Someone deadly beneath (part1)

Billy was fascinated with popular culture dated long before his time. Therefore, the score, which says something about him, consist of music from that era.

They include, (in no particular order) Nobody's Child, Are You Lonesome Tonight, Abony Eyes, You'll Win Again, Happy Together, That's Life, Don't Let me Get Me, Love Child, About You Now, Letter to My Unborn Child, Heart breaker, Heaven Sent, Miracle, Maybe, Somewhere Down the Road, Disciplined Child, Nothing Compares to You, Rebel Rebel, The Greatest Love of All, Girl, Daddy, I'm Gonna Miss You, Hardcore, I Need To Be In Love, Hellraiser, Snowflakes, History, My Way, Like Father Like Son, Tommorrow, Who Knew?, heaven must have sent you, A Tough Act to Follow, Earth Angel, The Wonder of You, Alone Again, Thanks For My Child, I Say Goodbye to Love, The Wanderer, F*** Friends, My Way, No Ordinary Morning, River Deep Mountain High, Wonderwall, Yellow, Tainted Love, I Can Change, This is How You Remind me, Someday, When I used to Love You, A Statue of a Fool, Solitaire, Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, How Could I Leave, It's a Hard Knock Life.....

libretto by
Theresa

Characters:

Jade lead soprana
Billy, Bass-Baritone
Alome, Billy's mom Contralto
Bibby, Billy's grandmother soprana
Vin, bass
Doll soprana
Barker bass
Nat
Nat
Lisa
Lisa
Carl
Tony
SOphie Soprana

The scenes are set in England, Ireland and Canada.

Editorial Notes
Hey. Well, I'm Theresa. I'm 17.

Billy was never short of sweet names to call Jade: his 'pride and joy', 'heaven-sent', his 'greatest achievement', his 'little miracles, his 'blessings'.....'

Actually, Jade is not her real name. However, I am certain that if Billy had had the chance, that is the name he would given her.

Anyway, this libretto consists of pieced snippets of Billy's life and times, recounted to me by those closest to him. They were either part of the tales themselves, or the tales were recounted to them by the man himself. It seemed it gave him a thrill just to relate what he was going through. And he was very candid too. I also made use of Jade's and Billy's diaries.

The libretto is written both in proses and spoken dialogues.

Synopsis

Billy had merely heard about the iconic motion picture, Dreams: The Opera. Thanks to UK Gold, as a child, he caught a few episodes of the TV series, Dreams. It was based on the film. He may have seen just a few episodes, but, along with Tony, his favourite leading character, they were enough to touch his life forever. Incidentally, Tony shared middle name with Billy's da.......

....You see, Billy must have outraged them earlier in his life, when footages of his well-documented antics, made it on prime time television. Not just once or twice. But Loads. He was certain that people must have been sidetracked by such footages. But little did they know that there was far more to him than they could see.

However, like my great great grand-dad, who great great grand mother described as a 'liar and a cheat but everyone loved him', Billy got away with murder. Sometimes. Most times.

Billy did not deny that he was a handful and that he had a dark side. Even though he sometimes gave the impression that he glorified his demons like a badge of honour. The truth is, he fought relentlessly to exorcise them. Even the UK's ASBOs, to which he was no stranger, were powerless in keeping him in check.

I promise to detail Billy's story. Not the long and short of it. Okay, not quite. The only bit that has been cut out are the parts that are suitable only for grown-ups. But, in the words of Maru, notorious, but acclaimed orator and Billy's greatest idol, 'to chastise him for growing from bad to worse, is to ignore his background.'

Sand and Stones in a Nutshell

In a number of ways, Billy's 33 years were destined for the Opera. His journey was quite interesting. He had an interesting past also. So there was never a dull moment in his life. It was characterized by action, drama, humour, horror, mystery, poetry, romance, adventure, er, fiction, last but not least, musical.

No. Billy was not an orphan. But that does not mean that his life was any different. He was a love child. The one who he heard the Supremes sang about on the radio. Endured scorn, rejection and hurt. Never meant to be. Born and grew up in poverty. Always second best. Different from the rest. Lived in doubt. Lived without the simplest things....never quite as good, ...had no name, afraid, ashamed, misunderstood....

Up to age thirteen, when Billy first met his 'da', his beloved 'nan' was the only parent that he knew.

Billy dropped out of school a year later despite being called a star pupil by one of his teachers. Billy's 'da' told him that he started working for himself at 14, so Billy should do the same.

