Pel-Thenhior was writing out of order. He had the first scene and the last scene, and was going through and writing what he called the “good bits.” Then he would go back and fill in the rest. “If I’ve done it right, there won’t be much to fill in because the whole opera will be good bits. Just some transitions and getting people on and off stage.”
I had been trying to keep track of the characters Pel-Thenhior was jettisoning, combining, outright inventing. “It sounds like an opera with more parts for men than women.”
“Yes,” said Pel-Thenhior. “It’s the opposite of Zhelsu in that as in many other respects. It will please the traditionalists. And then the next opera, I can do something shocking again. If you’re shocking every time, people get bored and stop paying attention, and I’ll take any reaction to my operas except boredom.”
“Even a riot?”
“They cared,” said Pel-Thenhior. “So, yes, even a riot.””
