Nature is often looked upon for inspiration and has long been an arrow in a storyteller’s quiver. In opera, we see analogies drawn from the natural world. Architect Jørn Utzon took inspiration from the veined structures of leaves and bird wings to inspire his design for one of the world’s most famous opera houses, the Sydney Opera House, which stands resplendent over Port Jackson. Composers and librettists often use animals in their narratives to represent our own human behaviour and to create analogies for us to learn from, and here are some of our favourite examples.
Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen predominantly features animal characters and represents the composers own unrequited love for the younger, and married Kamila Stösslová. As one of Janáček’s lighter compositions, the opera is set in the forest, and follows the wily life of a young vixen, drawing parallels into our own human lives.
Inspired by Alexander Pushkin’s poem, The Tales of Tsar Saltan, the opera of the same name by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov feature the famous piece ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’. The opera is not commonly performed these days, however the interlude has endured and flourished since its composition at the end of the 19th century. Rimsky-Korsakov intended his compositions to represent the erratic flight of the bumblebee, and so the music is full of twists and turns that represent leitmotifs from the opera.
Concerned by the creeping industrialisation throughout Europe, and the ramifications that this large scale was having on nature, Wagner penned some of the most iconic pieces of music in his epic Ring Cycle – ‘The Ride of the Valkyries’. The winding tale, which follows the theft of gold from the Rhine to make a ring, and the subsequent infighting for the sake of ownership of that ring leading to the destruction of the home of the Gods. It’s easy to see Wagner’s warning against the over-exploitation of natural resources.
Welsh National Opera’s latest opera, Migrations, explores multiple stories of migration, from people to time and animals. One of the six sections of the sprawling libretto, Birds, written by Eric Ngalle, features a flock of migratory birds traversing the ocean back to the island that serves as their breeding ground, only to find the island drowned beneath the rising waters. Played by a wonderful children’s choir, the birds provided a reflection on our own human journeys, some comedic relief and a harsh perspective on the effects of climate change on the various ecosystems around the world.
Witness the birds’ journey for yourselves during a performance of Migrations this Autumn, visiting Cardiff, Llandudno, Plymouth, Birmingham and Southampton.