Libretto Fannen [Capitol]

Libretto is certainly a beautiful girl; albeit, this beauty certainly is the result of some surgeries. However, unlike many of her female peers, Libretto tends not to flaunt the fact that she has gone under the knife. Rather, she prefers to let people think that she was born naturally stunning. Standing at a very lean 5'7, Libretto's waist is almost eerily small, thanks in part to almost daily corset-wearing (she's yet to find a costume that didn't lace tightly along the back) and constant, obsessive dieting and occasional purging.

Libretto keeps her thick, brown hair extremely long, practically down to her waist. Stylists tend to tease it viciously, piling it up on top of her head in elaborate, sky-high hairdos for performances. As for her facial features, Libretto regularly has her lips plumped, and has a thin, small nose thanks to a surgery. She has had her skin lightened and her irises darkened and slightly enlarged, as to create a dramatic, haunting look.

As for her wardrobe, Libretto favors over-the-top, extremely dramatic outfits - even when she isn't on stage. She can frequently be seen in floor-length satin kimonos with oversized arms when she is throwing various backstage tantrums, or in gemstone-encrusted evening gowns when she is socializing. She would sooner die than be seen in anything less than regal, believing glamour to be the most important element to a performer's offstage persona.

Face Claim: Emmy Rossum

Libretto takes "pretentious" to new heights, whether she is on or off stage. She has an extremely exaggerated Capitol accent, over-enunciating each and every word she speaks. This accent matches an almost comically straight posture (though this is often the result of very constricting costumes). She is, at first glance, a serious snob, coming off as extremely full of herself, specifically in relation to her looks and her talent. However, the driving force behind her pretentious, snotty ways is most definitely her mother, who bred her to believe that she was above almost every person she encountered.

Beyond her snobbishness, Libretto tends to wear a rather dismal expression on her face when she isn't faking nice at a social function; her full lips are usually pulled into a scowl. This, of course, stems mostly from the physical pain in her throat. Libretto is the queen of self-medication as a result; she frequently keeps pain pills and other prescriptions in a hidden pocket in her costumes, and tends to drink like a fish at social functions. Also, thanks to the fact that her voice is entirely engineered, she chain-smokes with abandon - mostly to taunt off her mother and various handlers.

Due to her deep resentment of both her mother and her forced position as a performer, Libretto tends to think of herself as a complete victim. However, were she to stop for a moment and truly look at the society in which she lives, she would certainly see how ridiculous this notion is. Still, she can't see herself living this life forever, and frequently has a fantasy where she commits a horrendous crime and is turned into an Avox, never able to sing again. But ultimately, this probably amounts to nothing but a macabre daydream, as Libretto probably wouldn't have the guts to ever pull anything like that off.

Libretto's story doesn't start with her birth; rather, it all begins with her mother, the one and only Lissit Fannen. Lissit was born in the Capitol, but she was not born into the upper social class. Rather, she was the daughter of single mother who worked as an office assistant for a low-level government worker.

Lissit attended one of the least respected schools in the Capitol, and lived in a fairly shabby two-bedroom apartment. However, around the time she turned twelve, her luck began to change dramatically. During a school pageant, a teacher noticed that her singing voice was absolutely perfect - haunting, beautiful, with a shocking seven octave range. This teacher happened to be married to a man who worked as a recruiter of entertainment for private functions, and she brought Lissit in to audition for her husband.

Over the next twenty years, Lissit Fannen went from the daughter of a nobody to one of the most respected, talented, and wealthiest performers in the Capitol. She headlined every season for the Capitol's opera house, and was a frequent fixture in Hunger Games coverage and festivities, performing the Panem anthem several times. She made the majority of her money performing for the creme de la creme's social functions, making several appearances at the President's galas.

Lissit rejoiced in her social status and wealth. However, at thirty-two, she got it in her head that she wanted someone to carry on her legacy. This came in the form of a baby girl, conceived by an unknown (but carefully screened) donor father. Before Libretto was even born, Lissit had already decided that she would be the next great singer.

At first, Libretto seemed to please her mother, displaying a somewhat formidable singing skill. However, at fifteen, Libretto's talent seemed to just...fizzle. Her voice deepened, and the high notes that were the Fannen women's bread and butter were no longer attainable. But this, after all, was the Capitol, and Lissit had money. This could be fixed.

Lissit took Libretto to one of the best surgeons in the Capitol, who was capable of performing a procedure that would lighten Libretto's voice and give her an additional octave. The surgery was a success. Libretto could sing beautifully again, she she was very pleased with the result. She was a happy girl, enjoying her life as a social butterfly with unlimited wealth and access to the best of the best. In her world, being the best singer at school performances was more than enough.

This wasn't enough, however, for her mother.

Lissit took Libretto in for several more surgeries, each one more painful than the one before it. Her mother would not rest until Libretto's voice was as good as her own. At this point, Lissit was getting older, and she was not as sought after a performer as she had once been. This had made her a miserable, somewhat nasty woman. Lissit was determined for her daughter to not only be as good as a singer as she had been, but an even better one.

The repeated surgeries worked, but they made Libretto bitter. Furthermore, while they successfully gave her a stunning voice with a grand, impressive range, they also had the unfortunate result of making singing an extremely painful experience. When Libretto sings, it sounds beautiful, but she is experiencing horrible pain with every note. This is why she usually pops a pill or takes a drink the second she gets off stage.

Now, Libretto has begun performing professionally, and is in line to take her mother's place as the next great opera star in the Capitol. However, the world has changed somewhat since Lissit was a star. The music performed on television is far more modern than the classical fare of yesteryear. While Libretto is getting work at the opera house and at private galas, she doubts that she will ever have the same televised success as her mother did. Lissit, however, is an unflinching, relentless, and almost psychotic stage mother. She would see any failure on Libretto's part to fully realize the same success that Lissit once experienced as being Libretto's fault - this would mean that she wasn't good enough.

Libretto is generally fairly miserable with her lot in life, but underneath this misery, there is indeed somewhat of an ambitious streak. While singing causes Libretto immense, excruciating pain, there is certainly a part of her that enjoys being the best. And as much as she hates her mother's conniving, overly ambitious ways, Libretto figures that considering where she is now, the best that could probably happen would be for her to excel rather than flounder.