Roman Republic of 1849

 1842

 

1843

 

1844: in June the revolutionary Bandiera Brothers were executed via firing squad, screaming “viva l’italia”. This didn't go over well for the papacy

 

1845: Nicolas is 10 years old. He notices how some of the older boys are changing, and it was destroying their voices. He becomes petrified, as his musical ability was the one thing he felt beautiful at. He trains like mad and reads the works of great singers.

 

1846: Determined to make of himself a more perfect instrument, he seeks the pathway of another hero of his--Farinelli-- and starts hanging out with the aging castrati who are still in Vatican City.  in June Pope Gregory dies. Pope Pious IX is controversially elected later than month. He is super liberal by comparison and generally beloved overall.

 

1847: Nicolas becomes obsessed with self mutilation as he continues to try to find a surgeon who would perform this castration. When he realizes that he can sustain an erection and even ejaculate a little, he panics. He convinces his closest friend, an older Castrati, to find him a surgeon. 

When they finally find a guy willing to do it, the doctor pressures young Nicolas to re-consider. The surgeon promises that "the love of a woman is worth all the music in heaven." Nicolas screams and rips off his own mask in fury saying, "there are no women for me so music it is!" And the child's face was so hideous that the surgeon agreed.

Nicolas first encounters narcotics.

 

1848: In February, the riots begin. In march, a constitution is declared. Erik gives his first solo performance: he makes a new mask just for the occasion and it's so life like compared to what he's grown accustomed to that he decides to sing in front. And as people began to shower him with praise, Nicolas noticed the girls about his age or a little older who were peering closely in the candle lit chapel to try and make out the face of the voice.... which one is he? 

And one of them spotted him and he watched the reaction ripple through a whole line of teenaged village girls. He nearly lost his breath when he noticed the attention. 

And was suddenly upset for the first time about his castration.

In June the pope puts his foot down and says, “NO I am not going to war with Austria! You guys are bullies and jerks and this is enough to make be stop being a liberal pope!” This doesn't go over well with the revolutionaries. 

Nicolas treats himself like Gods instrument, working on beating Farinelli's records in vocal range and lung capacity. He focuses everything to music and liturgy. He is the best and brightest. He trusts his own judgement.

He is getting into fights with the liturgy professor over appropriateness of sounds or symbols. But he is very lonely. He doesn't seem to quite interact with the other boys well and the mask puts them out of sorts. No one has managed to get it off of his face yet, because he's slippery and quick. 

When he spends time with humans, they're elderly and authoritative. So he spent most of his time alone. And it ate up at him to be so alone amongst so many people.

Nicolas heard the foreigner's violin and started really getting back into playing. He began speaking to his violin, at first in jest, but then all the time and passionately. He named her Noelle. Rossi is assassinated in November. The next day a mob attacks the pope and shots are fired. He prepares to flee Rome; goes south to Gaeta November 24th in disguise.

 

1849: February: political shouting in the Apollo Theatre. Nineth of February, the revolutionaries seized Rome. Nicolas is 14 or so. The Roman Republic lives for five months. On April 25th, 10,000 strong french army lands on shores of Rome. The revolutionaries prepare for the oncoming siege. April 27-29 the heroes are returning to Rome from elsewhere, battlements are being made, rabble is being --generally--roused. On April 30th French troops succumb to out of date cartography and can't find the entrance. The revolutionaries get them completely by surprise by disguising the first canon blast as the noon day gun. The siege begins in earnest on June 1st.  Mancini’s attempt at diplomacy was fatal to the Roman Republic. French army beats republic June 29. where ever we are there is Italy. “A truce was drawn up July first, and the revolutionaries marched out solemnly the following day. The French forces immediately got to work re-instating the power of the Holy See in Rome, but His Holiness had grown very weary of militias and liberal mobs, and stayed away from Rome until the following Spring. And by then Nicolas had gone”

Nicolas suffered a complete psychological break. Between his obsession with practice, self- mutilation, confused feelings about sex and what it meant for him as a castrated male, he collapsed in upon himself and goes completely catatonic. As he healed, he and the violin switched names. The violin took the name Nicole and he became Noel. Noel abandons mother church at the age of 14 and quickly makes his way as a street performer: always in an expressive commedia mask.

 

1850: The pope returns in April. 

 

1851: