Most people who travel to France visit the Arc de Triomphe and the Seine River; if they have the chance, they will definitely want to taste France's famous delicacies: foie gras and French onion soup…
So?
That's why Herb took his family to see a French opera?
Albert couldn't understand Herb's thinking, perhaps it was a sufficient budget, or perhaps it was a rare opportunity, but it wasn't anything important anyway.
Before returning to Britain, the The Anderson Familyfamily took a ride to the Opéra Bastille, preparing to conclude their trip to France with a perfect ending by watching the opera they had booked not long ago.
By the way, this opera was actually "romeo and juliet," which Albert was familiar with.
Albert had seen the movie "romeo and juliet" in his previous life.
As for opera?
He hadn't seen an opera in his previous life, anyway.
With Albert's "help," Herb successfully obtained the tickets he had previously booked.
After passing the ticket check at the entrance of the Opéra Bastille, the group followed the passage into the auditorium.
The opera house usually closes early, and the The Anderson Family family was among the last group of audience members, with most of the audience already seated.
The four walked along the aisle between the seats and quickly found their seats using the numbers on their tickets.
In that row, there were still five empty seats; besides the The Anderson Family family, it seemed there was one more person who hadn't arrived in time.
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To Albert's right was an elderly couple with white hair; perhaps sensing Albert's gaze, the old man turned his head and smiled at him, and Albert politely returned the smile, refocusing his attention on the performance brochure issued by the opera house.
However, the performance brochure was entirely in French, and only Albert could understand it; he quietly spoke the contents to share with his family, and also discussed the opera.
Herb and Daisy had previously watched "romeo and juliet" together, but it was at an opera house in Britain, and this time in France, the adaptation and style of the opera might be slightly different.
The opera "romeo and juliet" is divided into five acts and six scenes.
Albert didn't reveal the plot; spoilers would be very unfriendly to Nia, who hadn't seen it, so it was better to maintain a sense of anticipation.
While the The Anderson Family family was discussing the opera in low voices,
The audience member in the empty seat next to them also rushed in; he was a middle-aged man in his fifties, and his suit gave Albert a strange sense of incongruity.
The middle-aged man seemed to know the elderly couple; as soon as he spoke a few words in a low voice, the theater bell rang, indicating that the opera was about to begin.
The entire theater instantly quieted down, and the dim yellow lights also extinguished, plunging the surroundings into complete darkness, with only the stage still illuminated.
"It's very atmospheric."
Albert stopped talking and focused all his attention on the stage.
To be honest, Albert, who knew nothing about opera, after watching the first act, "In the Capulet Household," his understanding of opera became that the plot is conveyed and expressed through singing and music, but it must be said that this opera still has some charm, and he could still understand what was being expressed on stage, which was much better than the concerts of Celestine Warbeck, famous in the Wizarding World.
The first act of "romeo and juliet" tells the story of romeo and juliet meeting and falling in love, only to discover that they are from feuding families, interspersed with France's unique light, elegant, and romantic style.
Albert glanced at his family in his leisure time; Daisyand Herb had already entered a state of appreciation, while Nia, who didn't quite understand the opera, was covering a yawn with her hand.
She probably found it boring!
This was not surprising; if he were just a child, he would certainly be in the same situation.
By the way, the middle-aged man next to Nia actually entered a state of trance; it was clear he had no interest in opera himself but had to accompany his family to watch it.
"Their voices are really amazing!"
This was Nia's exclamation after the curtain fell, which made Albert next to her a little amused, but he still held back his laughter, only gently replying, "Yes!"
romeo and juliet were both high-pitched singers; as Niasaid, their voices were truly amazing, able to produce such high notes.
The second act didn't keep the audience waiting long and was soon performed, set in the garden outside Juliet's bedroom, where romeo and juliet secretly pledged their eternal love.
Looking at the French on the performance brochure, Albert explained the general story of the previous act to Nia during the free time after the performance ended and the curtain fell.
"I bet they won't end up together," Nia said after listening.
"With them being enemies and all, how could they possibly end up together? It's definitely a tragedy."
The third act began amidst Nia's murmurs…
As for the outcome of "romeo and juliet," it naturally ended in tragedy, just as Nia had said.
Romeo was banished for killing Juliet's cousin, and the two planned to fake their deaths and secretly marry, but the Friar's messenger was delayed en route, failing to deliver the message to Romeo in time, directly leading to the fifth act, where Romeo poisoned himself in a tender, lyrical, and melancholic tone, and Juliet, upon waking to find her beloved dead, drew a sword and committed suicide to be buried with him.
The curtain slowly descended, and enthusiastic applause erupted in the opera house.
"How was it? The opera wasn't bad, right?" Herb asked with a smile.
"Not bad," Albert thought for a moment and then said, "But I still think movies suit me better."
"What about Nia?" Daisy asked.
"She's here, I've been holding her hand the whole time." Albert's gaze fell on the empty seat in front; that middle-aged man had actually left midway through?
When did that happen? He hadn't even noticed?
"Nia, what are you doing?" Daisy frowned, reminding her, "We're leaving, hold Albert's hand, don't get separated."
"Let's go," Herb added, "Don't push, and don't rush, just follow the crowd as they slowly disperse."
"I know that, let's go, Nia," Albert replied.
After leaving the Opéra Bastille, Nia suddenly asked, "Albert, do you think romeo and juliet would have ended up together if that messenger had arrived in time?"
"No!" Albert said calmly.
"Why?" Nia tilted her head and asked.
"Because the messenger will always be late, even if he's not, Shakespeare would make the messenger late," Albert said indifferently.
"Cough cough! Albert means that romeo and juliet are just characters in a play, so their fate is already sealed," Herb choked on Albert's words and quickly explained.
"What if it were in reality?" Nia asked again.
"They would definitely be together," Daisy quickly reassured her, glaring slightly at her son and husband, telling them to shut up and not ruin the romantic atmosphere here; girls naturally hoped that romeo and juliet could be together, not just buried together after death.
"Nia, what were you picking up just now?" Albertchanged the subject.
"Oh, right, I was just picking this up," Nia handed a golden card in her hand to Herb, "It must be something a spectator lost."
"What is this?" Herb was also stunned after looking at it. Because this wasn't a nominal gold card, but a real gold card, a gold card made of gold.
"Gold?" Albert stared at the card made of gold, frowning slightly.
In fact, they all felt quite speechless; a "gold card" was just a figure of speech, they never expected someone would actually be so extravagant as to make a gold card out of real gold, how bored must one be?
The world of the wealthy, it's truly incomprehensible!
"You all wait here for a moment, I'll go hand it over to the staff at the Opéra Bastille," Herb said, preparing to return to the Opéra Bastille with the gold card to hand it over to the staff there.
"Let me see it, I feel like the writing on it looks familiar."
Herb found that he couldn't understand the runic writing on the gold card. However, he did understand the image; it seemed to be a pot and a stick.
Just as Albert took the gold card, something unexpected happened; his hand holding the gold card suddenly veered in a certain direction, as if a powerful force was trying to pull the gold card away.
"What's going on?"
Albert immediately reacted; as the gold card was about to slip from his fingertips, he instinctively grabbed it and focused his attention on the gold card, his protective wristband neutralizing the effect of the Accio.
"What just happened?" Herb was greatly surprised; he also saw the scene where the gold card almost flew away on its own.
"A Wizard is using a spell to summon it," Albert casually explained, "But that bastard really knows how to cause me trouble."
"What's wrong?" Daisy asked.
"I wonder if the other party using Accio will be blamed on me," Albert muttered, he hated the thought of inexplicably becoming a scapegoat one day.
That's why he decided to keep this gold card. As for the Shield Charm on the protective wristband?
magic on magical items is not monitored by the Ministry of Magic, just like using a Flying Broom, so Albertwasn't worried about that aspect at all.
"Are you saying…" Nia asked in a low voice, "that person who was next to us earlier was a Wizard?"
"Don't discuss these things here," Albert warned in a low voice.
"Should we return this gold card, or hand it over to the people at the Opéra Bastille to deal with?" Daisysuggested, she didn't want an unknown Wizardsuddenly showing up at their door to demand the gold card.
"Don't worry, nothing will happen," Albert glanced at the runic writing on it: Extraordinary Potioneers Association.
If he wasn't harassed by the Ministry of Magic's owls, Albert would return this membership gold card to its original owner through other means.
If he really was inexplicably blamed, he would wait for the other party to help clear up the misunderstanding before returning it to them.
Speaking of which, are all these potion makers rich people? To be so extravagant as to use gold for membership gold cards.
And, this membership gold card was actually a magicitem?