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Matriculation ID: 140003085

Module Code: MU1005
Title of Assessed Work: The Orchestra as Narrator in Macbeth, Carmen and
Yevgeny Onegin
Tutors Name: Dr. Jane Pettegree
Number in sequence (e.g. essay 1 of 2): 2 of 2
Date Submitted: 15/04/2016
Word Count: 1,635 words
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THE ORCHESTRA AS NARRATOR

In Macbeth, Carmen and Yevgeny Onegin
In considering the role of the orchestra as a narrator in 19th-century opera it is first necessary
to consider what the purpose of a narrator is. Generally, the narrator exists in a work to
actually tell the story, to aid in scene-setting and understanding for the audience, and to
comment on the action. The orchestra in Romantic opera fulfils all of these roles in various
ways, and frequently with different focuses and in wildly different ways from the narrator of
their source texts.
The first role of the narrator, that of telling the story, is perhaps the one which is least
focused-upon by an operatic orchestra. Perhaps crucially, this is because an opera we can see
and hear what is happening, and therefore the narrator recounting to us what characters
physically do and say is unnecessary. Furthermore, when commentary on the action and
telling us what has happened off-stage is required in an opera, the narrative function tends to
be fulfilled by the chorus. For instance, Act IV to Macbeth opens with the chorus singing of
the downtrodden country, telling us of the off-stage devastation Macbeths reign has
wrought1. The orchestra itself is rarely if ever the primary teller of the story in Romantic
opera, that role being fulfilled by the cast; however, the orchestra does support the telling of
the story through the provision of the relevant feel and mood to what is sung. So, the
aforementioned chorus in Macbeth has a grim, slow and deep accompaniment. When the
cigarette girls appear in Carmen, the music is bright and dance-like, as they sing of teasing
the men of the crowd in La cloche a sonn. 2 In Yevgeny Onegin, the lyrical and romantic
accompaniment of the orchestra to Tatyanas letter scene underline her character and assist in
representing the torment she shows as she writes.
Outside of merely setting and enhancing a mood, another way through which the orchestra
provides understanding and comment on the operatic story and characters is the use of
recurring musical themes and motifs. In Carmen, Bizet makes most extensive use of the
Fate motif, which bookends the opera, appearing at the end of the Prelude and then six
times in the climactic final scene in which Carmen is killed 3, as well as at frequent other
points where the story is worsening for Carmen or to provide foreboding. The motif is
strongly associated with Carmen, and it encapsulates her exoticism with its chromatic, nonwestern sound. Bizet uses it also to show the development of Don Jos and Carmens
relationship it appears at all the pivotal points, from their first meeting to her murder by
way of Don Joss first act aria, Carmen in the desert, and Don Jos leaving to care for his
dying mother. In this respect, the orchestra fulfils the role of narrator through commenting
and further elucidating on the story, and by providing foreshadowing for what is to come, in a

1 Francesco Piave, "Macbeth - Giuseppe Verdi - Libretto In Italian With Translation In English Operafolio.Com", Operafolio.com, 2016 <http://www.operafolio.com/libretto.asp?n=Macbeth&translation=UK> [accessed
13 April 2016].

2Georges Bizet, Prosper Mrime and Th. Baker, Carmen (New York: G. Schirmer, 1895).
3 Ibid.

way that the narrator of the original text, an unnamed traveller, could not because of his
naivet and lack of knowledge4.
Similarly, in Yevgeny Onegin, Tchaikovsky makes extensive use of motifs, indeed, he was
influenced by the Carmen in writing the opera and the techniques he used 5, and the plots bear
some similarities, as do the treatments of the characters. Despite the name, it is Tatyana who
is at the centre of Onegin, both structurally for it is her letter scene that is the crux of the
opera and in Tchaikovskys conception of the opera, which begun with the writing of the
letter scene. Tatyana, like Carmen, is strongly associated with a highly chromatic motif, in
this case descending a minor sixth as opposed to a fourth, which is the first music heard in the
opera6. Similar ideas, of minor sixths and chromaticism, are prominent during the letter
scene, even when the motif itself is not stated, and occur frequently in the orchestration,
which underlines Tatyanas relation to this melancholy, almost lamenting, theme. A slight
variation of the theme itself is stated in the letter scene when Tatyana sings the words Alas, it
is not in my power to control my soul! 7 This helps to underline the deeper meaning
suggested by the motif: that of fate, and of forces beyond human control driving the story.
This allows the theme to serve a similar role and meaning as the fate motif from Carmen.
Verdi in Macbeth also makes use of motif, although less in the melodic sense and more in a
harmonic one. A key one is the taking i-V cadence, which Verdi uses for foreboding and fear.
Interposing a diminished chord, it appears first when the witches hail Macbeth. Although the
words themselves seem to be good for Macbeth, by setting them with this chordal pattern
underneath, Verdi is warning the audience through the orchestra that all is not as it seems and
that there is more to the tale than appears on the surface. Furthermore, Verdi subverts the
motif on its third repetition in this scene, when the witches sing that Macbeth will be King of
Scotland. Instead of accompanying the word re with an E major chord, as one would
expect, Verdi instead uses a unison E with an oscillating D#-E pattern in the bass 8. In doing
this, Verdi creates even more of a feeling of fear by having set up a pattern, however
subconscious, in the audience and then denying its resolution, as well as representing the
action on stage for, in the stage directions, it reads Macbeth trembles. 9 This motif also
reoccurs without the intervening diminished chords a number of times when Macbeth and his
wife discuss Macbeths ascent and the murders necessary for it. Like with the previous two
motifs, this is consequentially strongly linked to the idea of fate and of destiny, and as in the
other two operas, this fate ultimately leads to destruction. The primary difference is that
4 Prosper Mrime, Edmund H Garrett and Louise Imogen Guiney, Carmen (Boston: Little, Brown, 1896).
5 Molly Doran, "The Transformation Of Pushkin's Eugene Onegin Into Tchaikovsky's Opera" (unpublished Master's,
Bowling Green State University, 2012), p. 36

