Tonight, though, the Pope himself was checking him out. Backstage, he challenged Vivaldi to make him laugh.
"What's yellow and dangerous? Shark-infested custard!" the priest replied.
"You're a man of many talents, Tony-boy!" the Pope chuckled. "What else can you do?"
Immediately, Vivaldi hooked a large false beard over his ears. "Ho! Ho! Ho!"
And a tradition was born.