#opera rambles

[itsa-me-cavaradossi]

Assorted musings on "E lucevan le stelle" (and why it's a good thing it didn't end up being a song about politics)

According to a bit of background on Tosca that I was skimming last night, Giacomo Puccini met twice with Victorien Sardou (in April 1898 and in January 1899) to discuss Puccini's in-progress operatic adaptation of Sardou's play La Tosca. During these meetings, they discussed two major differences concerning Act 3.

Sardou was adamant that Puccini take his lead on one of these differences, which concerned the level of melodrama at which the opera was going to end, and aren't we glad that that discussion ended the way it did (yay, parapets! yay, trampolines! yay, supernumeraries apocryphally acting like lemmings!).

But Sardou was willing to cede the other difference, and allowed Puccini to replace a patriotic hymn for the imprisoned Mario Cavaradossi with a love song.

My political nerd self obviously needed a moment to take a few deep breaths, calm down, and unpack this concept just a bit, and you all are being subjected to my resulting ramblings.

Let's be real, I am now SO curious to know what this big patriotic hymn might have sounded and felt like! Do people better-versed in all of this than I am know if any rough drafts have survived?! My guess is that the mood would have been as contemplative as the aria as-written is, rather than being a continuation of any amped-up Act 2 energy, although possibly with a more optimistic turn at the end. (I'm imagining something leaning a bit "Come un bel dì di maggio" from Andrea Chénier, aka, the other big artsy-tenor-in-prison-for-'political'-reasons-thanks-to-jealous-baritone aria of that decade.)

And it actually would have been interesting to hear a bit about Cavaradossi's political worldview in his own words—we know him to be a fierce advocate of Enlightenment principles and of the Repubblica Romana primarily through his reputation (both the Sacristan and Scarpia describe him as a follower of Voltaire) and through his actions (he literally risks his life to save Angelotti), rather than through anything Cavaradossi himself says about his motivations.

All this said, I am SO glad that Puccini pushed back on Sardou's opinions, and we ended up with "E lucevan le stelle" as written.

Much as I love a good political take on things, it's equally interesting to look at Mario in prison as someone who has just sacrificed everything he has for the sake of his political ideals, and now is grappling with the very human consequences of that sacrifice. He has bravely striven to uphold the principles of a government that has already fallen, and has done so in a failed effort to save a man who (to Mario) embodied those principles... but the result of all this courageousness is that Mario has destroyed any hope of a future with the love of his life.

And these are the thoughts that are running through his head, as he awaits execution. Not any sort of paean to Bonaparte that allows him to place his actions in the context of a larger history, nor an expression of hope for Rome once the French troops arrive from Marengo. What we, the audience, receive instead is a very human-sized and tragic reflection on the cost of this type of political heroism, sung by a man who has never loved life more than he does in the appointed hour of his death.

It also feels telling that this aria is the first (and only) moment in the entire opera that we hear Mario sing anything that's purely interior. Every moment Mario is onstage in Act 1 or Act 2, he's in active conversation with someone else—Angelotti, Tosca, Scarpia, even Spoletta—or else is acutely aware that others around him can hear what he says to himself. The Sacristan provides a running commentary throughout Mario's first aria, after all; and given how much the Sacristan and Mario seem to thrive on pushing each other's buttons throughout Act 1, one has to assume that Mario is voicing his thoughts aloud during "Recondita armonia" at least in part to get the Sacristan's hackles up a bit. And of course the occasional production may have Mario singing this aria to the Jailer (which is... a weird dramatic choice, but hey, go ahead and tell this vaguely sympathetic official about your smutty evenings of yore?).

But many productions leave Mario alone onstage for this aria, with nothing but his thoughts and memories, which makes it the least-performative moment the character has in the entire opera.

Mario Cavaradossi, when placed in relation to the rest of society, feels obligated to be a hero, whether this means irking conservative priests on sheer principle, or sheltering his fugitive politician friend, or laughing in the face of a corrupt police chief, or pretending for his beloved's sake that he believes he will survive his fake execution when he knows far better than to trust Scarpia (assuming the tenor chooses to play Act 3 this way). Only in this one private moment does Mario allow himself to be heartbroken and afraid and extremely vulnerable and human about his fate, which is pretty freaking shattering.

Of course, one can be heartbroken and afraid and tragically human while singing about patriotism, and I'll be honest, a big aria in which Mario reflects on how he and his Enlightenment ideals have let each other down over the past 24 hours would also be pretty freaking shattering. (Like I said, political nerd, right here.) This basically would be Mario's version of "Vissi d'arte," in terms of reflecting on how recent events have taken a sledgehammer to the principles that form the bedrock of his existence... and again, a not-insignificant part of me would eat that up like nothing else, because gah, that would be such a wrenching dramatic parallel!!!

