 Beyond the music, the two sides have one more thing in common; as a Norwegian businessman observes, they truly yearn for the love and approval of the rest of the world.Capote's biographer Gerald Clarke states that "The Muses Are Heard" was considered 'mischievous' when it appeared in print; for example, Capote puts into the mouth of another person (Priscilla Johnson) his own opinion of the troupe ('They're such a second-rate company'); his cameos of some of the cast, the entourage, and the Russian Ministry Staff verge on the grotesque.Clarke also reveals that several of the incidents in the story, including the encounter with the Norwegian businessmen, were entirely invented by Capote.