6 Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky et al., Eugene Ongin (New York: G. Schirmer, 1907). Introduction, mm. 1-3.
7 Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky et al., Eugene Ongin (New York: G. Schirmer, 1907) Act I, Scene II, mm. 72-74
8 Giuseppe Verdi, Francesco Piave and douard Mangin, Macbeth (Paris: Leon Escudier, 1865) Act I Scene II, mm. 21-35.
9 Francesco Piave, "Macbeth - Giuseppe Verdi - Libretto In Italian With Translation In English Operafolio.Com", Operafolio.com, 2016 <http://www.operafolio.com/libretto.asp?n=Macbeth&translation=UK> [accessed
13 April 2016].

Macbeth follows characters of the Grand Opera tradition these are kings, witches, and the
supernatural whereas, in Onegin and Carmen, the characters are of a more down-to-earth
sort, making the tragedy ultimately more human. The ultimately different feels of the operas
are represented by the orchestras at their conclusions too Macbeth ends with a loud,
triumphant, march-like chorus heavily and strongly accompanied, whereas Carmen ends with
Don Jos singing alone, followed by a bleak, final chord, and Onegin with the eponymous
character also alone, reflecting on the futility of life.
Beyond motifs, the orchestra can also help to fulfil the role of a narrator through the colour
and texture of its music. These can relate not just to the moods of the story, but to the
development of characters. For instance, in Carmen, when Carmen dances her flamenco for
Don Jos, in the distance trumpets play martial chords, summoning him back to barracks. The
orchestra represents here the Joss internal conflict between love and duty a battle which
love ultimately wins. Later, when Micaela has returned to try and persuade Don Jos to return
home, her aria is flanked by soft brass calls on the horns, reminding us of the trumpets earlier
and also representing duty. Similarly, Carmen and the gypsies are frequently accompanied on
stage by lush textures in the orchestra and frequently dance-like music, emphasising their
exoticism and also their lust for life.
In Macbeth, the witches on their first occurrence are accompanied by shrill upper
woodwinds, and strange, rapid runs in the violins, which sound ghostly and not-of-this-world.
The highly staccato nature of the singing and the orchestra suggests the rattling of bones,
thoroughly stressing their ghoulish nature. When the witches sing of what they have been
doing, the accompaniment alternates between very soft, rapid quavers in the strings, and
fortissimo stabs from the full orchestra. This underlines the volatility and otherworldliness of
the witches and suggests that they are not to be trusted10.
Tchaikovskys use of colour and texture in Yevgeny Onegin also helps the orchestra fulfil this
role. For instance, when the peasants dance and sing in Scene I, Tchaikovsky accompanies
them with a heavy, oom-pah rhythm in the orchestra, stressing their simplicity and rusticity,
while Tatyana is often lushly accompanied with highly chromatic themes in the winds,
particularly in the Letter Scene, which helps the audience to recognise her romantic and
complex nature.
In conclusion, although some narrative functions are not primarily fulfilled by the orchestra
in romantic opera, the orchestra is vital for providing a narrative to the audience and achieves
this in a variety of ways: through colour, texture and use of motifs as a primary teller; and
through supporting the cast and characters as narrators by deepening and stressing the moods
and facts they relate through their accompaniment and surrounding sections.

10 Giuseppe Verdi, Francesco Piave and douard Mangin, Macbeth (Paris: Leon Escudier, 1865) Act I Scene I

References
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(2005), 225 < https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/2623546/Albright_Witches.pdf>
Albright, Daniel, "Verdi", in Great Shakespeareans: Berlioz, Verdi, Wagner, Britten, 1st edn (London:
Continuum Books, 2012), pp. 77-135
Bizet, Georges, Prosper Mrime, and Th. Baker, Carmen (New York: G. Schirmer, 1895)
Doran, Molly, "The Transformation Of Pushkin's Eugene Onegin Into Tchaikovsky's Opera"
(unpublished Master's, Bowling Green State University, 2012)
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