(And maybe it would make some narrative sense, in terms of Scarpia-related events making Mario and Floria less rigid in their adherence to ideologies that have divided them in the past? Some Sardou-based headcanon stuff is sneaking in here, so perhaps I'll have to write another stream-of-consciousness post on all of my Opinions about Mario and Floria's relationship, based on their play-canon backstories.)

ANYWAY.

Highly intriguing as a Cavaradossi equivalent of "Vissi d'arte" would be, I'm going to argue against it, for the pure and simple reason that I also think the second half of Act 3 would land *really* differently if Mario's big moment alone onstage resulted in him singing about Patria instead of about Floria.

Recall that, when we last saw him in Act 2, Mario was being dragged off to prison for Napoléon-fanboying a bit too loudly in the presence of Scarpia, while Floria yelled at him to please shut up already and stop engaging in such annoyingly suicidal behavior. But by the time Tosca arrives onstage in Act 3, and proposes fleeing across the sea, Mario is 100% onboard with this plan; his top priorities are no longer about restoring republicanism in Rome, or supporting the incoming French troops, but really only about ensuring that he and Floria can get the heck out of Rome, abandoning the city to whatever fate awaits it.

"E lucevan le stelle," and the exchange with the Jailer leading into the aria, therefore signal a really big emotional shift from the "Vittoria!"-shouting Mario of Act 2, to the Mario of Act 3 who is willing to abandon Rome and all related heroics, in favor of committing to at least the dream of a long life with Floria, whether or not he actually believes such a dream can come true. And a big patriotic hymn very likely would have thrown a wrench in that very distinctive mood shift.

Notably, "E lucevan le stelle" is reprised at the very end of the opera when Tosca throws herself off the Castel Sant'Angelo, and I've read that that's because Puccini & Co. had been messing with the format of the ending, presumably before Sardou told them to cut it out and just let Tosca jump off a parapet already, like he wrote in the play. Critics have pointed out that it's kind of arbitrary to have Tosca kill herself to Cavaradossi's music, but I think it feels emotionally correct in this moment.

This was Mario's big aria about watching his dream of love disappear forever, and dying in despair as a result. Tosca has just spent half an act desperately clinging to that exact same dream of love in which she and Mario get to ride sail off into the sunset and live happily ever after—so what better music to accompany her own dying in despair, once she realizes that this dream has disappeared forever for her, as well?

Floria and Mario's love is anything but unidirectional, and none of the musical themes in this opera are diegetic (fun as it would be for everyone onstage to look around in confusion every time Scarpia's Leitmotiv blares from the horns, hee hee). So I fully support Floria's adoption of any music that Mario sings about their relationship, even if it's not something they sang to each other in Act 1, and especially if it's music associated with Mario's very private and personal reflections on his love for Floria.

And the depth of his love for her in this aria comes across as even stronger when—in a meta sense—this music symbolizes the moment that Mario's love for Floria eclipses even the revolutionary ideals that have driven his actions throughout the rest of the opera.

(Last but not least, and on a purely selfish note, "E lucevan le stelle" is one of my favorite arias EVER, so I'm more than a little glad that it exists instead of Cavaradossi's Big Patriotic Hymn That Could Have Been. Puccini, you may be a very Problematic Fave of a composer, but ya did real good on this one, and I thank you for it.)

[leporellian]

so glad the tradition of “randomass unplanned animal showing up on an opera stage” is alive and well thank you cat at that one tosca performance

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

forever obsessed with dynamics between vampires, specifically that of a maker and fledgling, as a way to explore abuse. the creation of a vampire itself can so easily be a literalization of the lasting impacts of trauma and also much more simply the ways a perpetrator might shape their victim’s very identity. the extremes of isolation in the way that the new vampire, in most narratives, must cut all ties to their mortal life, or else go through an elaborate charade to maintain the facade of humanity, while forever still being removed from it. and the sheer dependence and vulnerability of being in an entirely new state of being, wholly uncertain of what it entails, and relying on another person to define… everything.

[melit0n]

Something that always confused me when I read TPOTO was why The Phantom chose box five out of all the private boxes to be his.

Out of all the seats in the house, box five is among the worst and would be (and still is) sold cheaply (average 65 francs at cheapest in 1880, now sold a between 10-25 euros nowadays) on general sale. A higher profit would've been made from a year-long booking, especially since there are multiple seats, so it would be 65 francs per person on a yearly booking no matter how many people are in there at once, but still not as much as other seats.

Visual wise, a good chunk of the left side of the stage is cut off and parts of the performance that would occur in the higher wings would be completely unseen, so, why choose it? Isn't the main point of going to go watch an Opera is to actually see the performance?

(A screenshot from the Palais Garnier's seat listing stating the best seats for viewing and the view from the box five via this video)

Having been there myself in late May, I found an answer to my own question and I'm gonna share it with you guys because maybe someone else was asking the same thing!

