Dear Chocolate Box Creator (2018)
Dec. 28th, 2017 11:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
categrangerThis is my first Chocolate Box! This is only my second exchange letter (I usually just lurk), so apologies if I get something wrong. In general, anything canon-style will make me quite happy, so if none of my prompts are interesting to you, please write or draw something you enjoy and I’m sure I will too. ♥
My AO3 name is![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
categranger, and the canons I’m requesting are:
Der Rosenkavalier | The Barber of Seville | The Marriage of Figaro
The Pearl Fishers | Eugene Onegin | Le Comte Ory (Met Opera 2011)
La Donna del Lago | Original Work
I’ve requested fic & art for all canons.
General likes:
- Canon-style tone.
- Worldbuilding.
- For operas: opera-style ridiculousness, opulence, OTT-ness, drama, etc.
- Fic set during the ‘happily ever after’.
- People being head-over-heels in love with each other and all cute and affectionate.
- People looking all over town for the perfect gift for their partner. (Any occasion that would fit the canon is fine.)
- People who were used to being single having to adjust to being married/having someone else in their space all the time. (Both good adjustments and funny/awkward adjustments.)
- Queer people in love. I particularly like it when there’s no sexuality-or-gender-related angst, but just people uncomplicatedly in love with each other. (Yes, even when it’s not historically accurate/likely for there to be no angst.)
- Pining (especially mutual pining) that resolves into happiness.
- People outwitting other people.
- Honeymoons!
- Porn! I am a fan of smut.
- Happy endings.
Art likes:
- Smiles.
- Sunshine.
- Affectionate, tender embraces.
- Passionate embraces.
- Characters caught in the moment of telling/listening to a joke.
- The moment before a kiss (especially a first kiss).
- Characters with their head on their lover’s shoulder or in their lover’s lap.
- Characters gazing at their lovers with looks of utter besotted-ness. (If for an opera, perhaps while their lover is in the middle of an aria!)
- This is, uh, quite specific, but men kneeling in front of women (whether in penitence, worship, playfulness, lust, homage, etc.) I realised while writing this letter that it was showing up in basically all my fandoms, so might as well ‘fess to it up front. :)
General DNWs:
- Anyone being intolerant of queer characters.
- Queer characters facing problems that arise from their queerness.
- Animal abuse or death.
- Child abuse or death.
- Physical or sexual abuse.
- I don’t think this will come up with the canons I’ve asked for, but just in case, please no focus on father-daughter relationships.
- Unrequested ships, including unrequested poly ships.
Note on opera productions: I’ve nominated and requested a particular production in only one case (Le Comte Ory – Met 2011), because its interpretation of the central trio is idiosyncratic and I love it. In all other cases, I’ve noted my favourite production(s) for reference and occasionally for plot/art points, but they’re not a must. Several are on Met Player, which has a seven-day free trial subscription (but careful, it’s addictive, haha!) and one is on Youtube.
Der Rosenkavalier | The Knight of the Rose - Strauss/von Hoffmannsthal/von Kessler
Relationship: Marie Thérèse/Octavian/Sophie von Faninal
Media Type: Fic, Art
Favourite Production(s): I haven’t yet found “my” Rosenkavalier. I do love Elīna Garanča’s Octavian look in the Met 2017 production, though, and Diana Damrau’s various Sophies.
While the final trio of Der Rosenkavalier is one of my favourite musical numbers in all of opera, I’m always left at the end of the opera wishing everything could be solved with a happy OT3. Perhaps a couple years down the line, when Sophie and Octavian have been married for a while? I’d particularly love it if Sophie was the mastermind who reunited the three of them and suggested they move their relationship to the next level.
Baron Ochs and/or the Field Marshal can be around as antagonists/obstacles, but in general I’d prefer the focus to stay on the trio I’ve requested.
I do love Octavian’s play with gender during the opera, and his alter-ego Mariandel. If you’d like to incorporate that element, whether as crossdressing for sexual playfulness/pleasure, as plot-related crossdressing, or as gender play and/or exploration, go for it! I’d also be up for a story in which Octavian is trans and is Mariandel in private with Sophie & Marie Thérèse. (If you go for this, please have Sophie & Marie Thérèse be entirely accepting, and no gender-related angst.) But trans!Octavian is definitely not a requirement.
Art ideas, in addition to my general art likes:
• Sophie and Marie Thérèse’s first kiss, as Octavian watches.
• Sophie or Marie Thérèse reclining in the other’s arms, as Octavian kneels at her feet.
• Sophie and Octavian both kissing/embracing Marie Thérèse.
• Any affectionate embrace between the three of them, really.
