He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 158

158. Song Battle (2)

Clap clap- Wow-

Ooh-

Whoo-hoo!

Amazing! The best!

As Arnold Smith’s aria concluded, the party hall seemed to erupt with applause and cheers.

Bravo~ Bravo~

Clap clap clap-

Whoo-hoo~ Clap clap- Wonderful!

The aria sung by a young man from a noble family, not a professional opera singer, made everyone, including those who saw him for the first time and those who knew him, cheer.

Although there were a few minor imperfections in the high notes, it was a wonderful performance that could be generously overlooked considering he was not a professional.

“Wow, I’m really surprised.”

“I’ve known for a long time that Lord Arnold’s singing skills are top-notch, but I didn’t realize he was this good.”

“Exactly. This is definitely not amateur level. It’s almost like a professional opera singer.”

People around whispered in great admiration.

Taewoo seemed to understand now why Arnold had shown such strong confidence.

‘With that level of skill, he would have stood out among ordinary people, and he must have lived with a sense of superiority. But… his opponent is Patrick, who discovered hidden genius.’

Who was Bach? Although he is older and has stepped back from the limelight, his musical depth and insight are incomparable to anyone else.

He was the one who praised Patrick as the voice of God and chose him as the protagonist of a new opera dedicated to his father.

However, since Patrick had never sung in front of so many people, the concern was whether he could perform properly without getting nervous.

Duke Perry, who was sitting next to him, clapped his hands towards the stage and said to Taewoo,

“Lord Sanderson? Lord Arnold really sang well, didn’t he? Amazing. I didn’t know he was that good. I was so surprised.”

“Yes, he’s really good.”

Seeing Arnold coming down from the stage with a smile, his friends whispered to Olivia.

“Seeing him today, I see Lord Arnold in a new light, you know.”

“I know. It was good when he just sang, but it’s even more touching to hear it with such a wonderful performance.”

“You must be happy, Olivia! Lord Arnold was only looking at you while singing, haha.”

“Oh, stop it….”

Olivia also seemed to like Arnold’s performance, as she didn’t look displeased.

Patrick Bogart, waiting for his turn next to the stage, caught Taewoo’s eye.

Although he was far away, his anxiousness was palpable.

His shoulders were tense, perhaps due to stress. He had heard that in that state, the sound inside the body would not resonate properly.

Fortunately, the experienced Bach was giving him various pieces of advice to ease his tension.

Taewoo could only hope that Patrick would endure and overcome this pressure on his own.

Bach stood in front of the chamber orchestra, and Patrick was waiting to go on stage, but the party hall was still chaotic and noisy.

Arnold’s performance was so impressive that the afterglow had not yet faded, and most people looked like they didn’t know who Patrick was.

Some of the young people who knew Patrick covered their mouths and burst into laughter, as if they were dumbfounded.

Some friends looked at Patrick with pity, saying that he was singing after Arnold of all people.

Patrick finally stepped onto the stage.

‘…….’

Whether it’s a small or large stage, you get the feeling that the audience’s attention is focused on you.

Patrick’s shoulders, which had been tense with nervousness, became more rigid and shrank as he received people’s attention.

‘If he sings in that state, he will never be able to produce a good sound….’

Taewoo was looking at Patrick with pity when Lord Arnold Smith came down to the audience and was chatting noisily with Olivia’s friends.

“I was really surprised, Lord Arnold. I didn’t know you were that good!”

“That’s right! You were as good as an opera singer!”

“No. I don’t know how many mistakes I made. I’m just ashamed that I couldn’t perform properly.”

With the appearance of today’s star, Arnold, people got up from their seats and patted him on the back, pouring out encouragement and praise.

This further exacerbated the chaotic atmosphere of the venue.

Aware of this, Olivia clapped her hands loudly towards Patrick to encourage him.

「♪~♬♬~ ♪~ ♫~」

Soon, the long prelude to the aria that Patrick would sing began with Bach’s conducting.

It was the aria ‘Ombra fedele anch’io’ [I am also a faithful shade] from the opera *Idaspe*, which had become a hot topic when Farinelli [famous castrato singer] sang it.

