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Aria Study: Musetta's Waltz
from La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini
“Her name is Musetta;
Her last name is temptation!
Her favorite pastime is
changing her lovers.
She behaves like a windvane
that turns when the wind blows.
And like a vulture she loves to prey,
her blood thirsty diet is the heart...
she devours the heart!...
That's why I no longer have one!"
So says Marcello of his on again off again lover. But, as always, what others say about your character is only part of the picture. You also must take into account what the character says about herself.
Musetta:
“When I walk along the street.
The people stop and gaze at me,
to seek out my beauty from
from head to toe......and then I taste the subtle desire
that gleams from admiring eyes.
They can see all my beauty which lies
concealed in my heart, perceived
from my outward charms. So, this scent of ardent desire
surrounds me and fills me with pleasure!...”
Well, maybe. Musetta says that she loves pleasure more than anything, and that she is considered a great beauty. Marcello at one point says that he should drink poison when she arrives. The two of them tend toward dramatic overstatement, so let’s look elsewhere (the playwright, her actions) for a more reliable appraisal of who Musetta is.
Tidbit: This melody was written before the opera, for piano, and entitled ‘Piccolo Valzer.’ There is a story, I don’t know if it’s true, that Puccini first conceived of this melody while out on a boat on lake Massaciuccoli. If it was, indeed, inspired by such a carefree moment as Puccini rocking back on forth on a boat while bird hunting or fishing, then I should think, first and foremost, there must be a lightness of heart to the character. Musetta is sometimes thought to be similar to her (relative) contemporary Carmen, because she is sexy, and temperamental, and many perform this aria with her playfulness becoming almost fierce. But this aria is no Habanera. The Habanera, from the Cuban form known as contredanse, has that built-in opposing rhythm, while a waltz glides. I think that is an important point about Musetta, and part of the aesthetic of the social abilities of the society of French courtesans, which is the cloth from which Musetta is cut. In other words, whatever lies below the surface (which hopefully we’ll discover as we study Musetta more deeply) she is graceful, smooth, and skilled at offering at least the appearance of sensual pleasure that one might find, well, rocking gently on a boat out on a lake. Another image: the Piccolo Valzer was published in September, so let’s say that it was first imagined on a lake in summer, which makes this a summer aria, in the middle of a winter opera. Conclusion: The weather may be cold, but Musetta is hot!
Age: still young enough to relish the sensual pleasures of youth. Old enough to have acquired some expertise in their enjoyment and to have her eye on her future. The author of the novel upon which the opera is based puts her at twenty years old. (The novel, Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger, is listed below with Resources for Further Study.)
Intellect: as smart in life as Marilyn Monroe was on screen, i.e. gifted at her craft and taking full advantage of her talents, though perhaps appearing dumb to an untrained eye.
Social class: Mobile! In the France of the 1800’s the most available route to social mobility (some would argue the only route) was to take the role of the courtesan, which would allow not only greater financial gain than one’s original station might afford. It would also offer intimate contact with the upper classes and those in power. For an example of this trajectory, one can look at the various titles held by Thérèse Lachmann, not counting the general nickname for courtesans of the time, i.e. “une grand horizontal.” She began as:
Thérèse Lachmann and then became…
Madame Villoing and then became…
Madame la Marquise de Païva and then became…
And finally became…
Countess Henckel von Donnersmarck.
Up the ladder she went. And the ambition for such mobility was not only for those without talent. (Musetta is a singer, remember, so let’s not assume she isn’t any good, although in Murger, it is said she sang all the time, but not always in tune.) Even the great actresses of the day such as Sarah Bernhardt or, earlier in the century, the great, one-named “Rachel,” often began and advanced their careers by profiting from their sexual relationships with men.
Musetta, a prostitute?!
