Romance and opera seem to go hand in hand, but things don’t always work out for the couples on stage. Here we look at five examples of couples in opera who ultimately fell apart.
Tristan and Isolde
Wagner’s epic opera changed music forever. At the heart of the drama is a tragic love story which sees a couple drink a love potion as the ship that they are travelling on arrives in Cornwall. Sadly, by the end of Act III, Tristan has been wounded and is dying. Isolde then sings one of opera’s most famous arias, the Liebestod. This translates roughly as ‘love death’ and is symbolic of how the two characters’ love can only be fully realised in death. Here, all the romantic wandering in the music finally reaches its climax.
Mimì and Rodolfo
In Puccini’s lyrical opera La bohème, Rodolfo meets Mimì when she knocks on the door, the flame from her candle having flickered out. Losing her keys, they both search for them, bathed in moonlight; their love story begins. Despite the initial blossoming of their relationship, Rodolfo leaves Mimì as she is slowly becoming more ill – a dark foreboding for the finale of the opera.
Violetta and Alfredo
The story of this couple from Verdi’s La traviata begins with Alfredo confessing his admiration for Violetta. This feeling is not reciprocated immediately, but Violetta’s mind wanders to a fantasy of a life with him. By the beginning of the second act, they are living together. However, by the beginning of the third act, Violetta only has a few hours left to live – a common pattern in these operas of tragic love stories.
Carmen and Don José
This opera’s love story with its many well-known arias is one with many twists and turns. The couples’ first encounter consists of Carmen throwing a flower at the corporal José as he is the only man not mesmerised by her. Carmen gets into a fight and not long after, José ends up imprisoned. After he is freed, it is now José’s turn to fight. All this drama continues right to the end and towards a horrifying climax.
Dido and Aeneas
This baroque opera by Purcell features yet another tragic love story, opening with Dido’s conflicting feelings about Aeneas. However, after a conversation with her handmaid, Belinda, Dido accepts Aeneas’s marriage proposal. But once all the drama has unfolded, Dido is left dying of a broken heart. She sings the lamenting aria ‘When I am laid in Earth’ with its gently descending violin lines.
If all these tragic love stories have encouraged you to give opera a try, then come along to Welsh National Opera’s production of La bohème, which is on tour until 3 December, visiting Oxford.