• One of the three telling a joke to the other two.
• Any two dancing while the third watches or plays an instrument for them.
Il barbiere di Siviglia | The Barber of Seville - Rossini/Sterbini
Relationships: Conte di Almaviva/Rosina; Conte di Almaviva/Rosina & Figaro
Media Type: Fic, Art
Favourite Production(s): I’ve watched a lot of Barbers! “My” Barber is the Met 2007, starring DiDonato, Flórez, Mattei, and Del Carlo. Perfect casting in all roles, fantastic chemistry, and gorgeous singing. It’s on Met Player (with a free 7-day trial subscription), and bits and pieces are on Youtube. I also like the famous 2009 RoH one with DiDonato in a wheelchair after breaking her foot opening night (DVD only as far as I know), which retains DiDonato & Flórez, but I like 2007 better because Mattei is an absolutely perfect, definitive Figaro and Del Carlo’s Bartolo is hilarious. Also Flórez’s drunk-soldier costume & act is funnier in 2007, and he and DiDonato are about 50% more lovestruck teenagers, especially towards the end, which I enjoy. (Poor exasperated Figaro, trying to get these handsy besotted lovers to escape down the fucking ladder already!) [Six-and-a-half minutes of this part, from “Ah, qual colpo inaspettato!” through all of “Zitti zitti”, is on Youtube, to give you a taste for the central trio’s chemistry.] And finally I also enjoy the 2014 Met one, which is the same production as 2007 but stars Leonard, Brownlee, and Maltman. I find Maltman’s Figaro underwhelming, but Leonard and Brownlee are lovely and I’d particularly enjoy art of them together. (Tiny Youtube clip.)
I just love this opera. It’s so funny and bubbly and effervescent, and yet there’s a real story as well. Rosina’s being menaced with a forced marriage to her elderly guardian, and she’s willing to elope with a penniless student she’s fallen in love with during nighttime serenades in order to escape. This could’ve gone extremely badly for her! (See for example poor Gilda in Rigoletto.) But instead Rosina outwits her guardian, wins her true love, and becomes a Countess, all in the course of one extremely eventful day.
Rosina is the heart of this opera for me. (As she is in Nozze too.) I adore her cleverness, her quick wit, her fearlessness, and her utter commitment to getting what she wants. Every time she outwits Bartolo I grin (the falling letter! The laundry list! Etc.). And all the clandestine flirting with ‘Lindoro’ (in his various costumes) is adorable. By the end of the opera, she’s truly earned her happy ending.
I obviously ship Rosina/Almaviva a lot – and while I do see Barber & Nozze as two halves of a whole, I’d prefer to have Barber fic not foreshadow Nozze. (For example, I see the Count as truly infatuated with Rosina at this point, and wouldn’t enjoy a Barber fic in which he was perving on/flirting with other women.) Some ideas: Rosina or the Count’s POV during any of the opera’s scenes. Rosina and the Count’s wedding night (as explicitly, joyously smutty as you please!) Rosina learning how to be a Countess, with a fondly infatuated husband constantly distracting her. (If you want to give the Count a first name, I’m fine with that. Or Rosina can use Lindoro as a pet name if you like, or keep playfully calling him ‘signore’. Whatever works for your story!)
I also love Rosina and the Count’s separate relationships with Figaro, and how they seem to be growing towards friendship as the opera progresses. (Culminating in the comradeship of “Zitti zitti”.) It’d be neat to see his POV on the events of the opera, particularly if using the older-brother flair Mattei gives to the character, or how he allows himself to be persuaded to give up his barbering and enter the Count’s service afterwards. (Lots of gold, I imagine?)
Art ideas, in addition to my general art likes:
• ‘Lindoro’ serenading Rosina on her balcony.
• Rosina writing her letter to Lindoro and plotting her plan of attack during “Una voce poco fa”.
• Rosina’s wheelchair and pink cast from RoH 2009 are adorable. I’d love to see any art of her from that production, especially flirting with/kissing Almaviva, but also plotting with Figaro.
• Almaviva in costume! As I mentioned, I love the 2007 drunken-soldier costume a lot. But any costume is great.
• The singing lesson scene (with a sleeping Bartolo, perhaps?)
• Exasperated Figaro on the ladder, with besotted lovers necking beneath.
• The trio singing “Zitti zitti” and smiling a lot. Especially the trio from 2007.
• The Count and Rosina kissing, or embracing. (I’m equally fond of DiDonato/Flórez and Leonard/Brownlee’s portrayals, and would love to see either. If the latter, I found the height difference hot, so please keep it!)
