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{{Infobox book
The 18th [[Discworld]] novel, and the fourth or fifth in the 'witches' theme. Its purpose within the theme is to bridge ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Lords and Ladies|Lords and Ladies]]'' and ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Carpe Jugulum|Carpe Jugulum]]'', which it does by means of an [[Twice-Told Tale|extended parody]] of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical version of ''[[The Phantom of the Opera]]''. ▼
| title = Maskerade
| image =
| caption =
| author = Terry Pratchett
| central theme = Opera as art vs. opera as entertainment vs. opera as business
| elevator pitch = A spoof of ''[[The Phantom of the Opera]]'', with the Lancre witches as the viewpoint characters
| genre = Fantasy
| franchise = Discworld
| preceded by = Interesting Times
| followed by = Feet of Clay (novel)
| publication date = 1995
}}
▲The 18th [[Discworld]] novel, and the fourth or fifth in the 'witches' theme. Its purpose within the theme is to bridge ''[[
With the loss of Magrat to her royal calling, Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax find themselves with a coven of two. Their eye falls on the expansive Agnes Nitt, who prefers calling herself Perdita X Dream (or, as the women of Lancre say, "that girl who calls herself Perditax"). Agnes, though, has no interest in witches, and wants to be an opera singer. Stealing away to Ankh-Morpork, she soon finds herself (and her amazing voice) as a vocal understudy to the skinnier but much dumber and less melodious Christine.
As it turns out, opera is much less about singing and more about superstition, mysterious strangers coming out of mirrors, vicious murders, and catty sniping. Oh, and losing buckets of money, much to the chagrin of the opera's owner. As it just so happens, Nanny and Granny have their own business in Ankh-Morpork, and are not above giving young Agnes a hand, regardless of whether she wants it or not.
{{tropelist|page=Maskerade}}
* [[Adorkable]]: Walter Plinge
* [[Alan Smithee]]: "Walter Plinge" is used as a pseudonym in the playbill for actors playing multiple parts in a show. The real life Walter Plinge was said to be a pub owner in London who a group of actors honored by using his name in this manner.
* [[Arbitrary Skepticism]]: Throughout the book, Granny criticizes people for ''not'' being this, assuming that she uses magic to {{spoiler|block a sword}} when she may well have had a bit of metal in her palm. As it happens, she ''did'' use magic (though she only used magic to delay it. The sword still hurt her, but not at such a critical time, both practically and for appearances), but that's not the point. Another example is a man assuming she used magic to know it was him at the door (which in fact she had) when she had a window.
* [[Arc Words]]: Granny asking people the question "If your house was on fire, what would you take out?" She finds out that {{spoiler|Walter Plinge}} thinks in an unusual, but not evil, manner when he replies: "{{spoiler|The fire!}}"
* [[Ascended Extra]]: Agnes briefly appeared in ''[[
* [[Asymmetric Dilemma]]: Done brilliantly by Nanny Ogg.
{{quote|
* [[Awesome McCoolname]]: Former [[Trope Namer]]
* [[Balancing Death's Books]]: While the witches are staying with a farming family, both their son and one of their cows fall ill. Destiny says the child should die and the cow should live, but Granny plays Death at poker for the chance to make it the other way around.
* {{spoiler|[[Barehanded Blade Block]]}}: Granny pulls this at the very end {{spoiler|when she blocks Salzella's sword, but it carries a price - she has to allow the hand to become injured afterward}}.
* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: Nanny Ogg, "a mind like a buzzsaw behind a face like an eldery apple". Sharp remarks from her are described like 'being bitten by a friendly dog'.
** Unsurprisingly, Granny Weatherwax. She stitches up the injuries of the muggers who ''tried'' to attack her. What she needed was a sharp, fresh needle and some alcohol, but sadly, all she has is a rusty, blunt one and some ditchwater.
{{quote|
* [[Big Eater]]: ''Henry Slugg''.
* [[Bilingual Bonus]]: The swan's line from ''Lohenshaak'''s "Pedlar's Song" translates as "I'm cutting my own throat", which is both a Dibbler reference and an accurate description of what the swan does by singing it.
* [[Brainless Beauty]]: Christine.
* [[Chess
** Although there is also the implication that he was simply scared of her. {{spoiler|She admits that, if she had lost, the first thing she would have done would be to [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|break his arm]].}}
** There's also the fact that {{spoiler|he says that his hand was a pair of "ones." As in aces.}}
* [[Contest Winner Cameo]]: Collette.
* [[Continuity Nod]]: Obscure, but Mr. Bucket's remark about "a dreadful bend in the road" might be referring to Dead Man's Curve, where Susan's parents and
** Also, several to ''[[
* [[Born in
* [[Contrived Coincidence]]: Played for laughs when someone's long-lost love shows up at the very end, with no real impact on the plot. Hey, that's how opera works.
* [[Corpsing]]: A blink-and-you'll-miss-it subversion towards the end, when {{spoiler|Andre, the Cable Street Particular who'd been investigating the goings-on at the opera house, mentions that Salzella's cooling body needs to be dealt with}}.
Line 45 ⟶ 57:
* [[Flynning]]: Shown and mentioned between the two ghosts, until it becomes deadly real.
