Opening Aria

So now I’ll find out if Caitlin’s discovered I have a blog yet. I’ve got a full draft of her opening aria for Midsummer. I wrote the main theme and a partial draft in like August, so it’s good to have the whole thing properly drafted. Also, I’ve re-written the opening scene of the opera about four different ways. I think this way is finally it. Three parts: Hermia aria, trio with Lysander and Helena, Helena aria. Dispense with all the exposition right away, in as clean a structure as we can. I only have two concerns about the aria as it stands, well, three really. I have a non-thematic section in the beginning of the piece, just after the first big arrival. I’ve given it a fairly rigorous atonal structure. It’s got two voices accompanying, and they’re both doing this same wedge pattern in a vague canon type thing. It line up with the voice nicely, and my hope is that it makes the return of the themes in multiple voices later more compelling. That is, state the themes, don’t use them for a bit, then bring them back. My concern  is that the atonal-wedge-canon-thing might be a bit too murky to fit. Second is one interior voice which is thematically derived, but I’m just note sure about it. Maybe the harmonies aren’t right, maybe I need to state some different thematic material right then at a different pitch level, maybe more voice crossing, or less? I dunno – it might be fine, I’m just not quite sure about that line just yet. Third, and finally, the first and last big statements of the theme are identical. In an earlier partial draft they were slightly different, with the second one peaking a whole step lower. I may go back to keeping them a bit different – might just be a little cleaner. But then again, the two identical statements might sound a bit obvious. I don’t have a dogmatic view about repetition, for me it’s all about context, and I’m just not sure whether or not it will seem too obvious when it’s all finished. Those are my three, and admittedly small, issues with that. But on the whole – Hurray! I finally have Hermia/Caitlin’s opening aria! -ish! 

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