The Phantoms of the Opera. Toward a Multidimensional Interpretative Framework of Analysis

This chapter is concerned with the evanescence of multimodal resources codeployed in operatic texts. The combination of resources and how they are read and interpreted by communities or societies is neither static nor predictable and may vary considerably across time and space according to context. Before providing a framework for the analysis of opera as an eminently multimodal event, we argue the case for a multidisciplinary approach and for the analysis of opera beyond the traditional musicological agenda. Opera will be considered in this chapter as a multimodal performative artifact, where the labels ‘multimodal’ and ‘performative’ capture different facets of its semiotic properties. Operatic performances can be optionally recorded in film operas, and as such, analyzed with multimodal tools for (audio-)visual semiosis, in a similar vein to what happens with film texts. However, opera is, first and foremost, a performative event and, as such, exhibits significant differences with a filmed (and edited) artifact. Conversely, a film text provides a visual and aural entry point to the story, because editing, for example, is based on stronger framing devices. This difference calls for different frameworks of multimodal analysis, also because opera performances can be both live and recorded, and as such, they need a multidimensional framework of interpretation that takes into account the differences between live and recorded performances. This chapter thus addresses the gaps in research literature with the goal of accounting for the repertoire of multimodal resources involved in an operatic text by adopting a combined socio-semiotic and multimodal approach that also draws on systemic-functional grammar, genre and discourse analysis, building upon previous research. The underlying research questions that guide our study are the following: How is opera different from other performing arts? How does opera make meanings? As a background to this chapter, we will argue that opera can and should be framed in historical terms, thus recognizing it as a socio-historical product that can best be understood by looking back at its origins. We will then single out and describe resources that are orchestrated in opera, and illustrate them with relevant examples and case studies. The three systems selected for analysis are (1) verbal language ( the libretto ) will be distinguished into parts which are in verse and parts in prose ; (2) music ( the score ) will be subdivided into vocal and instrumental music; (3) mise-en-scène will be viewed as incorporating (a) performance that includes voice and kinesics and (b) staging and stage design. Our approach is mainly grounded in systemic-functional grammar, even though it departs from it in some points that will be discussed in further details in the following sections. The case studies used for our taxonomy will include examples taken from Italian opera—mainly Rossini, Verdi, and Puccini—and will be drawn from recorded performances. The identification of highly codified generic opera patterns will help provide a comprehensive multidimensional framework for the analysis and interpretation of opera as a multimodal event.