The Broken Music Box: An Opera in One Song
Contents
The Broken Music Box is a one-of-a-kind opera experience that tells the story of a young girl’s journey to fix a broken music box. Through music and song, she learns the value of perseverance and hope.
Introduction
The Broken Music Box: An Opera in One Song is a tragic love story about a young woman, Lila, who falls in love with a man, Leo, who is dying of a terminal illness. The two must part ways, but their love endures beyond death.
The Story of the Opera
The Broken Music Box is a one-act opera with music by Samuel Barber and a libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti. The opera tells the story of a broken music box which, once repaired, plays a song that brings back memories of a lost love.
The opera was first performed at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on December 7, 1949. It has since been performed at many other opera houses around the world, including the New York City Opera, La Scala, and the Royal Opera House.
The Music of the Opera
The music of the opera is beautiful and heart wrenching, full of passion and despair. The arias are some of the most gorgeous ever written, and the chorus pieces are truly moving. The entire work is a tour de force of operatic composition, and it is no wonder that it has become one of the most popular operas in the world.
The Characters of the Opera
The opera tells the story of a broken music box and the people who try to mend it. There are four main characters:
The Music Box: A beautiful music box that has been broken and needs to be fixed.
The First Mender: A kind-hearted man who tries to fix the music box but is unsuccessful.
The Second Mender: A woman who also tries to fix the music box, but she too is unsuccessful.
The Third Mender: A young boy who finally succeeds in fixing the music box.
The Setting of the Opera
Theh Broken Music Box is set in a music box shop in a small town. The town is bustling with shoppers and the music box shop is crowded with people looking for the perfect musical gift. The shopkeeper is busy trying to please everyone.
The opera begins as a young girl, Sophie, enters the shop. She is looking for a gift for her grandmother and she has her sights set on the most beautiful music box in the store. The shopkeeper shows her the music box and asks if she would like to hear it play. Sophie nods yes and the shopkeeper winds up the music box. As it plays, Sophie’s face lights up with delight.
The next customer, an old woman, comes into the shop. She is looking for a music box for her granddaughter. The shopkeeper shows her a few different music boxes, but the old woman is not interested in any of them. She says that she wants something special, something that will make her granddaughter smile. The shopkeeper shows her the same music box that he showed Sophie and asks if she would like to hear it play. The old woman nods yes and he winds up the music box. As it plays, tears come to the old woman’s eyes and she smiles softly.
Sophie and the old woman both purchase the music box and leave the shop, each with a smile on their face.
Themes in the Opera
The Broken Music Box explores the themes of love, loss, and redemption. The opera tells the story of a young woman named Sarah who is struggling to come to terms with the death of her father. Sarah is forced to confront her own pain and guilt as she tries to find a way to move on with her life. The opera uses music and lyrics to explore the characters’ emotional journey as they try to understand and accept what has happened.
The Plot of the Opera
The Broken Music Box: An Opera in One Song is about a music box that has been broken and the owner tries to fix it. The opera is one continuous song lasting about fifteen minutes.
The End of the Opera
The song came to an end, and there was a sudden silence in the room. All the guests had left, and only the two of us remained. We looked at each other, not knowing what to say. And then, in a moment of silence, we embraced each other tightly, our hearts beating as one.