To study characters accurately, and play them convincing, it doesn’t help to impose our own, contemporary images and judgments, whatever they may be. By definition in the U.S., barring Nevada, our images of prostitution are those of illegal and largely extra-societal women, often strung out and powerless, like hookers seen on American TV. It’s inaccurate to impose that picture onto the face of the enterprising and self-confident Musetta. And it doesn’t help to hedge our bets and deny that her body is made available to those who pay her the proper respect, which includes an exchange of sex for money but, importantly, on her terms. (At a certain point in the opera, Mimì makes a similar choice.) If we must use a modern metaphor, let’s say she is, by profession, a CEO of sex, certainly not a wage earner. And as we will see when we look at her objectives, her job is a means to a larger end. One possible real life character of interest to would –be Musettas is Blanche d'Antigny, a famous French singer, actress, and model, whose life took a much more successful turn than Musetta’s but in the beginning was not dissimilar. There are many famous courtesans from this era worth studying for gaining a better perspective on Musetta’s situation. Charles Osborne, (See Resources,) quotes the introduction to the novel:
(Musetta had become) “what many pretty girls become when they have a neat figure, plenty of coquettishness, a dash of ambition, and hardly any education.”
A note about poverty and ideas of illness in the 19 century: in addition to not projecting modern morality about prostitution onto the lives of these characters, it is important to understand the predominant beliefs of the period, including scientific beliefs, because those play a role in the choices and thought processes of the characters. In 19 century France the causes of tuberculosis, of which Mimì dies, or cholera, were not widely understood, nor were cures available. In fact, the predominant thinking about cholera was that it was “miasmic,” or rather, a disease brought on by living in squalid conditions. Despite its ability to strike people of all classes, similar views surrounded Tuberculosis. As Susan Sontag says in her book, Illness as Metaphor, “TB is often imagined as a disease of poverty and deprivation-of thin garments, thin bodies, unheated rooms, poor hygiene, inadequate food.” Whether or not this is scientifically true, the characters in La Bohème, including Musetta, most likely believed it to be true. In the light of these belief systems, Musetta’s choice of a wealthier lover, or Mimì’s for that matter, would be unworthy of harsh judgments of superficiality or unjustified materialism. Henri Muger, the author of the original collection of stories (which became a play before becoming the libretto for the opera,) himself died in poverty before he was forty, and had been troubled by both financial and health problems for much of his life. Facts: Scènes de la vie de bohème was published in 1851. It was discovered that Tuberculosis was a bacterial infection after 1882, and even then, the first vaccinations were not used in France until 1921. The shadow this “disease of the century” casts, on all the characters in this piece, is omnipresent.
Physical Characteristics: well, the biggest compliment on Musetta’s appearance, besides her own remarks, comes from Colline, who says, “I'm not blind, I can see she's pretty,” though he goes on to say that a pipe and a Greek text to read would give him more pleasure. The character of Musetta is based on a famous beauty, known to Murger. Marie Christine Roux was a model and courtesan. I think Musetta’s physical beauty is somewhat secondary. The point here is that Musetta has something special that men are drawn to, and its important in playing the role not that you be stunningly beautiful, but that, as Musetta, you know what your gifts are and make the most of them. We don’t know from the libretto that Musetta is a great beauty. What we know for sure is that Musetta is attractive. When the men are burning things to keep warm and they burn Musetta’s letters, Marcel says “there goes Musette’s prose. It burns like punch.” I.e. there is a flare up as when alcohol burns. In other words, it’s safe to say, Musetta is hot! And difficult to stay away from. In the novel, when Rudolfo is trying to decide whether or not to accept Mimì back, he asks Marcel (Marcello) what he would do if Musetta had returned, and Marcel (Marcello in the opera) says that he would not have lasted fifteen minutes without going to her. Of course, Musetta says herself in her aria that when she walks down the street, the men admire her, but that may say more about her self confidence than her appearance.