Olivia, with her hands neatly gathered on her chest, was looking up with expectant eyes.

At that moment, her eyes met Patrick’s head-on.

Patrick stared down at her for a moment, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes tightly.

‘…….’

「♪~♬♬~ ♪~ ♫~」

And after a while, he opened his eyes wide.

However, the look in his eyes was completely different from before.

It wasn’t just his eyes. As if by magic, his emotions changed, and the tension in his shoulders relaxed.

Taewoo, who had been watching all these subtle changes, let out a sigh of relief.

‘Phew- he’s got the emotions right.’

Now, Patrick felt relaxed, not afraid or impatient.

「♩~♬♬~ ♪~ ♫~♯」

And,

As the long prelude of the introduction ended, Patrick’s voice finally began to flow from his mouth.

“Om~bra fe-de – le~♬~ anch’io~♪~”

The reason why Duke Perry’s party hall became quiet in an instant was when Patrick Bogart sang the first verse of the aria.

The gentleman who was talking to someone,

The noblewoman who was fanning herself and complaining about the heat,

The maid who was clearing the plates on the table and carrying food,

Even Lord Arnold, who was so excited and talking about his performance, all closed their mouths at Patrick’s first verse and turned their heads to the stage.

The smile disappeared from the face of composer Martin, who was watching Bach and Patrick’s performance with his arms crossed.

“Sul mar– gi-ne di le- te~♬~”

And with the following unbelievable tone of the aria, the noisy party hall became as quiet as a mouse.

The orchestra’s performance, 맞춰 [matching] to Bach’s elegant conducting, made Patrick’s voice stand out even more.

“se – guir vo’ I’l – dol mi-o~ ♬~”

As Patrick’s voice echoed throughout the party hall, the space they breathed in transformed into a completely different world.

“che tan~ – ♬♬♪ ♩♪ ♩ – to a- do- ro~♬”

The high notes that went up endlessly were not skillful fake sounds.

He was singing in true voice, not falsetto, but the high notes were so relaxed and natural, showing the ultimate in softness and comfort.

Patrick, like a bird that had escaped from its cage, flew freely with natural and free gestures, immersed in overwhelming emotions.

While singing,

Sometimes he looked at the sky,

Sometimes he stared at people,

Sometimes he stretched out his hand.

He controlled people’s emotions with his overwhelming volume, making them feel ecstatic.

Taewoo couldn’t believe that he was filling this large party hall with just his voice, without a microphone or speakers.

“se – guir vo’ I’l – dol mi-o~ ♬~”

The place where he sent his gaze seemed to be lit with bright light, and the place where his touch reached seemed to be filled with fragrance.

People’s heads moved along with the melody of the sound flowing from his mouth, and they were overwhelmed with emotion and shed tears at the feast of high notes that went up and down.

Some people even felt dizzy and sat down from the terrifying thrill felt in the endless high notes.

The midsummer night in the hot weather was heating up as if it would suffocate with people’s heat.

Only,

The world seemed to be filled only with his beautiful voice.

‘I feel… strange….’

He had expected it to some extent, but the feeling he received in the actual field was beyond Taewoo’s ability to handle.

A scene from the movie ‘Farinelli’, which he thought was an exaggerated production, was unfolding before Taewoo’s eyes.

When he came to his senses and looked around, Duke Perry was listening to the song, completely enraptured, and Olivia was teary-eyed with emotion.

Olivia’s friends left Lord Arnold, who had turned pale, next to them and were deeply immersed in Patrick’s aria with their mouths wide open.

Bach’s face, filled with joy, was also visible.

He seemed to have not expected him to do this well, and he was completely immersed in conducting.

Bach’s wife, who said she was happy to hear his voice all month long, was all teary-eyed.

The aria, which lasted for about 10 minutes, was now reaching its climax.

The high notes, which felt like all the blood in his body was rising in reverse, filled the space, and people stopped breathing and focused on Patrick’s every note.

Then suddenly, the sound of the orchestra stopped all at once.

And only Patrick’s voice filled the party hall and spread.

“Ah ah A~~~ah ah~~♬ Aaaaaaaaa~~~~♬♪”

Patrick’s high notes went up endlessly, making people go wild.

