My favourite music was instrumental for most of my life. Then I discovered a love for the musical theatre. More recently, I have begun to dabble in operas. Most of them are in languages I do not understand anyway, so it is more like instrumental music where the human voice is one more beautiful instrument. In opera, the message tends to be delivered slowly. In fact, (and this is hard to believe, LOL) some complain that opera is boring (gasp!) because it takes so long to tell a story that is very simple.
Now and then, when the singer's portrayal of the character gets your attention, it seems like a good idea to find out what the story is about. This turned out to be particularly interesting for me in the case of the piece featured below.
Originally, we had Frederica von Stade here, but problems with Youtube have caused a late substitution. Not a problem however, as Renée Fleming is enchanting.
In the fairy tale turned opera, the title character Rusalka, daughter of a water goblin, has fallen in love with a human.
She desperately wishes to be someone she is not, so that she can join her beloved. ~ Sigh...
Moon, high and deep in the sky
your light sees far,
You travel around the wide world,
and see into people's homes.
Moon, stand still a while
and tell me where is my dear.
Tell him, silvery moon,
that I am embracing him.
For at least momentarily
let him recall of dreaming of me.
Illuminate him far away, and tell him,
tell him who is waiting for him!
If his human soul is in fact dreaming of me,
may the memory awaken him!
Moonlight, don't disappear!
Renée Fleming singing Song to the Moon, from Rusalka by Antonin Dvorak.
Life is strange, you wait sixty years to hear of an opera and it turns up twice in one week! My partner is forsaking Wagner for an evening and going to a live broadcast form the NewYork Met tomorrow of this very work. Wonder if she shall read it the same way...
ReplyDeleteAll the best people speak slowly, don't we?
Well,... isn't that an amazing coincidence?! Perhaps I might get to see and hear it too! Renée Fleming was another possible choice on Youtube, and she is performing Rusalka in that live to video performance.
ReplyDeleteCaroline, we slow speakers are indeed the best. We meet at the fringes, sitting quietly, patiently listening to the din around us.
The video originally posted here by von Stade has had to be replaced, so we have Renée at Last Night of the Proms. It has subtitles too! :)
DeleteSo true; the quiet folks are usually the ones with the most insight. Funny how that works, is it not? Not that the chatty folks usually notice, of course. :D
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Cass
Oh Cass it never occurred to me that all that dead air implied insight! :#) now that you have mentioned it though.... :-)
Delete