Temperament: Moralistic. No, it is not an oxymoron to call a courtesan moralistic, (viz. Traviata) and yes, as we’ve said, Musetta was a courtesan. Musetta’s world is flavored, passionate, and may appear to be explosive, but it is ordered. Like her literary sister, Carmen, Musetta has 100% confidence in her own moral code. When things go awry, as when Marcello fails to pay her the lavish attention other men offer so generously, and rightly in her worldview, she is entitled to be outraged and behave as she sees fit. However rude others may find it, she is operating within her rules of etiquette, and in her mind, the fault is theirs, not hers. As she says in the first scene when Alcindoro tries to silence her: “Don't be such a bore! I'll do as I please...”
Musetta’s Objective: Security. Again, paradoxical on the surface, as it seems so evident that Musetta likes to have her fun, but in looking for her objective, we must examine her main actions through the course of the opera. Dumping Marcello in favor of the richer man, even though only for a short time, shows us how much she values financial security. We can also see this in a more ubiquitous way in every scene as she jumps in to take control in some way of those around her. Just because security is her objective, does not mean she succeeds in achieving it in the way she thinks. She leaves Marcello for the wealthy Alcindoro, but then finds herself feeling hemmed in, which makes her feel uncomfortable (insecure) so then she goes for security by trying to get Marcello’s attention, becoming pretty crazy when that doesn’t work, “I’ll hit him! I’ll hit him!”
One cannot always transpose character facts from the novel or original source and paste them on the operatic character with impunity, but it is worth bearing in mind that in the novel, Musette leaves Marcel in the end and marries a postmaster, and in real life, Marie Christine Roux saves her money and attempts to return to Algeria to live with her sister, though her ship sinks on the way to Africa and she is drowned. Both are examples of Musette/Marie opting out of la vie de Bohème.
Musetta’s Arc: So, what does this truly bossy, seemingly fun-loving, free-spirited woman in desparate search for security learn in the course of the opera? As always, by the time we retrieve our coats from the coat-check, we want the truth to have been revealed, but not only that.
We want the people to whom it is revealed to have been changed by its revelation.
So by the end of the play, for we are now looking at the play behind the opera, as the skeleton of the body, Musetta has learned not only that she does want that security, but she learns, from watching Mimì and Rudolfo’s love, of the possibility of a deeper, more meaningful security, beyond either financial security or having your lover bow and scrape for your affection. She comes to understand that there is such a thing as true love, and it alone can offer real security, namely, a security of the heart. I take this from the fact that at the end, when she is praying to God to save Mimì, she says that she, Musetta, is unworthy of forgiveness, so we can assume she now regrets her past actions (perhaps calling Marcello a Toad, or raging on about how she will make love to whomever she likes, or bemoaning lovers who act like husbands.) And much is rightly made about her choice to sell her earrings, because it is symbolic of a switch from material concern to compassion for others. (Maybe if she’s willing to sell those earrings, she’ll give Marcello a break and settle down.) But despite these elements, Musetta’s transformation in the opera is not explicit. She is bereft when Mimì dies, but we don’t know that she will change her ways. With the belief systems mentioned previously, Mimì’s death may even make her more conservative about her own health, and place greater value on financial security. But even if she is truly changed, it would be a mistake to put this wisdom into the head of Act I Musetta when this aria takes place. At the time of the aria, she’s fully committed to her route as a self possessed, what today we might call “polyamorous” woman.
There is a great quote from the aforementioned actress, “Rachel.” Rachel was the biggest star on the French stage prior to her death in 1848, the date that also began what is known as the Second Empire. (Rachel also died of tuberculosis.) Famous for having as many lovers as suited her, which was many, and for never marrying, the quote, of which Murger was doubtless aware was said to explain why she never married, and also reveals quite a bit about her financial reality.
“I am as I am. I prefer renters to owners.”
Musetta might have said the same thing.
