midnight
My husband 's concubines also are slaves ! Oh ! Shall I never enjoy a day of love , of freedom ? '' In the meantime , what is the bishop doing while his bishopess , lost in revery on the balcony over the terrace , contemplates the stars , sighs into the darkness , and breathes her sorrows and her devilish hopes upon the midnight breezes ? The holy man is drinking and conferring with Count Neroweg , who happens on this night to be his guest . The banquet hall in which they are seated is built after the Roman fashion . It is a spacious room , ornamented with marble pillars , and decked with gilded work and fresco paintings .