Billy became the boy Cinderella. He took his step-sister's cue and hatched a plan to run away. Away from his 'da' and step-mother. He just could not endure the suffering, neglect and abuse anymore.

Billy searched for his mom and finally found her when he was 16 years old. She did not tell him about his real dad until when he was about 19. Billy met him years later.

She was either unlucky or foolish in love. None of the men who fathered her 'many' kids was any good.

Despite homelessness, bullying, addictions, depression etc, Billy shone at the evening school for teenagers who sought a second chance at education. Unable to pay his tuition, he was kicked out. Nard, his 'cousin' who he grew up with like brothers, was murdered and it devastated him.

Later, he also lost a mate, his beloved brother, a mother figure and also a father figure. The trend continued. That was how the father of one, became the father of many. When his beloved 'nan' died, it hurt him so much that he cried almost everyday.

It seemed everything and everyone that meant something to him were either, biblical(Gideon), fictional(Oliver, Huck and Tom, Dorian, Annie), already dead or died later.

Whereas some of the people Billy idolized and felt a connection with were saintlike, the others were often viewed in a negative light: trouble, unteacheable, weirdo, controversy magnet, homicial maniac, troubled, reclusive, suicidal, psychopath, moody, doomed romantics, insane, anorexic, irrepressible, alcoholic, insufferable, self-destructive, misunderstood....

From the lot who were still around, da's favourite was Bruce. Bruce hated his Da for deserting him and his mom when Bruce was just a toddler. Bruce's step father abused him constantly. Bruce's mom was a compulsive drug addict who neglected him. As Bruce grew up his relationship with him mom worsened. They did not speak to each other for years.

Bruce had a daughter, Jade but the relationship between Bruce and Jade's mom, who, coincidentally, shared Jade's(my mom) real name, was very hostile. Eventually, they broke up. Bruce got custody of Jade.

Bruce made a name for himself as an orator. The contents of his speeches made him very controversial. He spoke of his despise for his mom, da and Jade's mom. Most importantly, he never seemed tired of articulating his love and devotion to Jade. He said he loved Jade more than life itself and she was the only woman that he adored. Billy felt the same about my mom.

Like some of his idols, Billy got a lot of negative characterization, difficult, womanizer, stick in the mud, horrible, argumentative, feisty, fraudulent, compulsive liar, dishonest, cheat, bad influence, infamous, bad news....

Anyway, even Billy himself had brushes with death during his childhood and teenage years. Another reason why he could never forget when he was 16, is because it was at that age, you might find this disgusting, that he first brushed his teeth.

He encountered sexual molestation by a male pedophile. Homosexuals aware of his deprived situation tried to seduce him as a teenager. As an adult, he experienced advances from homosexuals.

Since he spent a good deal of time on the streets and he was always bullied, so going under the knife seemed inevitable.

Billy moved back and forth so many times from 'relatives to relatives', from strangers to strangers, that one of his pen pal called him a 'real traveler.'

Even though she said it to humor him and he knew she meant him no harm, he was enormously hurt. You see, it was a painful reminder of his lack of belonging.

Billy knew what it meant to walk alone. However, there came a point in his life when he was never home alone. Never slept alone.

Billy could have had a girl with him each step of the way. However, he gave none of his girlfriends the opportunity to do so. It was not simply because he liked the ladies. It was far more complicated than that.

Unlike his similarly wayward chums, Billy displayed no yearning for the quiet life or settling down with a special girl. That was far easier said than done. Despite his best efforts. However, he refused to accept that he was fighting a losing battle.

Anguish and bitterness . It seemed nothing could make him even consider becoming a model citizen. But Jade's birth did. Clare followed closely. Over the years, the others followed.

Before they came along, his only motivation was deprivation and a turbulent existence. They became his reason to live, aspire and turn over a new leaf.

Jade learnt about her siblings only when she got to Ottawa. It's like Billy had read her mind. Even though they were oceans apart. She just wanted to be his only one. He always made her feel that way anyway. So don't blame her.

Having spent most of his teenage years facing the courts are in detention, da set his eyes on Ottawa. He was only 20 years old then. Ottawa became the center of all his hopes and dreams.

It was with mixed feelings that he turned his back on the street adventures, another menial job that he was about to get sacked from, his first love; Opera, last but not least, Jade and Clair. He desired to give us the model life but London promised nothing but more trouble for him. So, accompanied by his only possessions; his beloved CDs, he ventured into this unknown world. With high hopes.