What she learns: Musetta has come into greater contact with a couple of the barest facts of life: it doesn’t last and it isn’t fair. She prays to God and says that Mimì is an angel. She believes that Mimì should be spared. And when Rudolfo asks her if she thinks it’s serious, i.e. is Mimì going to die, Musetta says, “non credo.” She doesn’t believe it. God would not kill Mimì. Maybe Musetta, but not Mimì. But Mimì does die, and Musetta falls to her knees weeping at her feet. The end of the opera is a turning point. Belief systems are shattered. Scientific beliefs: Mimì went off to live with a wealthy lover, yet it did not protect her from illness. And religious beliefs: as Musetta prays to God we see her belief that God would not punish the good, (Mimì.) And Rudolfo most of all does not accept the reality that she’s dead until the very end. The end is a cliffhanger. We really don’t know how it will change them. The arc of the opera is to watch these beliefs be dismantled. But we see Musetta, by the end, face these realities. Realities she is still running from when she sings this aria. That is why it is so important that Act I sizzle like the summer sun, so that the immense sweep of this realization may be felt.
Pitfalls: Understanding Musetta as a living paradox between her madcap exterior and her deeper longings is not an intellectual point. When Musetta is badly played, we see an overly brash, shallow person who is difficult to sympathize with. She may impress us, but she does not engage us. And more importantly her presence does nothing to serve the deeper themes of the work as a whole. Every character must contribute in some way to the author’s thematic worldview. A Musetta who comes off as a shallow party girl in the first scene will certainly get a laugh, or a brava, but her later transformation will ring false, and she will not comprise a full-fledged character. At the same time, if the aria is overly fierce, then it loses that necessary quality of relaxation and playfulness, that ease-filled rocking of the boat that inspired it.
The scene: Musetta wants to win back her lover. It gives her a sense of insecurity to think that she cannot win whatever man she wants. She is there with some old guy she isn’t into. She and Marcello split up, so she wants to show off for him. The fact that they had this stormy breakup and her ex is sitting right there is her obstacle. What she wants, is to look like she’s having a great time, a night on the town, to be in control, not the least bit troubled by Marcello. Marcello who? There’s just one problem. She’s in love with him, and still completely hooked, as is he, caught in their cycle of passion/argument/breakup. Play the objective, having a good time, not the obstacle, being on a date with the wrong guy. There is a deeper layer to her playfulness, which we’ll see in time. But remember, Musetta is a good actress. To be a courtesan, she had to be. Here’s where this aria has a lot in common with the Habanera. If the singer isn’t having fun singing it, it doesn’t work. Period.
Her role as contrasting character: Musetta is not an act one throw away. She is integral to this story. Everything that Mimì reserves, Musetta expresses. By the end of the opera, we have come to see a fullness of womanhood, the same way that Carmen and Micaela compliment and contrast one another to feed the audience a nutritionally balanced diet of archetypes.
A few musical thoughts: All of the above character points have musical and vocal parallels. A party girl without a heart will tend to shrillness. An under sexualized Musetta will lose richness of tone as well. And if the singer buys into the illusion that Musetta is carefree, the snappy rhythms that make her Musetta (and not Musa!) will be lost.
Conclusion: A great Musetta is fiercely driven but with a heart as big as Paris. For that heart to express itself in something other than a tirade, she only needs to understand the true meaning of love.
Resources for Further Study:
For fun, check out Musetta’s Waltz Hollywood style by looking for videos of Deanna Durbin and Jane Powell.
Toscannini, at the age of 28, was the conductor for the world premier of this opera, and a 1946 performance of him conducting it 50 years later is available online (at the time of this writing the address is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=848us2-68I8 and Musetta’s Waltz is at around 51:30 minutes.) He may not have chosen to observe all of Puccini’s wishes from the original production, but his conducting is most certainly informed by what those wishes were.
Books:
“Great Operas volume II” by Ernest Newman
“The Complete Operas of Puccini” by Charles Osborne
“Courtesans: The Demi-Monde in 19 Century France” by Joanna Richardson
*also fantastic reading for Traviata, Manon etc.
“Scènes de la vie de bohème” Henri Murger
Other:
The Paintings of Paul Baudry. (His nudes would have been the sort of paintings the real-life Musetta would have posed for.)
Recordings of the piano version, Piccolo Valzer, to hear the piece’s innate character and how it was first conceptualized.
from La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini
“Her name is Musetta;
Her last name is temptation!
