Mr. Cannelloni's Circus

“To whom does that
heavenly bass voice
belong?” Boris cried.
“That voice is untrained,
but his interpretation is most
compelling!”
“It is Valeri, the midget of our
circus,” answered Mr. Cannelloni. “He’s been a
little depressed since we had to cancel his act. Unfortunately,
the new regulations ban the use of human cannonballs.”
“How marvelous!” Boris declared. “A midget bass! We
can form a duo. Our team will be called ’One-and-a Half
Basses.’”
Valeri was less excited about the idea than Boris. In fact,
Rosita had to work hard to persuade Valeri to even go to the
opera singer’s music room to talk to Boris. She promised the
former human cannonball that he could do something that
would remind him of the good old days. The rest of the crew
would have to wait to see what it was.
The day before the show turned out to be a busy one. Rosita
sat in the garden and listened to the duo rehearsing. Luckily,
both singers seemed to be in good spirits.
With the assistance of the rehearsal pianist, they had found
a collection of arias and songs that brought out the best in
both of their voices.
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