The Universal pause implied by an ...

By -

Writing an opera is an amazing process involving alot of back and forthing between Librettest and Composer. Some of this discourse is inventive and invigorating. Some is angry and territorial. Some is just silly...

Said I: You missed the point! She pauses there!
Said He: What do you mean, pauses? She is on a roll. This is a declamatory moment.
Said I: There! There! By the three dots thingy... oh what's that called again? It isn't important... but they DEFINATELY mean pause!
Said He: An ellipsis?
Said I: That's it! It means pause!
Said He: Actually it means: 'the series of three dots (periods) in a row that indicates a word or phrase has been omitted.'
Said I: Well. Yeah. But in the international language of librettists that are writing lyrics at 3 am in the morning... it means pause!!
Said He: But... listen to this incredible flowing lyric line I've composed... a pause would interrupt that...
Said I: Oh...
Said He: ...
Said I: ...

Actually, for the most part the working relationship between Chip and myself is a dynamic and fruitful one. We compliment each other's strengths and get excited by the same ideas. Occasionally we sweat the small stuff! ...

Comments

Chip Michael said…
Yes, most of the time it's fruitful. Some of the time it's exasperating (like the above). Fortunately our working relationship isn’t about winning and losing or personal agendas but about what is the best final product.

Personally, I find the energy, enthusiasm and emotion involved with these kinds of situations part of what keeps our writing energetic, enthusiastic and emotional. If an opera isn’t any of these, why would anyone want to sit through it?

And there is the crux of the whole argument, what is the audience going to perceive? Will they see her fumbling over words? (as one does when one is excited)
Taking a moment to catch her breath? (certainly the vocalist would appreciate one)

Or

Does she need to move forward, emphatic?
Not give her opponent time to respond?

The question comes down to what is the best meaning for the moment. Regardless as to how wonderful the music is in a given phrase, if the emotion or meaning behind the words isn’t the best one for the situation then the music fails in its role.

The music in opera is not about sounding pretty, but adding a subtext to the text, an extension of the emotion not present in the words, to speak to the audience on a level words can not do on their own.

So, as in the situation above, the librettist and composer must work together to create the final piece. The words must speak as the character would – and the music must add the meaning unspoken.
March 12, 2008 at 9:09 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Role of Music in Opera

By -
There are numerous books on the topic, and every composer, librettist, director, singer and audience member has their opinion as to what role the music should play in an opera. In a play without music, the words ought to support the meaning behind a character's actions. However, in the case of action movies, often times the action is what tells the story and there aren't words, just images to forward the plot. We might hear music to accompany action, build tension, but the action tells the story. Musicals tend to speak until the emotion of the moment just "has" to break out in song - unless it's something like "Mama Mia" where the dialog is the rails we travel on between songs; the songs themselves, written before the concept of the musical, are the focus of the production, while the story is secondary. Operas are a different beast. The music provides emotion to the words spoken, but it also plays the role of ambience when there is only action. In ...
Read more

Episode 210b: Joyeuse le départ

By -
Image
Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts  |  Android  |  Google Play  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  RSS Provost Cunningham has Transmigrated, but to where! What is Dr Sage going to do with his body? And how can she bring home her friends, Abigail and Erasmus, without also bring home Cunningham? What are they going to say when they find the “skeleton” she’s hiding in her closet? Cast: Eddie Louise Clark  as Dr Sage Chip Clark  as Professor Savant Justin Bremer  as the Narrator Emily Riley Piatt  as Abigail Entwhistle, Calypso & Dean Stewart Written by  Eddie Louise Theme music by  Unwoman Sound Design by  Chip Michael
Read more

Teaching Composition – What are we trying to achieve

By -
In the process of learning composition I have spent time with a number of instructors who have encouraged me to write twelve-tone, pitch-class, electro-acoustic and other forms of experimental techniques. No matter how much I might understand and appreciate the work of other composers in the genres, these are not forms of music I resonate with. They are simply not forms of music I listen to and I struggle with the idea of writing them. However, in a Master Class by Libby Larsen she made the comment, “Learn them all, because all forms of music have something to offer.” This I very much agree. There are elements of each of the above mentioned forms (and others) that I do resonate with. Berg’s Violin Concerto is a beautiful twelve-tone work, although it is possible to look at numerous sections of the music with a “tonal” analysis. Another composer friend, Gary Bachlund commented that using these techniques can narrow the choices for how to compose a piece of work. If you look at ...
Read more