Le nozze di Figaro | The Marriage of Figaro - Mozart/Da Ponte
Relationships: Conte di Almaviva/Rosina Contessa di Almaviva; Figaro/Susanna & Rosina Contessa di Almaviva; Rosina Contessa di Almaviva/Susanna
Media Type: Fic, Art
Favourite Production(s): I must have seen thirty Nozzes at this point! It’s my favourite opera. I do have a favourite production which I utterly adore – the 1993 Gardiner (Paris), with Terfel, Hagley, Martinpelto, and Gilfry. The central couples are perfectly cast, with fantastic voices, chemistry, and acting, and Hagley is THE Susanna. I also really like the character interpretations, and Rosina’s relationship with Susanna & Figaro. It’s available on Youtube.
Notes on a few other productions:
• For an older Count/Countess, IMO the best is the Met’s 1998 production with Fleming, Terfel, Bartoli, and Croft. I don’t really like Croft’s Count, but the other three are good (though Bartoli switches out Susanna’s arias and I miss the standard ones).
• For another good young cast (all early 30s or younger), try Salzburg 1995 (on Youtube), with Hvorostovsky, Terfel, Kringlebotn, Graham, and a young Röschmann in her first big break. I think it’s the only time Hvorostovsky & Terfel ever co-starred; Dima’s own laughing assessment was that “Bryn ate me alive and spat me out!”, but his Count is fine (particularly when he’s singing with Kringlebotn & Röschmann in Act II, and not overshadowed by Terfel). And Röschmann’s Susanna is lovely and has a good rapport with Kringlebotn.
• For my favourite Cherubino, see Isabel Leonard’s portrayal in Met 2014.
• For Rosina/Susanna, Gardiner is my favourite but I also really like La Scala 2017 (Damrau/Schultz), which is Damrau’s debut as the Countess. She and Schultz have great chemistry together (here’s Sull'aria), and are both absolutely gorgeous. (Although fair warning, some of that production is weird and Rosina/Count doesn’t work for me in it).
Like in Barber, Rosina is the centre of Nozze for me. Figaro/Susanna is delightful (particularly in well-cast productions) and I love their relationship too, but it’s Rosina who owns my heart. The combination of her steadfast love for her husband (even when he’s being an utter dickhead) and her alliance with Susanna to outsmart him and show him the error of his ways is just fantastic. I want a happy ending for her so desperately!
So, relationships! First, Count/Rosina, of course. If you can get them to what Rosina would consider a happy ending, that would be wonderful. I think she’s clear-eyed about his weakness for pretty women at this point, and accepts that it’s probably impossible to cure him of straying and sleeping with other women occasionally. But him remembering how & why he fell in love with Rosina in the first place, and no longer neglecting her and leaving her pining for him, would go a hell of a long way. I’d love it if it was her clever outwitting of him that reminded him of their courtship in Barber, and led to a reconciliation. (I am also never going to say no to repentant!Count making it up to Rosina in every way he can, including in the bedroom. And I do think he’s genuinely repentant – he’s a proud man and if he wasn’t repentant he would never humble his pride and kneel to her in front of so many people.) Even if it’s just ‘happy for now’ (with the tacit acknowledgment that he’ll probably be back to his old ways in six months), I’ll take it.
Then there’s Susanna/Figaro & Rosina. I love Susanna & Figaro’s relationship – especially in productions like the Gardiner, where Susanna absolutely has Figaro wrapped around her little finger and they’re ridiculously in love – and I love that Rosina’s friendship with and reliance on Figaro has continued after the events of Barber. She hasn’t developed airs on becoming Countess and dropped him. One thing I’d be interested in is a story that looked at Rosina’s friendship with Figaro (and subsequently Susanna as well) from Barber through to Figaro – how it changed and developed, and how it was there for her when she needed it during the events of Nozze. Or maybe a story about how Rosina helped matchmake Susanna & Figaro! Or a post-Nozze story about Rosina’s continuing friendship with Susanna & Figaro after their marriage.
And finally, there’s my non-canon pairing of Rosina/Susanna. This particularly works for me in productions where they’re close in age, like the Gardiner. In many ways Susanna is very similar to Barber!Rosina, so I definitely buy that they would become close friends and companions. I’d love to read a story in which that friendship developed over time into something more. Usually I’m not a fan of infidelity, but in this case I’d be fine with Rosina/Susanna existing alongside their canon pairings. Anything from a cute stolen kisses scene, to Susanna comforting Rosina after the Count’s latest shenanigans, to another Susanna/Rosina plan to outwit the Count, would be great. Or their first meeting, or the first time Susanna or Rosina realized she was falling in love with the other, or Rosina or Susanna thinking about how the Count's jealous suspicions of the men of the household are laughably misplaced, etc. etc. I will love it all.