Her favorite pastime is
changing her lovers.
She behaves like a windvane
that turns when the wind blows.
And like a vulture she loves to prey,
her blood thirsty diet is the heart...
she devours the heart!...
That's why I no longer have one!"
So says Marcello of his on again off again lover. But, as always, what others say about your character is only part of the picture. You also must take into account what the character says about herself.
Musetta:
“When I walk along the street.
The people stop and gaze at me,
to seek out my beauty from
from head to toe......and then I taste the subtle desire
that gleams from admiring eyes.
They can see all my beauty which lies
concealed in my heart, perceived
from my outward charms. So, this scent of ardent desire
surrounds me and fills me with pleasure!...”
Well, maybe. Musetta says that she loves pleasure more than anything, and that she is considered a great beauty. Marcello at one point says that he should drink poison when she arrives. The two of them tend toward dramatic overstatement, so let’s look elsewhere (the playwright, her actions) for a more reliable appraisal of who Musetta is.
Tidbit: This melody was written before the opera, for piano, and entitled ‘Piccolo Valzer.’ There is a story, I don’t know if it’s true, that Puccini first conceived of this melody while out on a boat on lake Massaciuccoli. If it was, indeed, inspired by such a carefree moment as Puccini rocking back on forth on a boat while bird hunting or fishing, then I should think, first and foremost, there must be a lightness of heart to the character. Musetta is sometimes thought to be similar to her (relative) contemporary Carmen, because she is sexy, and temperamental, and many perform this aria with her playfulness becoming almost fierce. But this aria is no Habanera. The Habanera, from the Cuban form known as contredanse, has that built-in opposing rhythm, while a waltz glides. I think that is an important point about Musetta, and part of the aesthetic of the social abilities of the society of French courtesans, which is the cloth from which Musetta is cut. In other words, whatever lies below the surface (which hopefully we’ll discover as we study Musetta more deeply) she is graceful, smooth, and skilled at offering at least the appearance of sensual pleasure that one might find, well, rocking gently on a boat out on a lake. Another image: the Piccolo Valzer was published in September, so let’s say that it was first imagined on a lake in summer, which makes this a summer aria, in the middle of a winter opera. Conclusion: The weather may be cold, but Musetta is hot!
Age: still young enough to relish the sensual pleasures of youth. Old enough to have acquired some expertise in their enjoyment and to have her eye on her future. The author of the novel upon which the opera is based puts her at twenty years old. (The novel, Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger, is listed below with Resources for Further Study.)
Intellect: as smart in life as Marilyn Monroe was on screen, i.e. gifted at her craft and taking full advantage of her talents, though perhaps appearing dumb to an untrained eye.
Social class: Mobile! In the France of the 1800’s the most available route to social mobility (some would argue the only route) was to take the role of the courtesan, which would allow not only greater financial gain than one’s original station might afford. It would also offer intimate contact with the upper classes and those in power. For an example of this trajectory, one can look at the various titles held by Thérèse Lachmann, not counting the general nickname for courtesans of the time, i.e. “une grand horizontal.” She began as:
Thérèse Lachmann and then became…
Madame Villoing and then became…
Madame la Marquise de Païva and then became…
And finally became…
Countess Henckel von Donnersmarck.
Up the ladder she went. And the ambition for such mobility was not only for those without talent. (Musetta is a singer, remember, so let’s not assume she isn’t any good, although in Murger, it is said she sang all the time, but not always in tune.) Even the great actresses of the day such as Sarah Bernhardt or, earlier in the century, the great, one-named “Rachel,” often began and advanced their careers by profiting from their sexual relationships with men.
Musetta, a prostitute?!
