yeah yeah to YOU maybe chivalry is dead but I’M busy thinking about how the first three minutes of the marriage of figaro are able to describe what love is and what makes healthy relationships and the most important thing about loving somebody else, all though one simple interaction between husband and wife just with music alone
listen listen listen so the opera opens on figaro and susanna preparing for their wedding; figaro measuring the space where their bed will go and susanna finishing sewing her veil. they both have simple melodies as they do this and think to themselves: figaro has the bass line while susanna has the melody. now, at first susanna tries to get figaro to notice her finished veil in her own melody, and figaro at first doesn’t notice because he’s busy with his own task
but then something remarkable happens: susanna switches to figaro’s own tune and builds off of his line in the music, not her own, in order to get his attention. figaro notices the veil- and then compliments susanna in her original melody, both effectively switching places in the music in order to talk to each other. it is the most important thing about love, the thing that makes or breaks relationships, the thing that tells us the two are destined for long and rewarding lives with one another: they’re willing to communicate with each other in the way that makes sense to their partner, and they’re able to utilize one another‘s love languages in order for both to feel understood.
and then when they join one another to discuss how excited they are for their wedding, the melody switches to a sort of mixture between the two; carrying the overall tune of susanna‘s but with the stalwart nature of figaro’s. they’re meeting in the middle; compromising and yet making something entirely new. that’s what love is; something that is individual yet harmonizing, a union of two languages and the melody between them, communication and understanding and partnership and compassion.
all demonstrated quietly in a simple interaction in three minutes. i realize this is not a new take but man this wolfgang guy, he could really write some music yknow
somehow instead of saying “as a treat”, I’ve started using the phrase “for morale”, as if my body is a ship and its crew, and I (the captain) have to keep us in high spirits, lest we suffer a mutiny in the coming days.
and so I will eat this small block of fancy cheese, for morale. I will take a break and drink some tea, for morale. I will pick up that weird bug, for morale.
I’m not sure if it helps, but it does entertain me
