Swan's grotesque Gothic palace, its large windows glowing with light, showed that work was going on inside the palace despite the late hour. Winslow entered the enclosed grounds of the mansion and stepped through the wide doors. He clutched his briefcase tightly in his hands feeling the excitement and exhilaration of being in such a majestic place. Women's singing echoed through the corridors, making Winslow a little anxious. Walking further from the door on the stairs,

Winslow was faced with a line of different types of girl singers who had come to audition for Swan's musical audition. They were looking at the uninvited guest with any curiosity, some of them with coquetry, while they were not looking away from their rehearsals. The voices of the girls varied and each had its own unique timbre, some of them clearly knew how to sing and perhaps had been doing it all their lives, others were beginners to say the least. And Winslow looked at each of the girls slowly up the stairs with interest mixed with puzzlement.

They were singing one text, and it was the text of his cantata "Faust"!