To study characters accurately, and play them convincing, it doesn’t help to impose our own, contemporary images and judgments, whatever they may be. By definition in the U.S., barring Nevada, our images of prostitution are those of illegal and largely extra-societal women, often strung out and powerless, like hookers seen on American TV. It’s inaccurate to impose that picture onto the face of the enterprising and self-confident Musetta. And it doesn’t help to hedge our bets and deny that her body is made available to those who pay her the proper respect, which includes an exchange of sex for money but, importantly, on her terms. (At a certain point in the opera, Mimì makes a similar choice.) If we must use a modern metaphor, let’s say she is, by profession, a CEO of sex, certainly not a wage earner. And as we will see when we look at her objectives, her job is a means to a larger end. One possible real life character of interest to would –be Musettas is Blanche d'Antigny, a famous French singer, actress, and model, whose life took a much more successful turn than Musetta’s but in the beginning was not dissimilar. There are many famous courtesans from this era worth studying for gaining a better perspective on Musetta’s situation. Charles Osborne, (See Resources,) quotes the introduction to the novel:
(Musetta had become) “what many pretty girls become when they have a neat figure, plenty of coquettishness, a dash of ambition, and hardly any education.”
A note about poverty and ideas of illness in the 19 century: in addition to not projecting modern morality about prostitution onto the lives of these characters, it is important to understand the predominant beliefs of the period, including scientific beliefs, because those play a role in the choices and thought processes of the characters. In 19 century France the causes of tuberculosis, of which Mimì dies, or cholera, were not widely understood, nor were cures available. In fact, the predominant thinking about cholera was that it was “miasmic,” or rather, a disease brought on by living in squalid conditions. Despite its ability to strike people of all classes, similar views surrounded Tuberculosis. As Susan Sontag says in her book, Illness as Metaphor, “TB is often imagined as a disease of poverty and deprivation-of thin garments, thin bodies, unheated rooms, poor hygiene, inadequate food.” Whether or not this is scientifically true, the characters in La Bohème, including Musetta, most likely believed it to be true. In the light of these belief systems, Musetta’s choice of a wealthier lover, or Mimì’s for that matter, would be unworthy of harsh judgments of superficiality or unjustified materialism. Henri Muger, the author of the original collection of stories (which became a play before becoming the libretto for the opera,) himself died in poverty before he was forty, and had been troubled by both financial and health problems for much of his life. Facts: Scènes de la vie de bohème was published in 1851. It was discovered that Tuberculosis was a bacterial infection after 1882, and even then, the first vaccinations were not used in France until 1921. The shadow this “disease of the century” casts, on all the characters in this piece, is omnipresent.
Physical Characteristics: well, the biggest compliment on Musetta’s appearance, besides her own remarks, comes from Colline, who says, “I'm not blind, I can see she's pretty,” though he goes on to say that a pipe and a Greek text to read would give him more pleasure. The character of Musetta is based on a famous beauty, known to Murger. Marie Christine Roux was a model and courtesan. I think Musetta’s physical beauty is somewhat secondary. The point here is that Musetta has something special that men are drawn to, and its important in playing the role not that you be stunningly beautiful, but that, as Musetta, you know what your gifts are and make the most of them. We don’t know from the libretto that Musetta is a great beauty. What we know for sure is that Musetta is attractive. When the men are burning things to keep warm and they burn Musetta’s letters, Marcel says “there goes Musette’s prose. It burns like punch.” I.e. there is a flare up as when alcohol burns. In other words, it’s safe to say, Musetta is hot! And difficult to stay away from. In the novel, when Rudolfo is trying to decide whether or not to accept Mimì back, he asks Marcel (Marcello) what he would do if Musetta had returned, and Marcel (Marcello in the opera) says that he would not have lasted fifteen minutes without going to her. Of course, Musetta says herself in her aria that when she walks down the street, the men admire her, but that may say more about her self confidence than her appearance.
