Diary of Marie Bashkirtseff
CZENUKFR

Monday, 20 November 1876

After making the rounds of my dressmakers and having the pleasure of seeing Georges at dinner, we went to see Paul et Virginie, the new opera by V. Massé, of which the highest things are said.
[Written across the page: And naturally I was thinking of Cassagnac while listening to Paul et Virginie. I would have wished him beside me to catch his eyes when the music was at its most beautiful — but as these were... amorous thoughts, I said nothing of them and thought of something else, being disgusted with love by Antonelli.]
Parisian boxes are instruments of torture — we were four, in a front box at a hundred and fifty francs, and could not stir.
An interval of one or two hours between dinner and the theatre, a spacious good box, an elegant and comfortable dress — those are the conditions under which one can understand and adore music.
I was in precisely the contrary conditions — which did not prevent me from listening with all my ears to Engalli the Russian, and watching with all my eyes Capoul, the ladies' darling. Confident of admiration, the blessed artist lunged like a fencer, pushing out his piercing high notes.
No — joking aside, Capoul has understood his role so well that one no longer believes one is watching an actor... he forgets himself, and becomes admirable... in short, he brought back to my mind the declarations and... the kisses of the.... the Roman — how strange!... Already two o'clock in the morning...
Maman, forgetting everything to think only of my welfare, spoke at length with my father. But the gentleman responded with pleasantries, or with phrases of revolting cowardice. At last he said he quite understood this approach, that even Maman's enemies would see nothing but natural in it, and that he knew it would be fitting for his daughter, now of a certain age, to have a father as chaperone. He therefore promises to come to Rome as we propose.
If only I could believe him...
I forgot to say that I have seen Mme de Daillens, who came to visit me in my bed... and then what else?... Nothing.

Notes

Paul et Virginie (1876) by Victor Massé — based on Bernardin de Saint-Pierre's celebrated 1788 novel. ↩
Engalli the Russian — likely a Russian soprano performing in the Paris production. ↩
Victor Capoul (1839–1924) — celebrated French tenor known for his romantic stage presence and his effect on female audiences. ↩