"The premiere was a howling success! The tickets are selling faster than they can be printed, and the audience

"The premiere was a howling success! The tickets are selling faster than they can be printed, and the audiences are raving. The ever-disappointed critics complain of the "shallow plot" and "flag-waving patriotism", but their words find no purchase in the vacant minds of the audience. Larzio Messus held a speech to express his gratitude, and dedicated the opera to you. You are praised in the streets and eulogized in toasts. I congratulate you, — you've etched your name in history as a most generous patron of the arts... and an even shrewder politician."