Temperament: Moralistic. No, it is not an oxymoron to call a courtesan moralistic, (viz. Traviata) and yes, as we’ve said, Musetta was a courtesan. Musetta’s world is flavored, passionate, and may appear to be explosive, but it is ordered. Like her literary sister, Carmen, Musetta has 100% confidence in her own moral code. When things go awry, as when Marcello fails to pay her the lavish attention other men offer so generously, and rightly in her worldview, she is entitled to be outraged and behave as she sees fit. However rude others may find it, she is operating within her rules of etiquette, and in her mind, the fault is theirs, not hers. As she says in the first scene when Alcindoro tries to silence her: “Don't be such a bore! I'll do as I please...”
Musetta’s Objective: Security. Again, paradoxical on the surface, as it seems so evident that Musetta likes to have her fun, but in looking for her objective, we must examine her main actions through the course of the opera. Dumping Marcello in favor of the richer man, even though only for a short time, shows us how much she values financial security. We can also see this in a more ubiquitous way in every scene as she jumps in to take control in some way of those around her. Just because security is her objective, does not mean she succeeds in achieving it in the way she thinks. She leaves Marcello for the wealthy Alcindoro, but then finds herself feeling hemmed in, which makes her feel uncomfortable (insecure) so then she goes for security by trying to get Marcello’s attention, becoming pretty crazy when that doesn’t work, “I’ll hit him! I’ll hit him!”
One cannot always transpose character facts from the novel or original source and paste them on the operatic character with impunity, but it is worth bearing in mind that in the novel, Musette leaves Marcel in the end and marries a postmaster, and in real life, Marie Christine Roux saves her money and attempts to return to Algeria to live with her sister, though her ship sinks on the way to Africa and she is drowned. Both are examples of Musette/Marie opting out of la vie de Bohème.
Musetta’s Arc: So, what does this truly bossy, seemingly fun-loving, free-spirited woman in desparate search for security learn in the course of the opera? As always, by the time we retrieve our coats from the coat-check, we want the truth to have been revealed, but not only that.
We want the people to whom it is revealed to have been changed by its revelation.
So by the end of the play, for we are now looking at the play behind the opera, as the skeleton of the body, Musetta has learned not only that she does want that security, but she learns, from watching Mimì and Rudolfo’s love, of the possibility of a deeper, more meaningful security, beyond either financial security or having your lover bow and scrape for your affection. She comes to understand that there is such a thing as true love, and it alone can offer real security, namely, a security of the heart. I take this from the fact that at the end, when she is praying to God to save Mimì, she says that she, Musetta, is unworthy of forgiveness, so we can assume she now regrets her past actions (perhaps calling Marcello a Toad, or raging on about how she will make love to whomever she likes, or bemoaning lovers who act like husbands.) And much is rightly made about her choice to sell her earrings, because it is symbolic of a switch from material concern to compassion for others. (Maybe if she’s willing to sell those earrings, she’ll give Marcello a break and settle down.) But despite these elements, Musetta’s transformation in the opera is not explicit. She is bereft when Mimì dies, but we don’t know that she will change her ways. With the belief systems mentioned previously, Mimì’s death may even make her more conservative about her own health, and place greater value on financial security. But even if she is truly changed, it would be a mistake to put this wisdom into the head of Act I Musetta when this aria takes place. At the time of the aria, she’s fully committed to her route as a self possessed, what today we might call “polyamorous” woman.
There is a great quote from the aforementioned actress, “Rachel.” Rachel was the biggest star on the French stage prior to her death in 1848, the date that also began what is known as the Second Empire. (Rachel also died of tuberculosis.) Famous for having as many lovers as suited her, which was many, and for never marrying, the quote, of which Murger was doubtless aware was said to explain why she never married, and also reveals quite a bit about her financial reality.
“I am as I am. I prefer renters to owners.”
Musetta might have said the same thing.
