“Very little. I am what is called a dramatic soprano. The only Italian opera I’ve sung is ‘Norma.’ Do you know it?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve sung Leonore—not in ‘Trovatore,’ in ‘Fidelio.’”
“But surely you admire ‘Trovatore’—the ‘Miserere,’ for instance. Is not that beautiful?”
“It is no doubt very effective, but it is considered very common now.” Evelyn hummed snatches of the opera; then the waltz from “Traviata.” “I’ve sung Margaret.”
“Ah.”
And as she hummed the Jewel Song she watched the Reverend Mother’s face, and was certain that the nun had heard the music on the stage. But at that moment the angelus bell rang. Evelyn had forgotten the responses, and as she walked towards the convent she asked the Reverend Mother to repeat them once again, so that she might have them by heart. She excused h