Art ideas, in addition to my general art likes:
• I love the Act II finale – the music is gorgeous, and the drama tense. Any snapshot from it would be neat. Susanna hiding around a corner/behind a curtain while Rosina and the Count face off! The bit where the Count offers Rosina his arm to leave together and she totally scorns him! Susanna emerging from the wardrobe to shocked faces from Rosina and the Count! Etc.
• Susanna and Figaro flirting.
• Susanna and Rosina dressing in each other’s clothing/Susanna adjusting Rosina’s veil.
• Susanna, Figaro, and Rosina smiling at each other.
• The Count romancing ‘Susanna’/his wife in disguise.
• The final scene, with a penitent Count kneeling at Rosina’s feet (the Gardiner in particular does this very well). Or with him kissing her hands (or a real kiss! Only a few productions give us one but I’d like it.)
A few canon-specific DNWs:
• While I like Cherubino, and having him around is fine, Cherubino/Countess is my NOTP, and the Countess being attracted to him is a big DNW for me. I also don’t like the idea of Cherubino as the Count’s lovechild.
• Some productions have the Count be physically abusive to Rosina during his jealous rage in “Esci ormai garzon malnato”. Physical abuse is an ironclad DNW for me. I’m okay with him having a jealous rage/shouting at Rosina/threatening to kill Cherubino, as long as he doesn’t physically touch her. (Although honestly I’d prefer not to have that part of the finale be focused on.)
• Please no age gap between the Count and Countess. I’m fine with either a young Count/Countess or a middle-aged Count/Countess, but not with age-gap.
• For Rosina/Susanna, please no power-dynamic or mistress-servant kink. I know they aren’t social equals, but I prefer them to be as much genuine friends as possible.
Les pêcheurs de perles | The Pearl Fishers - Bizet/Cormon & Carré
Relationships: Nadir/Zurga; Leïla/Nadir/Zurga
Media Type: Fic, Art
Favourite Production(s): The 2016 Met production with Damrau/Polezani/Kwiecien, because I love Damrau, Polezani does a good job with “Je crois entendre encore”, and Kwiecien is quite pretty. But I'm less wedded to it than to some of my other favourites (it’s kind of my favourite by default, I guess). And I don’t like how “Au fond du temple saint” is staged with the guys on opposite ends of the stage for almost the whole time. No chemistry, tsk tsk. I’m still looking for a production with a dynamic Nadir & Zurga relationship.
It’s love triangle time! Two childhood friends fall in love with the same vestal virgin, and swear to forsake hopes of gaining her love to preserve their friendship. But only one keeps his vow! Will the other take revenge, or will friendship forgive? My solution is, of course, to acknowledge the elephant in the Pearl Fishers room, which is that Nadir and Zurga are obviously in love with each other. Leïla can be included to make it a OT3, but I’m also fine with just Nadir & Zurga realising the incredibly obvious and taking their friendship to the next level. Stop fighting over Leïla and kiss already, guys!
As for “Au fond du temple saint”, there’s two ways to play it. One is to make it ‘faux’ – the men are avowing endless friendship, but they’re both lying to each other and after their own ends. (Especially Nadir, with his secret about Leïla.) The other is to play it straight and to have it really be a stirring affirmation of friendship. I obviously prefer the latter – or rather, a romantic version of the latter. Or, if more complexity is desired, I could go for the former, as long as they eventually overcome the faux-ness and really do end up together.
However you want to have them get together is great with me! Maybe they realise during “Au fond du temple saint”, and the rest of the opera gets discarded because they settle down happily to be boyfriends and Leïla is left alone to do her protecting-the-pearl-fishers job in peace. ;) I’m also happy to have them run off together with Leïla in the end to settle down as a trio somewhere else.
And porn, either as a couple or with Leïla too, is great.
Art ideas, in addition to my general art likes:
• A proper staging of “Au fond du temple saint”. Lots of staring into each other’s eyes.
• Zurga watching Leïla and Nadir together.
• Leïla watching Zurga and Nadir together.
• Zurga freeing Leïla and Nadir in the end.
• Zurga and Nadir embracing or kissing.
• Zurga and Nadir and Leïla in a group embrace.
One canon-specific DNW:
• When Leïla comes to plead with Zurga for Nadir’s life, the 2016 Met production portrays him as almost raping her. There’s no support for this in the libretto - please don’t include it.
