From Lyrics to Pages: Operas versus The Written Word

Opera, like ballet, sticks to its guns in terms of its subtle manner in which it unravels a tale. In spite of opera displaying emotion through words, namely song, as opposed to ballet’s wordless movement, it is teeming with just as many insinuations, if not more. Operas such as Carmen channel its underlying meaning and significant events that are transpiring through exceedingly elaborate and eloquent composition. Moreover, opera draws another parallel to ballet in that you must listen and watch closely in order to pick up on what is being implied; otherwise you are lost. The same goes for the text of the Carmen opera; if you do not execute a close reading of the novella, then you will not pick up on the nuances of the rich, dismal story and general attention to detail that guides the plot in the manner that it does. In short, opera is incredibly different from the written word in that it is a far more abstract method of telling a story, given that you have a bit more leeway in regards to how you choose to interpret it, in addition to the lyrics of the compositions being rather difficult to absorb at times.

Opera is such an exceptionally intricate and layered art form that weaves a tale and evokes emotions through its melodically passionate vocals the same way ballet does through its movement. By the same token, opera, like ballet, appears to be immensely dragged out when in actuality, it is just fine-tuning the essential details of the entire masterpiece. For instance, the lyrics in Carmen must be listened to carefully in order to pick up on the discreet foreshadowing, for example that is woven into the compositions. As recognized in the opera, the part where Carmen decides to predict her own future with her fellow gysies’ tarot cards is right off the bat, a subtle indication that Carmen’s karma is not looking too good and that she may or may not soon face a demise. The song that accompanies this part of the opera guides the audience through in a cryptic manner. 

On the whole, the songs are very cryptic and ambiguous yet simultaneously direct the flow of the opera in a very sensible manner. However, there is not nearly as much detail in the compositions of an opera than in the text of a novel. In a way, an opera leaves more to the imagination, as opposed to a novel that offers an abundance of detail and is riddled with an array of rhetorical devices. A story through rich and elaborate composition is virtually incomparable to a story told through words. Picking up a story through an opera is primarily an audial method of digesting it, whereas absorbing a tale through words is primarily a visual manner of digesting a story. There lies the prime distinction between the two ways to tell a story.

As recognized in the opera, at the end of the opera, Carmen, if we failed to listen closely to the words exchanged between a vengeful and envious Don Jose and Carmen herself, we never would have seen his slaying of her coming. If we were to watch merely their actions it would have been immensely difficult to predict what would happen. However, the lyrics shrewdly lead the audience to understand what is transpiring and what may occur next. The music and lyrics are far more abstract that the novella, and have a lot more “fluff” so to speak, which makes it a bit more of an undertaking for the audience in terms of dissecting the tale and being able to follow along.

In spite of the opera of Carmen being entirely in French, it was still achievable to follow along throughout it, if you paid attention. In short, operas are just more difficult to navigate compared to novels. The music carries an overdose of emotion that it’s just so heavy and gloomy that it takes awhile to sink in. And we cannot pause in the middle of a live opera to take a break and let it all digest; we take it all in at once and it certainly proves to be overwhelming. It is far easier with a novel where you can take in as many words as you want in one sitting and when your brain is teeming with all of the scandal a tale like Carmen possesses, you can walk away and take a break to absorb it all if need be. With a live performance of an opera, that option simply does not exist. 

The storytelling methods adopted by an opera are wildly different from those of the written word, in a nutshell. Operas are over-embellished, overblown dramatic pieces chock-full of equally overblown ballads and lyrics that cover every inch of the performance. The only words that are uttered are sung, and this is an acquired taste for many people. This could be perceived as distracting and hard to follow. However, it is merely made to be artfully subtle. Novels are on the other side of the spectrum; they are blatant, blunt, candid, and tell it like it is. Operas are meant to be melodramatic, in essence, and to force people to raise their eyebrows. They are an exceptionally non-concrete way to tell a tale, just like a ballet performance. 

In essence, both opera and the written word possess the same objective: to tell a story, however each approach is extremely unique. Operas such as Carmen and ballets are as detailed as a novel, for instance, but just in a far more subtle way. Subtlety is key in the arts, and that includes writing. Paradoxically, the subtlety is just more blatant in operas. It is not as straightforward and simple as reading a story, and seemingly has so many things occurring at once; for instance, the acting, the singing that tells the story, as well as the movements and general chaos. In short, written words can be interpreted in many different manners, however it is all there for us to take in visually at our own pace; however operas, like Carmen are rather fast-paced and we take in what detail what we can at our own pace. And if this means that we interpret it in a seemingly asinine way, than so be it, because this is the beauty of the arts: perception truly is reality. Not a soul can see it the way we see it.