Embarrassed that he was drawing a crowd, Morphy feared that the game would bring insult to the production, which he wanted to watch very much.  As the onlookers gathered around, Morphy’s view of the stage was even further obstructed.  He abandoned hope of viewing the opera and could barely hear the singing over the commentary from the spectators.  Whispers grew to become voices competing to be heard over the opera.  Morphy could hear the shushes and an occasional insult coming from the majority that wished to enjoy the opera.<br/><br/>Nevertheless the show must go on.  Norma’s children took the stage and stomped by The Duke’s box failing to draw any attention from those gathered in front of the stage.  As the other actors were performing, Norma herself approached the gathering and cleared her throat and shushed the crowd under her breath.  She nearly missed he que and piped up just a second late.  Madame Penco overcompensated for missing her mark by singing directly into the Duke’s box.  She burst into her part, startling Morphy in the process.  The woman’s vocal ability was phenomenal.  Morphy couldn’t hear the Count and Duke babbling over her singing.  He could see their mouth’s moving, but it appeared as if they were singing Norma’s part.<br/><br/>Morphy recognized the pair’s second move as a weak move.  Taking the initiative, he pushed his Queen’s pawn to d4, establishing a firm intent to claim the center and attacking black’s only piece in the center.  The thought of ending the match as quickly as possible appealed to him.  Then he considered the option that the two men may request a rematch…<br/>