Insights into his Mind

Grand da's beliefs, emotions, motivations and personality reflected his life experiences and the people that he encountered. He was astonished when he found himself questioning what he was brought up to believe in while starting to embrace other things that others were skeptical about or had renounced.

It seemed grand da was always at war or in defiance. Not just with people. He also battled with situations and circumstances. Even nature and fate found themselves in the firing line. Sometimes he had to deal with all of them simultaneously.

A lot of people had upset him, for life. Some of whom did not deserve his forgiveness. Some of whom he had no intention of building bridges with. Chief among them was his mom. The woman who raised Jade from she was 10 years old until...

No doubt he might have upset a lot of people also. However, just a fraction of them would have gotten an apology. He would have moved heaven and earth just to make it possible.

Don't get it twisted. He was not upset because those who could have helped him failed to do so. Since his own mum and dad were not there for him, he believed no one else owed him anything.

Instead, he was upset because of the wrongs people did to him. He swore down payback was on the table.

He had no intention of hunting them down, he had his priorities. However, if they were unlucky enough to come face to face with him again, world war three would erupt. And he would win.

Every day he prayed, and hoped that they were praying also that he would have a change of heart. They should have known that he would have been that unforgiving.

All acts of betrayal, double-crossings, loss and hurt meted out to him and those close and dear to him, would have to be dealt with, disproportionately. He was bent on that.

The absence of his own parents in his upbringing taught him independence and self-reliance. So although hardly any came his way, he resented the notions of hand outs, luck or good things on a platter. He wanted to chart his own course and earned his own.

Was he for Real?

Based on the 'little' you have heard so far, you might have already conclude, that my grand da's experiences do not have the characteristics of a beautiful story.

Some people claim that grand da deliberately scripted his life and lived it accordingly. They believe that some of his life experiences that he recounted were too far fetched, failed to add up and too bad to be true.

Well, as a teen and young adult, dad found himself in a number of situations where he had to lie about stuffs. That he had a mother and father who were there for him from day one. That they paid for his education. That he was living with a well off aunt in an exclusive area, when he was homeless. That the sweets he was selling in college belonged to a friend when they belonged to him.......

This is not a story of my grand da, the comeback kid. He was never there. Instead, it is the story of my grand da, who, despite not knowing, got there eventually, through long suffering and sacrifices. Neither is it the typical rags to riches story. My grand da didn't even have rags.

For the first time in grand da's life, a whole beginning for the better, seemed near and certain.

But when he learnt that Tony had died years before, it hurt him deeply. It was also a painful reminder of the beloved childhood dream he had abandoned. Da felt guilty for doing so. Big Dreams and Tony had inspired him.

When he thought about it, he discovered that the dream was still alive and close to his heart. He was sad that Tony was gone forever, but he was happy that he got another chance to pursue what he loved the most.

Thirty three was not the typical age for anyone to take up opera training. Therefore, grand da did not expect an easy ride. However, he was determined to give it his all

Without a doubt, most people had seen the worse of him, but little did they know that the best of him were still waiting to appear.

Yes! He still wanted to be an Opera Director. That was the sole means by which he desired to be the poster boy for the youths in his community.

Previously, he had pursued many dreams that he was passionate about. But he was in denial then. He was only fooling himself when he turned his back on opera to try other things.

With his beloved dream in his heart and a new outlook and the prospect of a change for the better, lurking in the distance. He was on top of the world.

Unfortunately, grand da landed himself in hot water with the Canadian Authorities, shortly afterwards. It was the biggest trouble he had ever found himself in. It could only break him further. It could only sink him to the bottom.

To make matters worse, he was living on little or nothing. Porridge for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In better times, he had chickpeas and rice or pasta for dinner. He was jobless, but could not take any. He had been living in debts for almost 3 years in a row. It started when yet another boss ticked him off. He was worried the bank would suddenly demand that he pay up all outstanding sums.

His mom ticked him off(again). The authorities ticking him off. Bosses, girlfriends and first dates continued to tick him off...

No one knows the real reason why grand da suddenly slid of the radar, again. Everyone is puzzled. He was not the type to give up. Most importantly, everyone is certain that unlike some of his idols, he could NEVER deliberately rest in peace, knowing that there was no one else who would devote themselves to us as we grow up.