She was the first of the opera team to arrive and submit her identification once more to scrutiny. The pass-control guard motioned her out onto the station platform to wait. She was sorry now she had stormed off without the others. She did not relish the thought of standing there alone with idle soldiers and so she wandered to the far track along the ridge where, that same morning, she had been able to look over the entire valley.

She sat down on one of the viewing benches and pulled her scarf up over her nose and mouth. The stone bench was cold where she sat, but the rest of her was warm inside her cloak. Below her feet, clouds drifted across the dark valley and lifted toward the ridge. Between them, patches cleared momentarily and revealed other, lower mountain peaks, black in the distance. She stared dreamily at the ragged clouds that blew past her, gauzy variations of the white tree “witches” far below, and drowsiness overtook her. She relaxed, letting herself doze; the train would arrive in a few minutes and the noise would waken her. Her thoughts, of staging details, of sacrificial altars, and of flying snow-witches jumbled in her fading consciousness and she let her head fall forward.

The crunch of footfall on snow awakened her suddenly. Sleep-dazed she stared into the fog that had gathered over the valley. It was a wall of gray, so dense it threw back shadows. She tried to make sense of the terrifying images that suddenly appeared.

Something alien and monstrously long moved toward her on spindly legs, some otherworldly creature, shadowed on the screen of mist, a sphere of light like a halo around its head. The monster wavered, phantomlike, approaching her as from another world. She cringed.

“I’m sorry if I frightened you, ” a familiar voice said gently.

“Mr. Raspin. No, I was just dozing, I think, and I only saw your shadow. ” She rubbed her eyes. “You had a halo. ”

He sat down next to her on the bench, and the gray giant suddenly shrank. “The fog does strange things, doesn’t it? ” Raspin pointed up at the ball of light that still shone on the fog over both their heads. “It’s called the ‘Brockengespenst. ’ Look, the halo is just the station light being reflected back on the water droplets. Apparently it’s fairly common here. ” He lifted an arm that was reflected long and ghostly on the mist in front of them. “You see? Nothing to be alarmed at. ”

“No, of course not. So silly of me. ”

“It does throw people. But after a few more foggy nights like this one, you’ll become an expert. ” His voice became lighter. “How was the rehearsal? Did Mr. Gavril explain our new approach to you? ”

“Mr. Diener did. A Dionysian opera, he said. But listen, whose idea was it for me to appear half-nude at the end? On a freezing mountain top, that seems ridiculous, and completely unnecessary. ”

“It lasts only a moment, so there’s nothing to be anxious about. And you won’t be cold. There will be a roaring fire right below you. The staging committee thought it would add to the dramatic value. You see, Fernsehen DDR will be filming the performance for broadcast on the real Walpurgisnacht at the end of April. That’s what we’re focusing on. That very dramatic moment is crucial. I can assure you, you won’t mind it at all when you’re caught up in the opera. The whole project is groundbreaking: the broadcast timing, the location, the agreement with the East German government. Your name will be known all over Germany, east and west. ”

“I’m sure the staging committee knows what it’s doing, in light of all that, but why must the ending be so…well…demeaning? ”

“Demeaning? Ah, but you are taking it far too personally. The opera is about damnation, after all. About ruin, the wickedness of the world. It’s not a happy-ending story. The final aria Woman sings is an admission of all human guilt, and once she sings that, she becomes a sort of sacrificial lamb. It is an ancient and very honorable role. ”

“You’re sure that’s what the composer had in mind? ”

“Absolutely certain. You see, I am one of the composers. The opera is a collaboration between myself and Mr. Diener. ”

“And the final aria? ”

“Is from my pen. It is my aria, every word and note. ”

Katherina was still furious. “Charlotte, didn’t you read the contract? Why do I have an agent if something like this slips through? Yes, of course I read it myself. There was nothing in it about nudity. ”

Charlotte’s response was calm. “Well, dear, I have it here in front of me, and on page three, under ‘special conditions, ’ it says specifically that you agree to all staging, including unusual props and partial nudity. How could you have missed it? ”

“I’m sure it wasn’t in the draft he gave me. He must have inserted the clause in the new contract, the one he handed me to sign. That’s fraud, isn’t it? ”

“Only if you can prove he did it. Do you still have the draft? ”

“Not here. Besides, contracts are your business. I assumed you had your copy and the matter was settled. ”

“Well, I do have it, and it has the nudity clause. Listen, it’s not such a big deal. You are their star. They’re not going to throw you out and get someone else just because you refuse to take off your shirt. Certainly not at this late date. ”

“Are you sure? ”

“Relax. Lots of opera singers have costume issues. Beverly Sills once cut hers in half and demanded a new one. Just tell him you overlooked the clause and that it’s a step farther than you’re willing to go. Period. How long would it take for them to make you a skimpy shift? Something flesh colored. We’re not talking the Queen of the Night’s costume here. I’ll give them a call tomorrow, but they are within their legal rights, so your main weapon is going to have to be your charm. ”

“I suppose you’re right. I just have to stand up to them. ”

“That’s my girl. Oh, by the way. I forwarded a package to you. Someone left it for you at the Salzburg hotel at the last minute and the staff apparently overlooked giving it to you. The hotel sent it to the Festspielhaus and they passed it on to me. ”

“What is it? ”

“I have no idea. It was in a box with the Pension Stein name on it. I just put another label on it and sent it on. You should be getting it in a day or two. ”

“Were there any other messages for me? Any calls? ”

“No. Are you expecting something? ”

Katherina’s heart sank. “Nothing special. If anyone important calls, you can give them this number. ”

“If you say so. But it’s hard to get through to you. I called several times and they always said you were unavailable. ”

“Well, I suppose it’s true. They work us pretty hard. ”

“Anyhow, listen, you’re settled in on this engagement, and we have nothing on the calendar until next month. I’ve got my other artists in place for a while so I’m taking a short vacation the day after tomorrow. You can call my assistant for anything you need, and of course in an emergency, she can reach me in Majorca. Otherwise, I’ll talk to you in a week. ”

“All right, then. Have a nice trip. ” Katherina hung up with a faint sense of abandonment.

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