The audience listening to the opera consisted of local laborers, dressed in dun-colored hemp garments; many more women and elderly than men, with quite a few accompanied by their nearly grown children. And when one looked up, the vast second floor had but two occupants.
Side by side at a wide table with large chairs, ten or more strong men stood behind them. Due to the presence of these individuals, the noise from below quieted down a level.
One of the two at the table was clad in brocaded garments, lean and tall, with handsome features, yet so thin that his cheekbones jutted out, giving his face a rather vicious appearance. This, coupled with a thin scar extending from his cheek to his chin, made him look less like a dashing young gentleman and more like a grim executioner from the nether world. His slender, sharp hands were gently swaying a long fan.