** Except, in true Discworld fashion, they're ''still just Flynning''.
* [[Fun
{{quote|
it sticks no matter what the hell I do
It is marked 'pull' and indeed I am pulling
Perhaps it should be marked "push?" }}
::There's also a fragment from a song in German, "''Schneide meinen eigenen Hals''" - [[Bilingual Bonus|not translated in the text]], but means "cut my own throat". Did we mention that the song is called the [[CMOT Dibbler|Pedlar's Song?]]
* [[Good Is Not Dumb]]: Agnes.
* [[Head-Tiltingly Kinky]]: The Joy of Snackes.
* [[Humanity Ensues]]: The human-form Greebo the cat from ''[[
* [[Hurricane of Puns]]: In the grand tradition of [[
* [[Hypocritical Humor]]: The villain gives a long [[Final Speech]] about how ridiculous opera conventions like the long [[Final Speech]] are. This comes not long after he claims to be the [[Only Sane Man]], using multiple exclamation marks (a sure sign of madness).
* [[I Just Want to Be Normal]]: Agnes
* [[It's All About Me]]: Christine, [[Selfish Good|not because she's a bad person]] but because [[Lawful Stupid Chaotic Stupid|she can't really comprehend anything more complex than her own immediate interests]]. This leads to a strange dichotomy with her being able to pick up stage-tricks like conveniently learning to faint in a dramatic pose whenever something "operatic" happens, but limits her ability to realize that Agnes is pretending to be her voice:
{{quote|
* [[I'll Never Tell You What I'm Telling You]]: Death and the swan.
* [[Lampshade Hanging]]: Plenty, of course, but the stand-out is the end of {{spoiler|Salzella's}} death rant:
{{quote|
* [[Momma's Boy]]: Walter Plinge.
* [[Motive Rant]]
* [[Mugging the Monster]]: Subverted; Granny and Mrs. Plinge are threatened by some muggers, but before Granny can open up a can of whup-ass on them, the Ghost does it for her.
* [[Not Listening to Me, Are You?]]
* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: Commander Vimes does this off-screen. He sends Detritus and Corporal Nobb to act as "undercover officers" in the last act of the book. The attention on them leaves the ''real'' undercover officer, {{spoiler|André}}, free to get on with things.
* [[Only Sane Man]]: Agnes seems to be the only one thinking sensibly about things at the opera house, which only helps her feel alienated at first.
Line 73 ⟶ 85:
* [[Pimped-Out Dress]]: One specially made for the dowager duchess of Quirm, that fits Granny perfectly.
* [[Self-Made Man]]: Mr Bucket is described as 'a self-made man who is proud of his handiwork.'
* [[Shout-Out]]: "Walter Plinge" is a real-life pseudonym used by actors who don't want to be associated with early minor parts (similar to "A.N. Other") and the character's description clearly evokes Frank Spencer from ''[[Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em]]'' (Michael Crawford, the first actor who played the musical version's Phantom, was once best known for that role).
** The troll name for Granny Weatherwax ("She Who Must Be Avoided") is a reference to the [[H. Rider Haggard]] novel ''[[
** Granny [[Predator|ain't got time to bleed]], or at least, not until later.
** Also, all the opera names. ''La Triviata'' for ''[[La Traviata]]'', ''The Ring of the Nibelungingung'' for ''[[Richard Wagner|The Ring of the Nibelung]]'', ''Il Truccatore'' for ''Il Trovatore'' and so on.
** Later, {{spoiler|Walter}} invents the modern musical and Nanny sees some of his ideas, such as [[Andrew Lloyd Webber|an opera about cats]], ''[[Les Misérables (theatre)|Miserable Les]]'' and ''[[Seven Brides for Seven Brothers|Seven Dwarfs For Seven Other Dwarfs]]''.
* [[This Is My Name
* [[True Beauty Is
{{quote|
'''Agnes''': Yes, but... ''you'' know it was me doing the signing.
'''André''': Oh, yes... yes, of course... but... well... this is opera... you know...
'''Agnes''' ''(to {{spoiler|Walter}})'': But it was ''me'' you taught!
''' {{spoiler|Walter}}''': Then you were ''very'' good. I suspect she will never be quite that good, even with many months of my tuition. But, Perdita, have you ever heard of the words "star quality"?
'''Agnes''': Is it the same as ''talent''?
''' {{spoiler|Walter}}''': It is rarer. }}
* [[Tuckerization]]: Colette, of the "fascinatin' earrings" is based on [[Big Name Fan]] and convention organizer Colette Reap, who once wore a pair of Clairecraft [https://web.archive.org/web/20100818053930/http://www.anorankh.demon.co.uk/afp/anorankh.html Anorankh] pins as earrings to a signing.
* [[Stealth Pun]]: When Agnes finishes one last yell, going from one side of the audible spectrum to the other, Nanny Ogg remarks "''Now'' it's over". [[Don't Explain the Joke|Agnes is very large, and they're in an opera.]]
* [[Undercover Cop Reveal]]
* [[Wanton Cruelty to
* [[Wham! Line]]: Granny's {{spoiler|"Who's to say there's only one Ghost?"}}
** And shortly before that, André's [[The Reveal]]:
{{quote|
'''Granny:''' Really? There's a word for people like that.
'''André:''' Yes. {{spoiler|It's "policeman"}}. }}
* [[The Worst Seat in
* [[Xtreme Kool Letterz]]: Apparently the X in [[Awesome McCoolname|Perdita X Dream]] stands for "Someone who has a cool and exciting middle initial".
{{reflist}}
[[Category:
[[Category:Discworld]]
[[Category:Witch Works]]
[[Category:Literature of the 1990s]]
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