The Phantoms of the Opera
tales, prayers and spells to cast evil away [v.1]
One day, walking in the streets of Milan, the Brazilian composer Carlos Gomes happens upon an Italian translation of Il Guarany. The love story between an indigenous warrior and the daughter of a Portuguese nobleman seemed a perfect plot for a new opera, aligned with the imperial desire for compelling national narratives and the European fascination for everything exotic. But what the maestro didn’t know is that going back in time can have consequences, and together with the sixteenth characters he evoked, other forces came into play.