an elderly man gazing respectfully at the lady, who proudly held
aloft a family crest. The wine began to do its work; the whole
spectacle seemed slowly to come to life, the horses descending
amongst the partygoers at a slow gallop.
Vivaldi was distracted by the voice of the master of
ceremonies requesting attention for the formal opening of the ball.
In response, people gravitated towards the edge of the dance floor
to stand, or sat down to recover their breath. From all the side-
rooms and galleries masked ball-goers streamed laughing into the
main hall. Frederik IV came into view, with Il Sassone in his wake.
To his huge annoyance Vivaldi saw Frederik IV pass Haendel a
number of gold coins, for which the latter bowed his gratitude. His
chest felt dangerously constricted and Vivaldi knew he should stop
drinking. But common sense had already taken its leave of him two
glasses ago.
As the ballroom fell still, Vivaldi recognised in the master
of ceremonies the stern features of Procurator Mocenigo. His
crimson ceremonial robes swept noiselessly over the polished stone
floor as the procurator took his place solemnly at the centre of the
huge ballroom. Antonio, who had got to his feet, discovered that
he was better sitting down after all and did so; he would just have
to watch the proceedings from his sofa. On the longer side of the
hall, host Sebastiano Foscarini took his place alongside his
ravishing wife Caterina Querini on the richly carved wooden throne
that stood upon a raised dais. Foscarini nodded permission to
Mocenigo for him to speak. A single gesture and the sound of his
powerful voice were enough to silence any remaining noise in the
hall. Now that he had their full attention the procurator bid
everyone welcome in the name of the host, with a particularly
warm welcome for the guest of honour this evening, the Duke of
Olemburg. A wave of sniggering passed around the hall. How much
longer was this pantomime to go on, Antonio asked himself. In
stilted Italian, the ‘Duke’ thanked the procurator for his warm
words and for the wonderful reception that had been given in his
honour. The ball was declared open and Procurator Mocenigo
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