Eugene Onegin - Tchaikovsky/Pushkin/Shilovsky
Relationships: Vladimir Lensky/Eugene Onegin, Olga Larina/Vladimir Lensky, Tatyana Larina/Eugene Onegin
Media Type: Fic, art
Favourite Production(s): I think the definitive Onegin is the Hvorostovsky/Fleming (Met 2007), and it’s definitely my favourite. Both Fleming and Hvorostovsky were at the top of their game, and I love Vargas’s Lensky. It’s also the version that made me believe Tatyana’s instant ‘love at first sight’ for Onegin – Dmitri in that red tail-jacket and tight trousers would turn anyone’s head. ;) And I like the production choice to have Onegin’s costume change on stage during the Polonaise at the beginning of Act III. I think it’s a neat way to show him literally washing his hands of Lensky’s death, and the blank stunned stoniness of Hvorostovsky’s face as he’s undressed and redressed by his lackeys foreshadows his later pained recapitulation of his metaphorical haunting by Lensky and of his aimless wanderings in the years since the duel. And the final scene with Tatyana and Onegin is brilliant.
(If you’re uncomfortable/sad watching the Met production because of Hvorostovsky’s recent passing, however, feel free to use another production as reference. Personally I find enjoying his recordings to be a celebration of his life, but I understand that other people may feel differently.)
Olga Larina/Vladimir Lensky: I absolutely adore Lensky’s first-act arioso, “Ja lyublyu vas” (“I love you”). It’s so tender and sweet. And there’s a bit that doesn’t translate in (English) subtitles – Lensky starts it addressing Olga formally (using ‘vas’), and by the end he’s overcome with love and affection and it’s all informal (using ‘tebya’). It’s just lovely. There’s this little moment at the end of the Met version of the arioso where they’ve kissed and now they’re gazing into each other’s eyes and Olga whispers “I love you” back to him, and I have literal heart-eyes. SO. I would definitely love for Olga & Lensky to get a happy-ever-after together (duel, what duel?). Or you can stick with canon and give me a POV snippet of either/both during the adorable arioso! :)
Tatyana Larina/Eugene Onegin: The first act of Onegin is always a trip for me because he starts out all nice and sweet (and hot, if we’re talking Met 2007), and then his aria begins all ‘letting Tatyana down as gently as possible’ but swerves into dickland by the end (patronisingly telling her girls move on from “passing fancies”, lecturing her to learn to control her feelings, and hinting a lesser man might have taken advantage of her). Plus the Met version is unintentionally hilarious to me because his costume goes from ‘super hot, showing off all my goods’ when they first meet to ‘super buttoned up, long shapeless concealing coat’ when he comes in response to her letter. He’s being considerate, perhaps, and not rubbing his hot unavailability in? IDK, but the radical costume switch always cracks me up.
Anyway, this is one of my rare tragic pairings, where I don’t want a happy-ever-after for them (unless in very specific circumstances). I mostly want Onegin to realise what he missed out on and pine sadly forever for his dead friend and lost love. Which is mean, but…he literally incited a fatal duel with his best friend by flirting with his friend’s fiancée to punish him for inviting him to a boring ball. WHO DOES THAT. I mean, Lensky really should’ve had some chill and not gone all Hulk-jealous and denounced him, but you can be bored for a couple hours without trying to incite mayhem, Evgeni. Imagine if Darcy had tried to piss off Bingley because he was bored at the assembly room ball, and ended up shooting him dead in a duel. Not cool.
So yes, I want Onegin to sadly pine and regret his past choices. Unless, there’s only one way I could see a Tatyana/Evgeni happy ending, and that’s if he swallows his pride and backs down to Lensky – either before Lensky officially issues the duel challenge (which would be easier), after (which would be very hard), or at the duel itself (perhaps he could apologise – and not for being late, ffs Evgeni you troll - and suggest they shoot into the air?) He knows right away that it’s his fault and is berating himself for not using common sense and for inciting Lensky. He’s a proud man and backing down would be really painful to him, though. But if he did, and the duel was averted, I could see him falling in love with Tatyana over time and them ending up together. Otherwise – sad pining!
I also greatly love Tatyana as the regal Princess Gremina who freezes Onegin out at the ball where they meet again (Score, Tanya! Show him what he lost out on!), and as the conflicted woman in the final scene who still loves Onegin but won’t betray her husband. That last scene of the opera is incredible. To have the man she’s always loved literally holding her in his arms swearing over and over again that he loves her, and still have the strength to wrench herself away and tell him farewell forever and leave him sobbing behind her… damn, Tatyana. That is incredible. I’d love to read her POV during that scene.
