Once in Sydney, Lajos and Natasha made contact with Ophelia Hartley. They met for a prearranged lunch at a restaurant near the Opera House. They took the opportunity to talk about a rehearsal and a plan for the balance of the week.
They were initially booked for the stage containing approximately 500 seats. But once when word got out that Natasha would also perform there was such a heavy demand for tickets that the theatre management switched them to the larger proscenium stage containing 1500 seats. Those extra seats were sold out completely within minutes of going on public sale. Apparently, Natasha's participation in Pamela's "Deep South Tour" had made her an irresistible draw for the classical music audience.
There was a performance scheduled each night Monday to Saturday at 8:00 and two matinee performances one Wednesday afternoon and the other on Saturday afternoon.
With the completion of their mutual induction to the Mile High Club, the two of them slept comfortably on the plane for the balance of the trip. As a result, Lajos and Natasha were suitably refreshed and young enough to withstand the rigors of the extreme jet lag. Ophelia had arrived two days prior and thus had acclimatized herself to the Australian time.
Because of the unprecedented interest in Natasha, Ophelia was agreeable to change the structure of these concerts; even at virtually the last minute. They would perform three one hour segments in each performance. The first segment would consist of a program of cello sonatas with Ophelia and Lajos; the second segment would consist of violin sonatas with Natasha and Lajos, and the evening would end with a segment of trios, featuring obviously all three of them.
Since they had decided on these changes only a few weeks prior, it was essential to rehearse. Now the violin and cello sonatas would require little or no rehearsal time. Lajos and Ophelia had been preparing for months for this program and although they had never performed together, their professionalism would get them through. Likewise, although Lajos and Natasha had only performed together for the Enescu recording they had a natural infinity for performing together. The fact they were lovers no doubt was a major factor for their musical harmony. It was the playing of the trios for which rehearsal practice was deemed absolutely essential.
They agreed on a three hours rehearsal session at the Opera House that very afternoon, so that the evening performance should not be disappointing. They had previously agreed to set aside Thursday and Friday to record the proposed CD consisting of Tchaikovsky and Schubert trios, along with Natasha's composition.
In other words, the week would prove to be hectic indeed and Natasha was fearful there would be not much time left for sex. Certainly, a marathon sex session was out of the question except perhaps for the last night. In that case Natasha and Lajos felt there was no obstacle to indulge in passionate sex between themselves fully to their ultimate desires. After all they could sleep on the plane, since they would be flying out from Sydney on separate planes. Lajos would head for Japan, whereas Natasha would be wending her way back to Chicago.
The rehearsal progressed successfully to everyone's mutual satisfaction. The three of them were absolutely compatible with each other. Ophelia was a delight to work with. Although she was much more established concert artist and had a demonstratively significant career to show for it, she had no arrogance or pretension to her. She was very cognizant of the musical talents both Natasha and Lajos were blessed with. She was not reluctant to acknowledge it and gave the impression she deemed it a privilege to work with them. As Natasha and Lajos held her in very high regard, they could not help but be flattered by Ophelia's approbation.
The concert that initial evening was a smashing success. That is as smashing as the staid and aloof classical music crowd can spontaneously demonstrate enthusiasm. At the end of the evening there was applause and cheering that might be considered lame by the standards of a successful rock music concert. But by standards of classical music concerts the reaction of the audience was thunderous approval.
Ophelia, Natasha and Lajos repaired to an exclusive high scale bar in the hotel they were staying at to celebrate their performance. They were jubilant in their personal assessment of their own performances. Not only was there no embarrassing miss-note in the entire evening performance, but they each played with a passion that they knew few musicians were capable of achieving never mind actually even getting close to achieving.
The celebratory drinks were easily consumed. They just tasted better in the euphoria of enjoying ultimate professional success. As a result, there was a definite loosening of inhibitions that would normally be in place considering how little acquainted Natasha and Lajos were with Ophelia. The conversation became more frank as each one of them contemplated the obvious success of their concert.
Now Natasha had a double perspective that the others did not have. She certainly was excited at the end of the Pamela concerts, reveling in her artistic success there. Still, Natasha sensed knew her artistic success here tonight was much more meaningful. Although she was jocular with her aunts when describing her emotions after a concert still there was more truth than poetry in assessing her reaction. Natasha did indeed believe that for a successful classical music performance, deep concentration was required. She had to be prepared to surrender her soul to achieve a truly worthwhile performance. This she had done that night, and she was exhilarated as a consequence.
She did not know if this was true for any other musician but she envied Ophelia. Now Ophelia's performance that night was out of this world as well but it seemed like she was not required to exert as much effort to achieve this passionate performance.
With such thoughts Natasha asked Ophelia, "I once told two of my aunts that when I perform classical music, I am required to pour my heart and soul into it if I hope to achieve a credible performance. After such a successful performance like tonight, I'm drained but also exhilarated. I laughingly suggested to my aunts that the feeling I have is akin to the feeling I enjoy after a most intensive orgasm where my partner has successfully stimulated my 'G' spot.
"Now tonight you performed as passionately and as effectively if not more so than I, but I could not detect that you were under the gun to exert the maximum effort like I'm required to do. Is it safe to say that you are a natural born gifted musician already talented as soon as you had exited your mother's womb? Could that be the explanation of why I must expend blood, sweat and tears to produce a worthwhile performance while all you have to is smile and pick up your bow?"
Ophelia laughed at Natasha's picturesque language. She replied, "Rest assured my dear Natasha that I must constantly and relentlessly practice if I am to maintain the quality of my musicianship. I don't have any inborn natural talent given by God that affords me the luxury to neglect the mundane requirements to practice.
"As to passion I guess the most likely answer to reconcile our differing styles is that you Natasha play with passion because you have passion in your life. While I don't play with passion because I do not have passion in my life."
Natasha protested, "No! No! No Ophelia! You do play with passion. During that first hour when I was a spectator and had the opportunity of watching you intently, I could easily see that you were into the music. You certainly had a passion for it. From, my perspective, it seemed like you were playing visibly effortlessly and that is what I am wondering about."
