Unrequited love at first sight (or what happens when a Soprano falls for the Baritone)

There are many tales of unrequited love and even more tales of love at first sight, but Eugene Onegin by Pushkin, set to music by Tchaikovski, combines them in an epic heart-wrenching telling of the relationship between Eugene and Tatiana.

Now, I'm usually really skeptical when it comes to love at first sight. I cannot honestly say that I believe that someone can fall completely in love for the rest of their lives for better or worse, for richer or poorer, etc. in a moment. I do however, understand that children (when girls don't have cooties) can feel an infatuation, a crush, that only takes a moment to develop. This, to me, is not love, but it can blossom into love through time and through gaining a deeper understanding of the relationship. Now, what do I know, I'm only 20. I could be dead wrong on this. This is my opinion on the subject now.

Eugene Onegin, however does a tremendous job showing the crush faze of this. Tatiana is immediately stricken with some kind of emotion (love or infatuation) when she first sees Eugene. This is such a realistic beginning for the opera. Tatiana is a true romantic, she reads novels that idealize love and the perfect relationships, and people marrying for love, rather than for duty, opposed to the standard in Russia then (when it's set) of marrying for duty. As several characters say in the first minutes of the opera, Heaven granted me habit in place of happiness. Not to cheery, but a realistic viewpoint for women in that position, and it must be with a certain measure of bitterness that this is said.

Now the purpose of this blog is not for me to just write a plot summary, but to talk about my thoughts of the opera, both in the plot, and eventually in the music. I haven't talked yet about the music of any opera yet because I started with the ring cycle, which people can spend a lifetime studying. I am, however going to discuss the music this time, starting with the two most famous arias.

The letter scene is truly a remarkable scene, both in the libretto, and in the music. When performed well, it easily can steal the show for Tatiana. It has by far the most exciting music of the whole score. Now, it is a wild scene in a lot of ways, it goes everywhere, it is happy, anxious, timid, vibrant, exciting, and subdued. This is all there because That's what it like in the head of Tatiana. She has barely known Eugene, and yet she is writing to him to confess her love. This scene is a magnificent display of the voice, Tchaikovski's talent, the true emotions of Tatiana, and the reality that she is just a girl in love.

The other famous aria belongs to the tenor of the show, Lenski. This is another great example of Tchaikovski's magnificent talent for writing emotional music. As Lenski faces the duel that will cost him his life, he bemoans his imminent death, and sings of his love to Olga. The aria, although beautiful and heart-wrenching, lacks some of the emotional depth that we get with the letter scene, but it is still a wonderful aria, and worth listening to.

So, in conclusion, Eugene Onegin is a tremendous opera and worth the 2 hrs and 45 min that it takes, even for a skeptic like me, I love this opera. It is a great opera for any fan of Tchaikovski's music and for all the romantics out there who still dream of finding their prince charming and riding of in to the sunset.

Why do I have the feeling I forgot something...

This post is one of many that I intend to write about the dumbest characters in all of opera. I would post on Siegfried, but I'm not quite ready to post that yet. The first character on my list of opera's dumbest characters is the friar from Romeo et Julliette by Gounod.

In Shakespeare's version, he was dumb, but in Gounod's, he's just plain stupid. There are a couple of alterations to the classic Shakespeare story that make this friar even more idiotic. In Gounod's version, Romeo knows where to look for Juliet, in the capulet tomb. This information would have had to come from either the Friar or the Nurse, due to the fact that they were the only ones who knew the real plan.

There's a couple of reasons that we can suspect that it was not the Nurse who told Romeo where to find Juliet

1. As a servant of the Capulet family, for her to go out and find Romeo would look suspicious
2. The Nurse would have been a part of the mourning process with the rest of the family, despite the knowledge she had
3. The Nurse didn't even get to explain the plan to Juliet, so why would she be asked to tell Romeo.

For these and others reasons, it is fairly safe to assume that the Friar dropped the ball here. If he had just said (or sang) another sentence to Romeo explaining that Juliet may look dead when he got to her, the whole thing would have ended well.

Furthermore, yet not adding to the stupidity of the Friar, is the fact that with as secret a death as Romeo and Juliet shared, nothing would happen. The feud would just continue. Romeo and Juliet would have truly died in vain.

That is why the Friar deserves the title of being one of the dumbest characters in all of opera.

All in the Family

I have conflicted feelings about Die Walkure. As before with Das Rheingold, I'll talk about my feelings about the plot (Now would be a good time to familiarize yourself with a plot synopsis). The whole opera is a big conflict and battle of the will between Wotan and Frika. I personally side with Frika. The confusing thing for me is that I think Wagner wanted us to side with Wotan and especially with Brunnhilde. They fight for the side of love, whether for valid or selfish reasons. Frika, however is more practical, and takes a viewpoint that modern culture would support; a strong distaste for incest and for adultery.

Now, a couple thoughts on motivation. Wotan wants the ring. He does not seem to even try hiding the fact that he lusts for the ring from the viewer or anyone in the show. He desires power, but is beginning to understand his weaknesses. He himself cannot steal what he has given according to the treaties on his spear, the source of his power. That means that he needs someone who is free to take it for him. What he needs is a hero. What better kind of hero than the mortal son of a god. His son- mistake one. And what kind of father would he be if he didn't help his son grow up to be a hero the likes of which the world has never seen- mistake 2. And what's a hero without a noble bride who is also of noble birth, a twin sister/bride (also Wotan's child)- mistake 3. Every epic hero needs a weapon that is worthy of him, worthy of naming and the stuff of legends, why should Wotan himself make an enchanted sword- mistake 4. Wotan has dug a nice big hole for himself with his son Siegmond. Siegmond cannot take the ring, and in fact, must die in battle for the contracts of Wotan not to be broken. Wotan must choose between power and his son, and is forced to side with Frika, choosing to let Siegmond die.