Oh, there’s one other way I could see Tatyana and Onegin ending up together – if Onegin is willing to wait and be faithful to her until Gremin dies a natural death (he does seem to be drastically older than both of them, like forty years older or something like that). After the way Tatyana crushed his pride by rejecting him so soundly, I don’t know if Onegin would be willing to humbly wait, though. But waiting could prove his constancy. (Though it’d still be tough to marry someone who killed your sister’s fiancé – Olga would be devastated.)
Vladimir Lensky/Eugene Onegin: I haven’t been able to find a recording of the famous “Brokeback Onegin” production, but just reading about it made me watch the standard productions with an eye for the ship. And it’s a good one! Onegin and Lensky are eminently shippable, and if they could only avoid that pesky duel… In the DVD liner notes from the Met production, we get Tchaikovsky’s own description of the opera, which runs thus: “a bored society lion, out of boredom, out of petty irritation, against his will, as the result of a fateful coincidence of circumstances, takes the life of a young man whom, in essence, he loves!” If only the duel could be averted!
Any way you get Onegin and Lensky together would be fine with me, whether that’s an established relationship before Lensky falls in love with Olga, or the two of them realising their feelings for each other after their argument at the ball (but before the duel), or Onegin and/or Lensky swallowing their pride and backing down and them calling off the duel/firing into the air/deliberately missing (and then making up which turns into kisses/more). Or something else! The only thing I’m not particularly interested in is ghost!Lensky. (I’m good with metaphorical haunting, but not literal haunting.) I’d also be interested in sad pining melancholy Onegin who realises he killed his one true love without ever breathing a word of his feelings. (Yes, we’re back to the sad pining again.)
Art ideas, in addition to my general art likes:
• Lensky and Olga during the first-act arioso, very much in love.
• Tatyana and Onegin dancing.
• Lensky and Onegin standing ready to draw in the duel.
• The moment either Lensky or Onegin decides to back down and apologise.
• Lensky and Onegin kissing.
• The ending pose of Act II, with Onegin standing over Lensky’s body full of silent grief.
• Sad pining Onegin!
• Onegin kneeling humbly at Tatyana’s feet during the final scene of the opera.
• Onegin and Tatyana sharing one kiss before they part forever.
• Brokenhearted Onegin left behind on his knees by Tatyana.
Canon Note:
• I’m fine with first names, surnames, and standard diminutives (where appropriate). (So for example Tatyana is called Tanya by her nanny, and I’d buy Lensky calling Onegin Zhenya, whether as a lover or as a best friend – but not when he’s challenging him to a duel and has become extremely formal.) First names + patronymics don’t seem to be used in the opera, but they’re correct in Russian, so they’d be fine too. Whatever works for you. The one thing I don’t want is Onegin being called Eugene. It throws me right out of the story. Whatever the title says, Evgeni is what he’s called within the opera.
Le Comte Ory (Met Opera 2011)
Relationships: Adèle/Isolier/Comte Ory; Adèle/Isolier; Adèle/Isolier & Comte Ory
Media Type: Fic, Art
Favourite Production(s): As this is the one opera where I nominated and requested a particular production, I obviously have a favourite! ;) This production is available on Met Player (with a free 7-day trial) and on DVD. The central trio is Damrau/DiDonato/Flórez, and all three have ridiculous levels of chemistry with each other. Which is great because this is the production that takes the farce in the last act – with Isolier pretending to be Adèle and tricking the Comte into feeling up/trying to seduce his own male page – to another level. Instead it becomes a delightful, consensual threesome in which the Comte realises halfway through what’s going on and doesn’t give a fig. Cue threesome romp in bed!
Beyond the threesome, I just really love this production in general. As in Barber, Flórez is a hoot in disguise (here a pontificating hermit and a surprisingly handsy nun). DiDonato is a delight as Isolier, the earnest young page who lays honest siege to his lady love’s heart (and wins her hand!) while conspiring with her to frustrate the Comte’s amatory intentions (and then choosing with her to indulge those intentions for a little while). And Damrau, one of my favourite sopranos, is a sweet, fluffy, but shrewd young Countess who totally rumbles “Sister Colette” and spends the rest of the opera trolling him.
Things I would love to see! The threesome, obviously. As explicit and hot or as bubbly and light-hearted as you like. (Or both! Both is good.) There’s an additional outtake clip on Youtube (from the dress rehearsal) that takes the explicit level even higher than in the actual show – the Comte and Isolier stick their heads up Adèle’s skirts – and I love that. I’d also love to see if the Comte came back later (perhaps for their wedding? Or a year or so down the line?) and all three of them fell back into bed together again.
