“If you say so,” said Alice.
“But maybe they won’t notice anything if we keep our coats on.”
Daldry led her out of the hotel and they ran across the street. Before them was a magnificent Renaissance Revival opera house, its cornices flanked by two massive equestrian bronzes that reared as though ready to gallop off into the heavens. Men in tuxedos and women in evening gowns were hurrying up the steps. Daldry took Alice by the arm and they joined the elegant crowd.
“Don’t tell me that we’re going to the opera,” Alice whispered in Daldry’s ear.
“We are. I had the idea and the travel agency in London took care of getting us the tickets. They ought to be waiting under our names at the counter. A night in Vienna wouldn’t be complete without an evening at the opera.”
“But not in the dress that I’ve been wearing since this morning. It’s all wrinkled from traveling. I look like a homeless woman compared to everyone else.”
“Why do you think I was losing my mind when we were stuck in that taxi? Evening wear is required here. Just follow me and stay buttoned up. We’ll take off our coats when the house lights go down. And don’t answer back! I’d do anything for Mozart.”
Alice was so delighted to be going to the opera for the first time in her life that she heeded Daldry’s orders without batting an eye. They wove their way through the crowd of operagoers, trying to avoid the vigilant eyes of the doorman, ushers, and program vendors who roamed the vast lobby. The woman behind the ticket counter adjusted her glasses when Daldry told her his name. She paused before taking a long wooden ruler and sliding it down a list in the register that was open before her.
“Mr. and Mrs. Ethan Daldry, from London,” she said with a thick Austrian accent as she handed him their tickets.
A bell began to ring, announcing that the opera would begin soon. Alice would have liked to linger and admire the opulent surroundings, the grand staircase, the chandeliers and gilded decorations, but Daldry didn’t let her dawdle. He pulled her along, trying to keep both of them well hidden inside the crowd flowing toward the ticket-takers. When their turn came, Daldry held his breath. The ticket-taker asked them to check their coats in the cloakroom, but Daldry pretended not to understand. Behind them, the other operagoers started to grow impatient, and the ticket-taker rolled his eyes, ripped their tickets, and let them pass. Before entering the hall, the usherette who came to seat them took one look at Alice’s coat and told her to check it in. Alice blushed and Daldry pretended to be offended, but the usher had him figured out. She stood her ground and asked him in flawless English to please comply by the rules. The dress code was strict. Evening wear only.
“Since you speak English, miss, perhaps we can come to an agreement. Our plane just landed a short while ago and an unfortunate accident on your city’s icy roads made us late. We simply didn’t have time to change.”
“That’s ‘madam’ to you,” corrected the usherette, “and whatever your reasons may be, men must be in black tie, and women must wear a long evening gown.”
“What on earth does it matter? We’re not the ones on stage.”
“I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t make the rules, but it is my job to see that they are followed. Now, if you don’ t mind, I have other people to seat. Kindly return to the ticket counter and your seats will be reimbursed.”
“Come now.” Daldry had lost his patience. “Every rule has an exception, and your silly requirements must surely have theirs. We’re only here in Vienna for one evening, and I’m simply asking you to look the other way and let us enjoy ourselves.”
The usherette fixed Daldry with such a withering gaze.
Alice begged him not to make a scene. “Come on,” she said. “It’s all right. It was a marvelous idea, a wonderful surprise, but it’s just not happening tonight. Let’s go and have dinner. We’re both exhausted, and we probably wouldn’t have been able to stay awake for an entire opera anyway.” Daldry shot one last look of disgust at the usherette, ripped up their tickets, and stormed off, leading Alice down the stairs, through the lobby, and out onto the street.
“What a load of rubbish. It’s music, not a fashion show.”
“It’s a question of tradition. We have to respect that,” Alice said, trying to reason with him.
“The tradition is a load of rubbish.”
Alice tried to calm him down. “You know, when you’re angry, I can imagine how you must have looked when you were a little boy. I bet you threw dreadful temper tantrums.”
“I was a very peaceful and easygoing child.”
“I don’t believe you for a minute.”
As they began to look for a restaurant, they walked around the opera house and soon found themselves in the street that ran behind it.
“That ridiculous woman made us miss Don Giovanni. I’ll never forgive her. And after the travel agent went to so much trouble to get us those tickets.”
Alice watched a stagehand leave the theater’s nondescript stage door. It had not entirely closed behind him.
“How far are you willing to go for your precious Don Giovanni?”
“Didn’t I say I would do anything for Mozart?”
“Well, let’s go then.”
She opened the service door that had been left ajar. They stepped inside and tiptoed down a hallway that was bathed in a faint red glow.
“Where are you taking me?” asked Daldry.
“I haven’t the slightest idea,” said Alice under her breath. “But I think we’re going in the right direction.”
They followed the sound of the music until they came to an ironwork staircase that spiraled up to a catwalk suspended in the air high above them.
“What if somebody finds us?” he asked.
“We’ll tell them we got lost looking for the toilets. Now stop asking questions and come on.”
They climbed the stairs, and as they got higher, the singers’ voices seemed to become clearer. When they finally came to the catwalk, they could see that it was suspended from the ceiling by a series of steel cables.
“Isn’t this dangerous?” he asked her.
“Probably. We’re very high up. But look down there—isn’t it incredible?”
They crept out to the middle of the catwalk. Daldry mustered the courage to look down and realized that he was directly over the stage. They could see the top of Don Giovanni’s hat. It was impossible to tell what the scenery looked like to the audience, but Alice and Daldry still had exceptional seats at one of the world’s finest opera houses.
Alice sat down and leaned over the railing, swinging her feet to the beat of the music. Daldry sat next to her, transfixed by the drama unfolding on the stage below.
They stayed like that until Zerlina’s scream of distress stirred Daldry from his state of near hypnosis. He whispered to Alice that the first act would soon be over.
Alice rose to her feet in silence. “It’s probably better if we slip out before intermission,” she said. “We don’t want the stagehands to find us when the lights go up.”
It was difficult for Daldry to tear himself away, but they crept back down the stairs as quietly as possible. They crossed paths with an electrician, but he paid them no attention. Soon they were slipping out of the stage door and back onto the street.
“What a night!” shouted Daldry ecstatically once they were out in the cool night air. “I’d love to go back and tell that bitch of an usherette how great the first act was.”
“Listen to you!”
Daldry ignored Alice’s disapproval and announced he was hungry. Their little escapade had sharpened his appetite. He eyed a tavern across the street before looking at Alice and realizing she was worn out.
“How does a quick dinner back at the hotel sound?”
He didn’t have to ask twice.