Ah love! Is there anything better? You’ve cooked a special dinner to show your loved one how you feel and lit some candles to set the mood… but wait… something’s missing! You push play and the strains of “your song” float around the room. That song has always perfectly captured how you feel about your beloved.
Romance would not be the same without a soundtrack behind it. Music’s ability to connect and express such intense and passionate feelings make music and romance an inseparable pair.
When it comes to romance and the art of emotions, Opera is the pinnacle. Think of our hero, so overcome by love that he bursts into song. In Puccini’s Opera La Boheme, the poet Rudolfo, having only briefly met his neighbour, Mimi, turns to see her in the moonlight and realizes he has fallen in love with her. He sings O soave fanciulla (Oh lovely girl) and fortunately for him, Mimi joins him in her profession of love.
Think of our heroine, anguished, about losing her love. In the comic opera Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan, young Mabel pleads with her love, Fredric, to not rejoin the pirates who raised him, to whom he is indentured. She sings the beautiful song Stay, Fredric, Stay! and they agree to be faithful to one another until he can return.
When you have this much passion, who even needs words? The Intermezzo from Mascagni’s opera Cavalleria Rusticana practically oozes romance with nary a word.
So the next time you are planning a special evening for that special someone, take a page out of your favourite composer’s songbook and serenade them yourself! (Or, find a really great recording and play that!)