I’d also enjoy Adèle/Isolier fic, with or without the platonic(ish) presence of the Comte. (Maybe he comes back a year later and there is no threesome but he flirts roguishly with both of them? Maybe he tries to come back in a new disguise to troll them but they see through it immediately – or do they?) Damrau and DiDonato have delicious chemistry and I would definitely love to read more about their Adèle and Isolier falling in love. Either of their POVs during an opera scene would be lovely, or after the opera when Isolier meets Adèle’s brother and the engagement goes forward. What do they tell Adèle’s brother about how they met/fell in love? Somehow I doubt they’d ever tell him about the threesome, lol, although they might tell him some abridged version of how Isolier saved Adèle from the aspirations of the libertine Comte.
Art ideas, in addition to my general art likes:
• The Comte in his nun disguise! I love ‘Sister Colette’.
• Sister Colette and Adèle.
• Sister Colette kneeling at Adèle’s feet (especially if Adèle has that knowing smirk on her face).
• Adèle and Isolier in love, embracing, kissing, etc.
• Threesome romp!
• Isolier and the Comte kissing while Adèle watches them, smiling.
• Isolier or the Comte with their head up Adèle’s skirts while the other one watches avidly and Adèle giggles.
La Donna del Lago - Rossini/Tottola
Relationships: Elena/Malcolm; Elena/Uberto | James V
Media Type: Fic, Art
Favourite Production(s): I’ve only seen one full production, the Met 2015 one with DiDonato, Flórez, Barcellona, and Osborn. DiDonato and Flórez’s chemistry is, as always, good, and I also really liked DiDonato and Barcellona’s chemistry. (Look how lovely they are together! Plus it was neat that Barcellona, the mezzo, was taller and more physically imposing than both of the tenors!) I’ve also read on DiDonato’s blog, however, about a 2010 production in Geneva (scroll down) in which the whole framing of the opera was changed – Malcolm isn’t real and is a figment of Elena’s imagination, and Elena falls in love with the King and ends up with him instead. It’s a radical plot difference, but one that I would be interested in reading about.
Elena/Malcolm: I’d love to get either’s POV on any of the opera scenes, especially their duet (“Vivere io non potrò”) or the ending. Or the story of how they fell in love! Or post-opera happy-ever-after fic. Or – and this may be a niche request – I’d also be interested in a female Malcolm. (Whether she was pretending to be a man in order to be a warrior, and only Elena knows, or whether this is an AU in which women can be fighters too.) A Malcolm who proved herself in battle and won the hand of her true love would be delightful.
Elena/Uberto: Two options here – first, if Malcolm died in the war and Elena eventually fell in love with Uberto. (I’d prefer it if she really did fall in love with Uberto, though, not find out that he’s the King and decide to be with him because of that.) Or second, the Geneva interpretation in which Malcolm is Elena’s imaginary-protector and she falls in love with the King instead of acceding to her arranged marriage with Rodrigo. In either case historical accuracy about the likelihood of the King marrying a Scottish maiden, however beautiful, can go hang. I’m not interested in a story about Elena becoming his mistress (which would be the historically accurate choice).
Art ideas, in addition to my general art likes:
• Elena and Malcolm embracing/kissing, whether during their duet or at the ending.
• An illustration of the Tenor Duel trio (“Qual pena in me gia desta”), with Elena caught in the middle of the flying high C’s.
• The King giving his blessing to Elena & Malcolm.
• Elena singing “Tanti affeti” as everyone looks on.
• Elena looking absolutely joyous (DiDonato does this extremely well).
• (if writing Elena/King) Elena being crowned.
Original Work
Relationships: Female Opera Singer/Female Opera Singer; Female Opera Singer/Male Opera Singer; Male Opera Singer/Male Opera Singer
Media Type: Fic, art
Opera singers in love! I’m particularly interested in a story that sets opera singers falling/being in love while working together on an opera production (especially, but not limited to, the ones I’ve requested elsewhere in this letter).
So, for example, a Nozze in which the Rosina and Susanna are newlyweds who keep sneaking moments on set to steal kisses. Or a new Pearl Fishers production that’s playing up the homoerotic tension between Nadir and Zurga, and the Nadir and Zurga have great chemistry and it turns out eventually that that’s because they’ve been hooking up since the second rehearsal. Or a pair of singers who keep getting cast together in various operas all over the globe, for like five-ten years, and one day they flabbergast everyone by getting engaged when nobody even knew they were dating. Or a story about a Wagnerian soprano in love with a Rossini tenor, and how they never get to star in the same opera but that might be for the best (because both have scene-stealing tendencies and that can be vexing). Or maybe two singers don’t share a language so they woo each other in snippets from Italian operas. Or maybe an accident like DiDonato’s in the London Barber brings a cast closer together and leads to a flirtation between the injured singer and a castmate. Or maybe one singer flirts with another by doing impressions of lots of other opera singers, past and present, and they’re irresistible. Or two singers fall in love during a production in which they’re playing bitter enemies.
