„Don Carlos”
During my study time, I was involved in various works. At the beginning of my “professional career” I had an episode of play walking parts in the Great Theatre—National Opera(Polish: Teatr Wielki—Opera Narodowa). Along with many other extras, I took part in the staging of the "Don Carlos" opera, performed by the Italian theatre "La Fenice" in Warsaw. I got a role of one of the ladies-in-waiting at the court of the king of Spain. I remember the time of rehearsals and performances very joyfully.
In one of the opera scenes, together with my friends-waiting-maids, I was weaving a huge tapestry which, was hanging and covering almost half of the stage. During that exciting activity (some of my friends got so caught up in it that behaved like on a weaving workshop) the "head of the ladies-in-waiting" approached me, smiling to me in such "natural" way that I needed some time to get used to it and respond an "artistic" smile as well.
One from the friends-waiting-maids was wearing glasses. As you can imagine – on the 16th-century royal court such facilities were not used, so the girl had to take the glasses off for the time of dress rehearsals and performances. She saw very little without them. I didn’t know who came up with the idea of entrusting her the role of the most mobile lady-in-waiting, while the other ones with good eyesight, stood in one place, persistently weaving the tapestry. A friend with the poor sight, which disabled her free movement on the stage, actually had to:
1. Go to the ladder to weave the upper parts of the tapestry.
2. Act with a page whom she had to:
a) notice,
b) give a hand,
c) additionally she got off the ladder and smile at the page sweetly.
3. Moreover she had to go with the page behind the tapestry in the unspecified flirtatious purposes - in practice, behind the tapestry, she had to climb on a wooden platform and go down from it on three steps leading behind the stage.
For a person with such a bad vision it was a real torture. So we had to manage it in following way:
1. We informed the friend quietly about the approaching page.
2. The friend learned by heart all the steps she had to overcome in this scene.
3. The page, acquainted with the sight problems of his "ladylove", gave her his hand and, on the principle of a lever, he secured her way from the stairs.
It seemed that everything was prepared perfectly, not to bring shame to the "La Fenice" theatre and not to provide amusement to the audience of the Great Theatre—National Opera.
Then came the day of the dress rehearsal. The page came up to the friend-waiting-maid who was weaving the tapestry. She came down to him gracefully being held strongly by the hand, smiling happily, more or less in his direction, together with him she went behind the tapestry. We, it means the other ladies-waiting, took care of our work. Suddenly was heard a terrible crash. The rehearsal was stopped. It turned out that the friend forgot about these unfortunate three steps leading from the platform back the tapestry behind the scenes. She fell down making a terrible noise.
I console the inquisitive, my friend didn’t hurt herself, and the first night of the "Don Carlos" opera took place without any obstacles.