Frika's motivations are not made to be as clear as Wotan's. She gets her power through being married to Wotan, and thus benefits from the spear and all of its contracts. If Wotan were to break a contract, it would adversely effect her as well. She is also in charge of the sanctity of marriage as one of her godly duties. Sieglinde, being married, even though against her will, cannot morally cheat on her husband, thus it is Frika's job to avenge the adultery that took place. A third potential motivation for Frika is that she herself is not the mother of Siegmond and Seiglinde. Wotan cheated on her with a mortal woman to bear a son and daughter that could fill his will. Frika does not have the emotional connection to Siegmond and Sieglinde that Wotan has. Thus, she in a way is enacting revenge upon her unfaithful husband in the punishing of the incestuous adulterers that her husband supports the union of.

Brunnhilde is often called the will of Wotan, or in german the "wille" of Wotan. she is the half of Wotan that understands the inner rather than the outer. The book on Wagner's ring cycle that I'm reading talks about how some figures in history had to loose their vision to gain the inner sight of themselves, such as Oedipus and Samson. Wotan has one eye, and thus an innability to truely see inside of himself. Brunnhilde has that ability with respect to Wotan, and thus what she tries to do (Save Siegmond from Hunding) is exactly what Wotan wants to do himself. He can't however, and must loose Brunnhilde and Siegmond in the same set of incidents that leaves him without two of his most beloved, although illegitimate) children. Brunnhilde's actions however almost seem to be not related directly to her own personal choice, but to Wotan. As she tells him in the final act of Die Walkure, she loved Siegmond because Wotan loved Siegmond, and could not watch him die. Wotan felt the same way, and frankly, that makes him even more of a tragic hero.

15 and a half hours later...

I'm sure that many of you will know from the title of this post that I am talking about Wagner's "Das ring der Nibelung" or as it is also know- the ring cycle.

I'm starting here for several reasons.

1. I'm watching and reading about it for the first time

2. The Metropolitan Opera is retiring its old production by otto shenk (forgive me if the spelling is off) to premiere a new production in the next two seasons.

3. It's an opera, well set of operas, that could really get the ball rolling with the discussion. I am very eager to learn more. I must admit that even as I'm typing that I have only seen the first two. I plan to watch the others within the week.

So, lets start where Wagner ended: Das Rheingold (Wagner wrote the librettos in reverse order). P.S. Now would be the time to go look up a plot summary if you want to. This first post on Das Rheingold will be more basic than I would really like to get eventually, but Wagner's ring is a lot for a first timer to chew on.

So, I'll start with my thoughts on the plot. The plot seems fairly simple in the grand scheme of things. It functions as the diving board for the rest of the cycle, but overall, it doesn't do much more than that. We meet the basic early characters, Wotan, Frika, Erda, Mime, and Alberich. The ring is created, but not much more than that. There is some beautiful music in the process, but the plot doesn't go into some of the complexities of the plot, like the complicated inner workings of Wotan, who, we find out, is the real tragic hero of the cycle. I'm not meaning to sound like I don't like Das Rheingold, but in the grand scheme of things it is about 2 hours shorter, and much less revealing and moving than the other operas. Wotan is a very complex character and we see that in the 2nd act of Die Walkure and beyond, but we just see the bare bones of who Wotan is and what makes him so important in Das Rheingold.

We do, however, see the beginnings of a very prevalent theme in Die Walkure, which is the importance of love, and the reality that love, or even the absence of love can cause many things beyond our control. Also, there is a theme introduced of power verses love. We see Wagner's exploration of the battle between love and power begin in Das Rheingold, and it also turns into an important theme. So overall, Das Rheingold does seem to be kind of the afterthought opera in the cycle. It's length and lack of emotional connection in the characters prove that Wagner most likely thought of Das Rheingold as the prologue, an appetizer. It gets you hungry for more.

I recall reading the memoirs of the late great Sir Georg Solti that when he originally recorded Das Rheingold as a single recording without the rest of the cycle that people were skeptical if it would sell because it was on its own. It did sell remarkably well, but as I reflect back upon this with my newfound knowledge of Das Rheingold. That skepticism makes sense. Das Rheingold doesn't stand well on its own. It relies upon the rest of the cycle to give it the notoriety that it has received. This is not to say that it is a bad opera, or that it can be skipped over. On the contrary, Das Rheingold is a great appetizer to the ring cycle. Just the right length and plot to get you ready for the rest of the epic tale

Hi

Well, this is the beginning. The Overture of sorts to this blog. The conductor is in the podium (I'm at my computer). The score is open (I'm online and at the blogspot website). The audience is sitting and waiting for the downbeat (You are reading this peculiar metaphor). If you've made it this far into my blog, then the music starts now. Whether it's good or not, that's for you to determine.

Enough of that. In short, my name is Ben. I am an aspiring conductor who lives in the Twin Cities. And I absolutely love opera. I've been an opera geek for several years now, and thought it might be fun to host an intelligent blog and forum for the discussion of opera. Yes, DISCUSSION. That means that if you want to comment on your take, whether you agree or disagree with my thoughts, then I encourage you to do so. So long as it is relevant, there is no stupid comment or question. This is a forum to learn, to teach, to discuss, to disagree, to share your love and passion for opera.

Enough of the small talk. The wait is over. The conductor is raising his baton. The opera has begun.