#opera playlist

Ever wondered what arias and duets your fave characters (okay, mostly my faves) would prefer? In this new series, I’m taking a guess to produce character-themed opera playlists. First up: Narcissa Malfoy.

Be cool, Lucius, be cool. (But we’re right in front of the fireplace?) It’s a metaphor, dear.

We hear about Narcissa in the books long before we meet her, and she doesn’t make the best first impression: blonde, arrogant, icy, with a permanent look like she just smelled something awful and it’s everyone else not named Malfoy. Her name’s mythic reference - Narcissus staring at his own reflection - is hard to miss as a character cue. And yet as we get to know her, she emerges as one of the more complex antiheroes on the sidelines of the series - in no small part due, as well, to Helen McCrory’s nuanced performance. (Fun Fact: McCrory was originally cast as Bellatrix, but had to pull out when her pregnancy interfered with shooting - but guess who ended up playing Bellatrix while pregnant? Helena Bonham Carter.) 

What can we say of Narcissa? She was probably the prized debutante of the pureblood aristocracy in her youth, and no doubt accustomed to taking a leading - and mollifying - role amidst two very unconventional (and diametrically opposed) sisters. It’s not surprising, then, that we see her as a dominant partner in her marriage. There’s something very sweet in the way Lucius is unconcerned with appearing weak in front of her.

The most important point of Narcissa’s character, as we soon learn, is her role as a mother. She shows a powerful devotion to her son that ultimately trumps any other ideology or allegiance. And really, if you had this toe-headed cuddlebug at home, you’d probably buy him a quidditch team too.

Just look at him in his little hat! Who’s my prejudiced little snot bubble? You are! You are!

To capture all this, her playlist features some of the most beautiful duets (songs to echo the dreams of a privileged youth - and wishes for perhaps slightly less antagonistic sisters), brindisis (toasting songs to symbolize her role as a proud hostess and matriarch), and the most famous aria from Madama Butterfly (to echo a mother’s strength, hopes, and underlying potential for torment and grief). Click the song titles for links to YouTube performances.

Duo des Fleurs from Leo Delibes’ Lakme

Canzonetta Sull’aria from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro

Barcarolle from Jacques Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann  

Brindisi from Giacomo Puccini’s La Traviata

Si Colmi il Calice from Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth 

Jessye Norman as Ariadne: "Ein Schönes war"

MET production from 1988, James Levine conducts

first minute, 1:52 (!!!),  4:11-5:08 (😭 )

fav comments:

I love Ludwig, Nilsson, Rysanek, Janowitz, and many other singers. There can never be too many beautiful voices. However, when it comes to Ariadne there is Norman and then everyone else.

Simply astounding! The opening legato phrase seems unending and brought off with consummate perfection, to say nothing of the magical ways in which she modulates her tonal color while singing that line.. Norman's is an astonishing feat of vocal artistry in a star-studded recording that will almost certainly not be surpassed in our lifetime.

I adore Jessye! I love her in Ariadne but consider her Seiglinde magnificent. This is a true artist where you cannot take your eyes off her every move.

hildegard behrens  elettra İDOMENEO

4:36-4:55/end, luv the drama (the applause!!!) and in another life she could’ve been a titan in silent films

fav comments:

Nothing short of amazing.  She even keeps her arms and fingers stiff in "rigormortis" as her body is carried off.  The woman thought of EVERY aspect of her characters in a way very few ever have.