Dampyr #54 (2004) page 67: Cello superstar

I found some more pages from this story! If this is the first one you've seen, you would be rewarded to start reading this gallery room from the beginning.

Page 67 Valentina peeks through the curtain to see who is conducting the macabre opera: “It’s impossible!”

(Morin) “Valentina, what are you doing still here? They’re about to begin the overture, and you have the first entrance.”

“Vincente, the director of the orchestra is a cellist!”

“Unusual, but Offenbach did it too.”

“The conductor… is Jacques Offenbach!”

“Are you crazy? He must be made up to look like him. Another oddity of this production. Now calm down. It's about to begin.”

Page 68 (Ghost 1 singing in French) “Glug glug glug… I am wine.”

(Ghost 2) “Glug glug glug… I am beer.”

(Both ghosts) “Glug glug glug… We are the friends of men. We drive away fatigue and cares!”

Page 69 (Berthe watches from the rafters above the stage) “How.. how did they do it? Is it a lighting effect or… Those spirits… They look like the ones I thought I saw on Charles Bridge.”

(Harlan) “In fact, there was also a Vodnik (*Aquatic sprite of Prague's Vlatva River) among them. Look, Berthe. Now it's Valentina Ricci's turn to get out of the barrel.”

(Valentina sings in French) “Let me be the fairy's muse. I will save his heart from this mocking demon.”

(Berthe quietly sings along with Valentina) “I wear it as a trophy like a jewel.” (Berthe sang this same song back on pages 27-28, alone on the empty stage. This reminds us that she has the opera memorized. This will be important later.)

(More singing on stage) “Two bottles for Councilor Lindorf.”

Page 70 “Councilor Lindorf, that’s me. But I have a devilish mind. My eyes flash. I have a Satanic aspect in all my physique.”

“Until morning, fill my glass. Tra Lalla Lalla!”

“When we speak of the devil, we see his horns!”

That last panel of the orchestra looks great.