‘No, dearest.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because it already is a libretto. I have written it as such.’
‘For me?’
‘For whom else?’
And I looked at him fondly, and I think tears came to my eyes.
‘You are a genius, Magda!’ he exclaimed. ‘You leave nothing undone for me. The subject is the very thing to suit Villedo.’
‘Who is Villedo?’
‘My jewel, you don’t know who Villedo is! Villedo is the director of the Opéra Comique in Paris, the most artistic opera-house in Europe. He used to beg me every time we met to write him an opera.’
‘And why didn’t you?’