Posts Tagged ‘grace’
The word which best describes this scene and its music is “ethereal”. More than any except for this opera’s ending scene, “Grace” is all about the visuals. We see a veiled figure, dressed in all white, and standing in the midst of half-lit, dusky but beautiful clouds, billowing and flowing all around her in pastel shades.
We cannot make out her face, due to the strange veil over it, but the voice is the most clear and beautiful we hear in the entire opera. She sings no words, but only vocalizes the notes. This is meant to represent the spiritual language of angels, since we do not know what that language sounds like.
The amazing voice we hear is provided by a special singer — a coloratura soprano — who is required for this song, and for this song alone.
This scene is an aside. It does not happen in time, or on Earth. It is metaphor, and exists for its beauty, which illustrates the character of the young woman.
Tags: angelic, aside, aura, beauty, character, clouds, ethereal, grace, happy, metaphor, modern opera, mystical, parable, spiritual