Although yes, the stage is half cut off, it's one of, if not the, best seats acoustic wise. You're a perfect distance from the orchestra as well as the stage for everything to sound just right. As much as The Phantom would've loved the operatic performance, I don't doubt he would've been more focused on the music itself as well as the vocals, and, mainly, Christine.

Further, although going to the opera was more of a social thing than an entertainment thing, so the boxes were built for aristocracy to be seen above all things, you can disappear from public view quite easily in that box. There are two to three rows of seats going backwards to the door, so all one would have to do to disappear from sight of anyone on stage or in the audience would be to just move a seat backwards (which means he wouldn't have been able to see the stage at all, but would still be able to hear everything perfectly well).

Plus, the box is located right at the end of the row of private boxes, as well as very close to entry and exit stairs, both public ones and private ones meant for stage hands and general workers.

All in all, those three reasons are why the box was chosen and kept in high priority for The Phantom, because he could quite literally disappear, like a ghost, by just moving himself in the box, as well as disappear out of the box and hear Christine almost perfectly.

[swordmaid]

brienne but she's wearing 1949 cocteau's beauty and the beast inspired fit!!! this is the inspo pic i used if ur curious.

gonna be posting more of this redesign thing (and also jaime's ver) some time in the future but i just wanted to share this one <3

[alexitheslayer02]

I just realized...

The monkeys would be the most dangerous Yanderes (don't ask why this came to mind, it's one of my groggy morning brain thoughts). Like... Wukong D.O. (Destined One) Macaque (lmk only cause I have not seen him in any other adaptation.) AND MK TOO NGL

Just... Humor me for a moment.

It probably should be obvious. But it's not just danger levels from powers, but also their personality. Like, I can picture Mackie being on "Phantom of the Opera" type shit with his theater boi ass (what in the sweet heavens did I just type?)

Whereas, Wukong would be VERY clear on everything. He will not play around. Meanwhile the obsessive/possessiveness would probably just sneak up on MK. Like, he might not even realize it until he sees you around someone else and is like "Hold up- no. No, no, no. That's not right now, get back here."

D.O. on the other hand surprises you.

-------------- My thoughts/Headcanons

-------------- //Macaque\\

You can not convince me that this dramatic, petty, theater boy little shit (/aff) would not act like dude in "Phantom of the Opera". He probably would not make anyone sing, but dammit, he is manipulative and tricksy when he wants to be. And his shadow skills would make it easy to spy on you like bro in "Phantom of the Opera" does through the mirror. I don't know if he would set a theater on fire though- At most though, he'd be the stalker that tries to keep you safe. He does get possessive, but he would only kill if he had to. He's far more patient.

//Wukong\\

The yanderest of the yanderes in this list methinks, regardless of the version. Cause yeah no, bro is legit, book canonly, unhinged as is. He is already trigger happy to kill from the start. Yes, he does try, though not very hard, to talk things out. But there are certain things he won't even bother talking out. I feel, if yandere, this would be one of the things where peace was never an option. Like, I feel he would say, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" if you try to chastise him for killing someone who looked at you wrong hhh

//MK\\

^ See this? Totally not the face of a crazy person, right?

He is a little angel! There's the danger. He has absolutely no clue how crazy he himself can get, so... like Wukong, he is a loose cannon, but in a different way. There would be no warning signs until it's too late and he is covered in....

ketchup ^^ Yeah, that's what it is, don't worry, that person is just sleeping. Sleeping very, very, VERY still. In all seriousness, murder would not be his go to problem solving method. He is smarter than that, believe it or not. Murder is illegal, and would be highly counterproductive. He'd be aggressively affectionate. Lots and lots of gifts, hugs that are perhaps a tad clingy, things like that. (I do headcanon him as a hopeless romantic. So the tropey/cheesy romance things would be his natural go to)

His insecurities though, could build up and lead to an exploding steam pot if not careful. Basically... Give the boy your attention and he should be fine for the most part. Heavens forbid he catches you cheating though... No one will survive, not even him.

//D.O.\\

Speaks one or two words a year, legitimately one of the most calm individuals in any universe. I don't think anyone has ever seen him lose his shit. While Wukong is clearly unhinged, MK hyperactive, and Macaron is dramatic, this guy seriously comes out of nowhere if you don't know what to look for. He is open, his silence however hides that. The possessive/obsessive behavior would mostly show in his body language, expressions, and how he might hold you. If you don't pay attention, it will surprise you. That is, if he ever leaves any evidence for you to be concerned over :) After all, he knows you would not like it if you found out he killed someone who got too close. So why would he let his sweetheart find out...?

---------------------------- That's all! Have a nice day :D

[yumemi-emi]

So this is the art I mentioned in an earlier post, and the girl is my OC, Adelina

I will never not shamelessly ocxcanonpost so sorry if you followed me expecting something else :3c

(Artist is @royalavera !)

