#the rake's progress

RIP David Hockney.

The woods are green...

To break things down:

Slow Introductory Recitative ("È strano" / "No word from Tom"): Soprano muses over the hold that an absent tenor has over her heart and is conflicted over what she should do about it.

Pensive Arietta ("Ah, fors'è lui" / "Quietly, night"): Soprano spends two strophic verses (with flashy embellishments at the end of the second, naturally) reflecting on what the presence/absence of this tenor could change in her life and her ability to love.

Interrupting Recitative ("Follie, follie!" / "My father!"): Soprano suddenly second-guesses her previous emotions in a short and comparatively strident recit that ends in a declaratory decision about how she's going to handle the situation—although Violetta rejects her Pensive Arietta feelings, while Anne Trulove doubles down on hers.

Showy Decisive Aria ("Sempre libera" / "I go, I go to him"): Soprano sings two repeated verses about whatever decision she's made about how to handle this tenor situation, slowing between the two verses for a brief interlude of subtle doubt about her choice, before once more charging full steam ahead. Extended coloratura runs and high notes abound. Curtain down on Act 1 to thunderous applause.

And, of course, both characters' thoughts and decisions are impacted throughout by the voices of male characters heard from offstage.