In opera you must have a prima donna…always soprano always the heroine often a fool; and a tenor who plays the lover to her; and then you have the contralto who is a rival to the soprano or a sorceress or something; and a basso, who is the villain or whatever threatens the tenor… so far so good.
But you can’t make it work without another who is called in the profession fifth business because he is the odd man out, the person who has no opposite of the other sex. And you must have fifth business because he is the one who knows the secret of the hero’s birth or comes to the assistance of the heroine when she thinks she is lost. The prima donna and the tenor and the basso get all the best music and do all the spectacular things but you can’t manage the plot without fifth business. It is not spectacular but it is a good line of work, those who play it sometimes have a career that outlasts the golden voices.
My new business cards have the title “Fifth Business”. Kid you not.