But who knows the truth? Andre, the enigmatic organist with a mysterious past? The slightly sinister musical director Salzella? Poor Walter Plinge, harmless dogsbody? Agnes is sensible, practical and has acres of common sense but even she might need a little help. And it becomes more urgent when the Ghost begins to kill. Cue a subterfuge of the highest order.īut who is the Opera Ghost? As Agnes is drawn deeper into life at the Opera House, with its highly-strung cast and its confused new owners (formerly in the cheese business, they’re now beginning to regret taking on such an absurd enterprise), she becomes determined to solve the mystery. And, when Christine complains to Agnes that someone is talking to her in the middle of the night, and convinces Agnes to swap rooms, Agnes discovers that the Opera Ghost has become smitten with Christine and has great plans for her. Christine is bright, happy, enthusiastic, pretty, vapid and completely without talent. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Agnes’s fellow newbie fits the physical bill exactly. We’re stuck firmly in the realm of belcanto and the vogue is for wilting, consumptive heroines. They swiftly recognise her potential, but the problem is that Agnes is a fine figure of a woman and, on the Discworld anyway, Wagner hasn’t been invented yet. She can sing in harmony with herself, project her voice and tackle any aria the management throw at her. She has a range that extends beyond human hearing in both directions. A glorious parody of The Phantom of the Opera, this has always been an absolute favourite of mine, and it’s only got better on rereading.Īgnes’s voice is extraordinary for numerous reasons. Fortunately for the world at large, Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg have come to Ankh-Morpork too, just to keep an eye on Agnes, and they are more than a match for any man who ponces around in evening dress and a mask. It sounds like a great idea, until she discovers that opera types are an odd bunch: neurotic, superstitious and obsessed with the resident Opera Ghost, who leaves maniacal notes with too many exclamation marks, and demands that the best box in the house is reserved for him. Instead, she’s going to Ankh-Morpork to become a singer at the Opera House.
She doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life being known as the big girl with a lovely personality and great hair, and she isn’t going to meekly join Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg as dogsbody in their coven.
Agnes Nitt, formerly of Lancre, has had enough.
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