FUN ON THE STAGE

Stage drama isn’t always tragic—performers mess around, too. In one opera set on a ship, a joker reportedly popped up through a trapdoor during the “rocking” scene, offering washbasins like a helpful steward: “Anyone need my services?” The audience couldn’t see why the cast was breaking. Another story says the singer Mme. Devrient, playing Leonora, hissed at her slow‑to‑react Florestan: “Why won’t you take the bread—do you want it buttered?” Opera: tears in front, comedy in the wings.