MEMORIES OF DIANA, PART FOUR

"The nose is broken." said Nikos.

"So it is in the original, which is in the Acropolis Museum," said Carl, "It's called 'The Kore of the Almond Eyes'."

"I don't have time for museums." said Nikos.

"You should Make time to learn about your own cultural heritage, Alex." said Carl. "And speaking of culture, I really stopped by to invite you and your wife to be my guests at the opera."

" I don't go to operas." said Nikos, predictably.

"Perhaps it's high time you Did." said Carl, "Expand your horizons! You'll never know What you like if you don't try different things!"

"I would like to go, Alex." said Diana.

Nikos looked startled, as though the table had spoken.

"I have never seen an opera." said Diana, "Please, Alex?"

"Only for you, Diana." said Nikos.

***

"Rigoletto, Act One: We open at the decadent court of the Duke of Mantua, where everyone is preparing for the nightly orgy." Said Carl. "The Tenor - the Duke- sings Questo Quella, a bright bouncy aria about his habit of going from woman to woman, like a bee in a garden of flowers."

Nikos grunted something.

"It's starting!" Diana leaned forward as the curtain rose, her eyes shining.

As Rigoletto the jester pursued his vendetta against the Duke to its tragic end - his discovery that his daughter Gilda had sacrificed her own life to save that of her father's enemy - Diana was enthralled, and Nikos was bored. In fact, he started to snore during the last act.

"It was beautiful, but very sad." Diana said, afterwards.

"Not the best production I've ever seen, but not at all bad." said Carl.

"She died for the man she loved, and he did not know - or care!" said Diana.

"I think the Duke would care if he knew." said Carl. "He is not so much evil as selfish and careless. He's accustomed to getting his own way; he sees a woman he wants, gets her, then discards her and moves on to the next. Gilda offers him True Love, and he returns her feelings, for a little while, but in the end, he can't overcome his own bad habits. That is His tragedy, if you will."

"Gilda dies because she gets caught in the middle of the fight between the two men." said Diana, "But it would not have happened if her father had not become obsessed with getting revenge."

"Of course he did!." said Nikos. "When someone has wronged you, he must be made to pay, however long it takes!"

"I agree." said Carl, "Revenge is sweet, as they say."

"Did Rigoletto think so, when he saw his daughter's dead body?" said Diana.

"You are a child, Diana." said Nikos, "You do not understand these things!"

To Be Continued