What she learns: Musetta has come into greater contact with a couple of the barest facts of life: it doesn’t last and it isn’t fair. She prays to God and says that Mimì is an angel. She believes that Mimì should be spared. And when Rudolfo asks her if she thinks it’s serious, i.e. is Mimì going to die, Musetta says, “non credo.” She doesn’t believe it. God would not kill Mimì. Maybe Musetta, but not Mimì. But Mimì does die, and Musetta falls to her knees weeping at her feet. The end of the opera is a turning point. Belief systems are shattered. Scientific beliefs: Mimì went off to live with a wealthy lover, yet it did not protect her from illness. And religious beliefs: as Musetta prays to God we see her belief that God would not punish the good, (Mimì.) And Rudolfo most of all does not accept the reality that she’s dead until the very end. The end is a cliffhanger. We really don’t know how it will change them. The arc of the opera is to watch these beliefs be dismantled. But we see Musetta, by the end, face these realities. Realities she is still running from when she sings this aria. That is why it is so important that Act I sizzle like the summer sun, so that the immense sweep of this realization may be felt.
Pitfalls: Understanding Musetta as a living paradox between her madcap exterior and her deeper longings is not an intellectual point. When Musetta is badly played, we see an overly brash, shallow person who is difficult to sympathize with. She may impress us, but she does not engage us. And more importantly her presence does nothing to serve the deeper themes of the work as a whole. Every character must contribute in some way to the author’s thematic worldview. A Musetta who comes off as a shallow party girl in the first scene will certainly get a laugh, or a brava, but her later transformation will ring false, and she will not comprise a full-fledged character. At the same time, if the aria is overly fierce, then it loses that necessary quality of relaxation and playfulness, that ease-filled rocking of the boat that inspired it.
The scene: Musetta wants to win back her lover. It gives her a sense of insecurity to think that she cannot win whatever man she wants. She is there with some old guy she isn’t into. She and Marcello split up, so she wants to show off for him. The fact that they had this stormy breakup and her ex is sitting right there is her obstacle. What she wants, is to look like she’s having a great time, a night on the town, to be in control, not the least bit troubled by Marcello. Marcello who? There’s just one problem. She’s in love with him, and still completely hooked, as is he, caught in their cycle of passion/argument/breakup. Play the objective, having a good time, not the obstacle, being on a date with the wrong guy. There is a deeper layer to her playfulness, which we’ll see in time. But remember, Musetta is a good actress. To be a courtesan, she had to be. Here’s where this aria has a lot in common with the Habanera. If the singer isn’t having fun singing it, it doesn’t work. Period.
Her role as contrasting character: Musetta is not an act one throw away. She is integral to this story. Everything that Mimì reserves, Musetta expresses. By the end of the opera, we have come to see a fullness of womanhood, the same way that Carmen and Micaela compliment and contrast one another to feed the audience a nutritionally balanced diet of archetypes.
A few musical thoughts: All of the above character points have musical and vocal parallels. A party girl without a heart will tend to shrillness. An under sexualized Musetta will lose richness of tone as well. And if the singer buys into the illusion that Musetta is carefree, the snappy rhythms that make her Musetta (and not Musa!) will be lost.
Conclusion: A great Musetta is fiercely driven but with a heart as big as Paris. For that heart to express itself in something other than a tirade, she only needs to understand the true meaning of love.
Resources for Further Study:
For fun, check out Musetta’s Waltz Hollywood style by looking for videos of Deanna Durbin and Jane Powell.
Toscannini, at the age of 28, was the conductor for the world premier of this opera, and a 1946 performance of him conducting it 50 years later is available online (at the time of this writing the address is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=848us2-68I8 and Musetta’s Waltz is at around 51:30 minutes.) He may not have chosen to observe all of Puccini’s wishes from the original production, but his conducting is most certainly informed by what those wishes were.
Books:
“Great Operas volume II” by Ernest Newman
“The Complete Operas of Puccini” by Charles Osborne
“Courtesans: The Demi-Monde in 19 Century France” by Joanna Richardson
*also fantastic reading for Traviata, Manon etc.
“Scènes de la vie de bohème” Henri Murger
Other:
The Paintings of Paul Baudry. (His nudes would have been the sort of paintings the real-life Musetta would have posed for.)
Recordings of the piano version, Piccolo Valzer, to hear the piece’s innate character and how it was first conceptualized.
©Lisa Houston 2022