[erik-christine]

thinking about how in just a little bit erik will sing “it’s over now the music of the night” and it really will be over

[felixshmelix]

[cowgremlin11]

various erik doodles cus i wanna get the hang of his many masks (these are just the ones i like lol)

also i never connected the dots that a monster in paris is poto cus i watched it religiously as a child but it makes so much sense now

[bibliophilicowl]

Kanisha Marie Feliciano as Christine Daae

[leporellian]

i know everyone (including me) loves the teatro comunale di bologna posters but i feel like we need to talk about the don giovanni one. they understand the assignment, which is 'this guy has to look like a trust fund grade-A SHITHEAD'. truly incredible

[blackghostm2o]

BLESS PEOPLE WHO MAKE BOOTLEGS!!!!

On yt someone uploaded a bootleg with the full last Hugh Panaro’s phantom performance and I’m so glad I could see it.

God I love his phantom, it is quite different from Ramin’s (the only other actor I’ve seen, thanks to the 25th), his is crazier and more of an asshole (not meant in a negative way, I love cocky characters, hell… Even Leroux!Erik was cocky)

Like look a this scene!

My goodness I love his mannerisms, especially he putting his hand to “listen” to Raoul, lmfao. His movements and his tone all mocking Raoul. In the 3rd gif he seems silently laughing at him. (I love the movement of his legs there)

He seem’s ashamed when Christine says that she has been deceived

But then he gets all snappy and seems ready to strangle her:

I’ve heard that he took inspo from Kay!Erik so this really makes sense.

In the 25th anniversary he too seems ashamed of his actions and seems also a lil shocked, you can see it especially from him falling (putting them both at the same level, no power position here), his expression and him repeating “Blindly…”

He obviously gets mad too, but it seems that he kind of knows that she’s right:

Idk… I just find this neat. It is cool to see how different actors interpret the same character and I’ve only compared a part of the final lair, but we could stay here all day and show all the differences throughout the whole musical.

One more violent and unhinged, the other more anxious and desperate (?). I absolutely love both of them. Really nice.

Also DAMN! MORE THAN 2000 PERFORMANCES AS THE PHANTOM??? Holy shit, wow. Kudos to Mr. Panaro.

The inclusion of his dog at the end was so nice :).

Bye

[phantom-of-this-bitch]

I will never get over Cherik putting a mask on OVER HIS MASK

[thebladeblaster]

Reading panels like the one on the right makes me feel like Sullivan

Warning: Manga spoilers

I’m so proud of my son! Look at him! I am basic and the zero to hero story ALWAYS gets me. Iruma going from feeling like a powerless victim to ambitious young lad is so good. It’s definitely interesting how much more demon-like he becomes as the story progresses with him gaining values more like theirs while retaining vital human values. I’m very surprised how much I liked this manga. I ended up starting the anime on a whim and now I’m hooked. Out of nowhere this dude just got into my top 10 favorite protagonists.

Boy really said to Beezlebub give me my friends rn. He knows what he wants. You have a boy who’s selfless to a fault learning to think for himself ooh. This is something that’s always difficult to write well and honestly I think the writer really nailed giving Iruma genuine greed (like not just the haha he eats a lot) without making him unlikable. Him getting Soi out of his shell was great. His newfound confidence and ambition allows him to get through to him which ultimately helps Soi be happy with his classmates.

I almost hollered at him showing pride. It’s very specifically not the toxic kind but rather the kind that keeps you honest. AKA not compromising and taking the easy road. Also Iruma is taking an action that will not only make the club stand out but him too and this doesn’t bother him at all unlike during the original event. There’s some earlier instances but I just got done binging the manga so the most recent instance is the one that’s on my mind.

I feel like if handled by a lesser writer than adding these traits to Iruma could have made him unlikable but it’s the opposite here. Like I love Iruma now more than ever. I want nothing but the best for him. He’s growing up so much. It shows how traits that are generally portrayed as almost always a negative thing can be good for someone in moderation.

This was some king shit. What a legend. He really just BTFOed the despair based ideologies in a few sentences. This kid has suffered through a lot and is going to do something about it.

He becomes one to jump to fight without hesitation when there’s danger rather than avoiding danger at all costs. Like before he would try just talking but he’s much more willing to throw hands now and I’m all for it.

Sullivan’s monologue here got me. Like this is me. This is how I feel.

Also they are his real family and there’s no buts about it. Sometimes a family is a grandpa, his butler, and a child.

[villafordefeatedvillains]

Forever thinking about how Joan Jett did a cameo in Repo! The Genetic Opera (playing guitar in Seventeen) and we thought she was a really GNC emo dude until we forced our dad to watch it and he went "THEY GOT JOAN JETT IN THIS?"