And as if to send off Patrick’s last long voice, the magnificent performance of the stringed instruments decorated the finale of the aria.

「♬♪~♩- ♫~ ♬–」

All the performances stopped, and the 10-minute aria ended like that.

‘…….’

The party hall was as quiet as if cold water had been poured on it.

People, overwhelmed by the emotion they received from the heavenly sound, were just staring blankly at Patrick, 넋을 잃은 [넋을 잃은 – lost their souls].

“Bravo… Bravo!- Bravo!- Bravo!”

Only after hearing the Duke’s enthusiastic cheers did applause and praise pour out like a waterfall.

– Wow- Clap clap clap-

– Oh, my god- the high notes, oh my god-

– Wow- that’s really crazy! Haha. Crazy!

– It was really a heavenly voice! Wow!

Patrick, who came to his senses from the enthusiastic response, took a breath and showed an bewildered expression.

The eyes of people who had no interest in him just 10 minutes ago were all focused on the stage.

Their overwhelming and excited emotions were conveyed to Patrick’s heart as they were.

Bach slowly came up to the platform.

His forehead was covered with sweat, and his eyes were moist with tears of emotion.

Bach hugged Patrick tightly and whispered.

“I expected it, but Lord Patrick has exceeded my expectations, haha. Really… wonderful. You were so great! It was the best aria of my life.”

It was only after Bach’s praise that Patrick smiled.

And the faces of Arnold Smith, whose face had turned earthy, and Olivia, who was flushed and holding her hands tightly together while staring at him, came into Patrick’s eyes.

* * *

Thud- Thud-

“Seeing Arnold laughing at me in the tension of the first stage, I 오히려 [on the contrary] gained courage.

And most people were talking without much interest, but when I saw Olivia cheering with sincerity, I suddenly felt overwhelmed.”

In the carriage going home, Patrick calmly told Taewoo about what happened at the performance.

“And I closed my eyes and remembered what Lord Sanderson said earlier. That feeling of receiving great cheers and being recognized by people for the first time. Surprisingly, my mind calmed down.”

As expected, that was the reason for the sudden change in his emotions before he started singing.

Then Taewoo, who suddenly became curious, asked.

“But what’s strange is that I know this song too, but when you sang it earlier, I think you naturally went up to 4 octave ‘C’, as well as 3 octaves, right?”

He had heard from Bach that he was not yet able to handle 3 octaves because of lack of practice.

But the song he sang today sounded as stable as Farinelli, who sang from 1 octave ‘C’ to 4 octave ‘C’ (C3 to C6) without shaking.

Patrick scratched his head at Taewoo’s question.

“That was amazing to me too. When I practiced with Bach, there were definitely parts that were still 버거운 [difficult], but I didn’t feel that way at all during today’s performance. Maybe I put more effort because there was an audience.”

“That’s right. You can get energy when there are people watching.”

Taewoo was lost in thought as he watched Patrick, who had become a completely different person in a month.

‘I’ve never felt such emotion since I was born. Even if Farinelli was at his peak, would he have been this good?’

◈ 6 months later, December 24, 1781.

Christmas Eve.

A crowd of people flocked to the opera house in the center of London.

It was to see Bach’s new opera ‘The Pilgrim’s Journey’.

Patrick Bogart’s amazing performance at Duke Perry’s birthday party quickly spread by word of mouth, and the intense interest carried over to Bach’s opera performance, where Patrick was a tenor.

And finally, the curtain of the performance rose.

The audience who watched the performance was in deep shock at the rumor that a nobleman who sang high notes like a castrato was playing the tenor role.

The opera ‘The Pilgrim’s Journey’ exploded with unconventional and 장엄한 [magnificent] energy that had never been seen before, giving the audience tremendous joy.

The praise was not only from the audience.

‘The Pilgrim’s Journey’ received rave reviews from various critics and experts and stood out as the best work of this era.

Thanks to this, the opera was a great success.

It became so popular that it made Bach, who had been struggling financially, rich in an instant.

Patrick Bogart received numerous love calls from all over Europe and became famous as a singing nobleman.

And next to him was Patrick’s lover, Olivia, always with him.