He proceeds to enter the opera house, and finds a group of concerned cast members outside MARIA's dressing room door. A young man, HARRY HUNTER, approaches and glances at the ruined poster. Cut to an orchestra member's cymbal clanging. A man's hand turns down the light in the gas lamp. The unseen figure proceeds through the room. Teresa, is that you? Teresa, come and help me button my dress. Back in MARIA's dressing room, she is putting on her dress.
As one MAN lifts the cover off a drum, he is shocked to find it has been smashed.
The orchestra members are tuning their instruments. A hand of someone perched high above ominously appears onscreen. Cut to backstage, where a chandelier is being lifted to the top of the stage. Her maid, TERESA, enters and hands her a bouquet of flowers. The lead soprano, MARIA, is vocalizing in her dressing room. There is a sudden cut to a woman's wide-open mouth as she sings a high note. The manager of the opera, LATTIMER, meets him at the foot of the stairs. Cut to the foyer of the opera house, where D'ARCY himself is seen. We see a poster that reads: "Albany Theatre, Monday 27th November 1900, First performance of a new opera, Saint Joan: The Tragedy of Joan of Arc by Lord Ambrose D'Arcy". Fade in to the outside of the opera house where a crowd is gathered. There is a staggered zoom on PETRIE's eye as the opening credits are shown. Closeup on PETRIE's hands at the keyboard, and then the camera pulls up to show his masked face and single glaring eye. Nearby a DWARF sits on a table listening. A figure, PROFESSOR PETRIE, is playing a large pipe organ. Fade to a chamber in the sewers below where the music is coming from. There is the distant sound of a pipe organ being played. The film opens on a darkened, empty auditorium.