Sumi Jo breaks out into song again, another clamorous and drawn-out high-pitched note.

Fred can only stare at the South Korean soprano as she reaches that high note. She stares back at him.

Fred continues to observe her, but it is as if he is looking at another person . . .

74

His wife, Melanie.

On the mezzanine floor of the hospital.

Her white hair dishevelled, her face ravaged by illness, eyes distant and mouth open, as if she were singing.

75

Open-mouthed, Sumi Jo is still in the middle of a high note.

Fred Ballinger looks at her, perfectly able to disguise his feelings.

Sumi Jo meets his eyes. She waits. And on a crisp movement of Fred’s hand, she suddenly and skilfully brings that exceptional note to an end.

The orchestra moves on to the coda.

And with a sharp and definitive sweep of the baton, Fred Ballinger signals an end to the music.

The orchestra plays no more.

Total silence. The world has stopped turning.

The queen’s emissary breathes a huge sigh of relief.

It is over.

Jimmy Tree is bolt upright in his chair, his mouth half open, caught between amazement and emotion. He waits to see what will happen next.

With masterly control, Fred Ballinger slowly turns to face the audience. He shows no satisfaction, not at this moment.

He is impassive, a sphinx, a professional. That is what he is: a consummate professional.

The audience stare up at him from below, all eyes glistening.

Fred Ballinger waits for them to master their emotions. He knows it will take a few seconds before the applause begins.

Of course they will applaud, but not at this moment. Not just yet.

Paolo Sorrentino
April 2014

PAOLO SORRENTINO is an Italian director, scriptwriter and novelist. His film “La Grande Bellezza” was the winner of an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and a BAFTA for Best Film not in English. His first novel Hanno tutti ragione (Everybody’s Right) was shortlisted for Italy’s Premio Strega, its most highly regarded literary prize.

N. S. THOMPSON is a poet and a translator from the Italian. His translations include three acclaimed crime novels by Roberto Costantini and Sicilian Uncles, a collection of novellas by Leonardo Sciascia.