The Instrumentalist

Vivaldi is away on business, and Anna Maria is able to devote more time to practicing and to composing. When he returns, he produces a piece of music he has written just for Anna Maria. She loves it and feels an even stronger connection to him. Even as he advises her to maintain distance between herself and the other girls of the orchestra, she is sure that he has her best interests at heart. Still, she does preserve some small connection to Paulina, whom she still considers a sister, and Chiara.

Paulina comes to Anna Maria one day with shocking news: She is pregnant. Anna Maria argues that they should find some way to terminate the pregnancy, but Paulina balks: All three were unwanted babies whom some mother chose to keep, so she does not wish to terminate her pregnancy. The girls agree to help Paulina hide her pregnancy, deliver her baby, and then slip it secretly into the Pietà’s compartment for babies born out of wedlock.

The girls continue to perform with the figlie di coro, and Anna Maria’s fame increases exponentially. She is the star of the orchestra.

A gazetta arrives which contains a stellar review of the Pietà’s orchestra by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He has praised the figlie di coro before, but Anna Maria is pleased with each new review. She has multiple performances now each week and has little time to work with Vivaldi on his compositions, let alone her own. He is composing something new, something about seasons, and they both hum its developing melodies to themselves as they hurry through the practices and performances that clutter their days.

Rumors spread, however, amongst the Pietà girls, and Sister Madalena is sure that one of them is pregnant. Chiara and Anna Maria manage to keep Paulina’s condition secret for now, but their worries mount. Anna Maria is occasionally troubled by dreams of drowning in the icy-cold waters of the canals, and a dull, throbbing pain has begun to follow each performance. She also must contend with a new difficulty: She is now considered “a beauty,” and patrons have begun to send her clothing for performances. These dresses are often tight, constricting, and difficult to wear while playing. She has no interest in her appearance but still, she presses on. She wants to be the best violinist in the world.

One day, after practice, Vivaldi asks her to stay: Chiara has asked to help him with his compositions. He is furious that Anna Maria told Chiara about their collaborations, and Anna Maria is furious that Chiara would try to usurp her position.

Anna Maria angrily confronts Chiara. Chiara explains that she has been in the orchestra for years without having been singled out like Anna Maria has. She knows how busy Anna Maria has become and thought that perhaps there would be room for her to work alongside Vivaldi too. Chiara adds that she would have consulted Anna Maria before asking Vivaldi, but Anna Maria is so ambitious that she worried Anna Maria would say no. Anna Maria retaliates by insisting that Paulina stop speaking to Chiara. Her rage turns to fear, however, when she finds that she has been “banished” to the villa of Cardinal Barbarigo, an important patron who often employs private musicians. This, however, she realizes is a punishment: Vivaldi has cast her out for revealing their secret to Chiara.

After two weeks, she is called back. Vivaldi welcomes her to practice with the orchestra. He still, she observes with irritation, calls her “Anna.” He has never bothered, during all of these years, to call her by her full name. Still, he seems to have forgiven her and for that she is grateful.

The figlie di coro performs for the empress of Russia, and the performance goes so well that Tartini himself calls out “Maestro!” to Anna Maria after they finish. She has coveted this title since she was a child, and she cannot believe that it has been handed to her by one of the greatest composers of the era. She is so excited that she has a vision of sorts: The audience becomes a group of participants in a masked ball. She feels anxiety mount, and she loses consciousness.

Anna Maria finally works up the courage to show one of her compositions to Vivaldi. He is impressed, and the two decide to perform it at an upcoming concert. The performance goes beautifully, and Anna Maria is pleased by how well she plays and by the audience’s response. She is horrified, however, when Vivaldi fails to credit her for the piece. Since it is clearly a new work, she knows that the audience will assume that it is his. Enraged, Anna Maria stumbles her way through their subsequent number.

After the concert, Vivaldi scolds her: There were important donors there, and she reflected poorly on the Pietà. When she accuses him of taking credit for her work, he brushes the criticism aside. He would, he explains, give her credit at a later date.

Still fuming from their encounter, Anna Maria runs into Paulina, who is in labor. The two see Chiara on their way to somewhere more private, and Chiara insists on helping. As Paulina’s cries grow louder, Anna Maria’s fear mounts: She cannot be found helping Paulina to deliver a baby. She would be dropped from the figlie di coro, and all of her hard work would be for nothing. She begins to retreat from Paulina and Chiara. At first, Paulina begs her to stay, but then angrily screams at her to go.