You know, I can’t believe how much moonlight there is in opera!
With all specially named full moons we hear about lately, (harvest moon, blood moon, strawberry moon, etc.), shouldn’t there be an "opera moon"?
That full moon seems to show up everywhere:
- The Wintersturme scene in Die Walkure. As funky as these Ring productions may get, the constants for that scene are the tree and the moon.
- La Boheme - Mimi and Rodolfo fall in love under that December full moon.
- Rusalka sings to the full moon to tell her lover of her affection: The Song to the Moon.
- When Aida sings “O patria mia”, she is under a full moon on the bank of the Nile. Maybe this doesn’t always show up in productions, but you often see the moon mentioned in the written libretto scene descriptions.
- Casta Diva - The goddess Norma is praying to is represented by the moon
- The Magic Flute - I've always assumed the Queen of the Night IS the moon!
There must be more! What opera moon scenes have I missed?
Click here to check out my play list of Celestial Opera Moments celebrating opera, the stars and the moon.
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