I could go on, but I imagine you get the gist! I adore opera and opera singers, so bring it on.
Art ideas, in addition to my general art likes:
• Stealing a kiss on stage during rehearsal.
• One singer practicing with a music stand while the other one is standing behind them with their chin on their lover’s shoulder.
• Grinning at each other in costume during dress rehearsal or backstage during a performance. Ridiculous/OTT/’disguise’ costumes encouraged. Bring on Ježibaba/Rusalka in full costume!
• Helping each other practice recitatives.
• Singing a duet together!
§
Thank you for writing or drawing for me! If you have any questions, send them my way through the mods and I would be happy to answer them. :) [If you aren't assigned to me and you just want to chat about one of the fandoms we share, I'm always happy to make a new fandom friend, so feel free to comment below.]
My AO3 name is
The Pearl Fishers | Eugene Onegin | Le Comte Ory (Met Opera 2011)
La Donna del Lago | Original Work
I’ve requested fic & art for all canons.
General likes:
- Canon-style tone.
- Worldbuilding.
- For operas: opera-style ridiculousness, opulence, OTT-ness, drama, etc.
- Fic set during the ‘happily ever after’.
- People being head-over-heels in love with each other and all cute and affectionate.
- People looking all over town for the perfect gift for their partner. (Any occasion that would fit the canon is fine.)
- People who were used to being single having to adjust to being married/having someone else in their space all the time. (Both good adjustments and funny/awkward adjustments.)
- Queer people in love. I particularly like it when there’s no sexuality-or-gender-related angst, but just people uncomplicatedly in love with each other. (Yes, even when it’s not historically accurate/likely for there to be no angst.)
- Pining (especially mutual pining) that resolves into happiness.
- People outwitting other people.
- Honeymoons!
- Porn! I am a fan of smut.
- Happy endings.
Art likes:
- Smiles.
- Sunshine.
- Affectionate, tender embraces.
- Passionate embraces.
- Characters caught in the moment of telling/listening to a joke.
- The moment before a kiss (especially a first kiss).
- Characters with their head on their lover’s shoulder or in their lover’s lap.
- Characters gazing at their lovers with looks of utter besotted-ness. (If for an opera, perhaps while their lover is in the middle of an aria!)
- This is, uh, quite specific, but men kneeling in front of women (whether in penitence, worship, playfulness, lust, homage, etc.) I realised while writing this letter that it was showing up in basically all my fandoms, so might as well ‘fess to it up front. :)
General DNWs:
- Anyone being intolerant of queer characters.
- Queer characters facing problems that arise from their queerness.
- Animal abuse or death.
- Child abuse or death.
- Physical or sexual abuse.
- I don’t think this will come up with the canons I’ve asked for, but just in case, please no focus on father-daughter relationships.
- Unrequested ships, including unrequested poly ships.
Note on opera productions: I’ve nominated and requested a particular production in only one case (Le Comte Ory – Met 2011), because its interpretation of the central trio is idiosyncratic and I love it. In all other cases, I’ve noted my favourite production(s) for reference and occasionally for plot/art points, but they’re not a must. Several are on Met Player, which has a seven-day free trial subscription (but careful, it’s addictive, haha!) and one is on Youtube.
Relationship: Marie Thérèse/Octavian/Sophie von Faninal
Media Type: Fic, Art
Favourite Production(s): I haven’t yet found “my” Rosenkavalier. I do love Elīna Garanča’s Octavian look in the Met 2017 production, though, and Diana Damrau’s various Sophies.
While the final trio of Der Rosenkavalier is one of my favourite musical numbers in all of opera, I’m always left at the end of the opera wishing everything could be solved with a happy OT3. Perhaps a couple years down the line, when Sophie and Octavian have been married for a while? I’d particularly love it if Sophie was the mastermind who reunited the three of them and suggested they move their relationship to the next level.
Baron Ochs and/or the Field Marshal can be around as antagonists/obstacles, but in general I’d prefer the focus to stay on the trio I’ve requested.
I do love Octavian’s play with gender during the opera, and his alter-ego Mariandel. If you’d like to incorporate that element, whether as crossdressing for sexual playfulness/pleasure, as plot-related crossdressing, or as gender play and/or exploration, go for it! I’d also be up for a story in which Octavian is trans and is Mariandel in private with Sophie & Marie Thérèse. (If you go for this, please have Sophie & Marie Thérèse be entirely accepting, and no gender-related angst.) But trans!Octavian is definitely not a requirement.
Art ideas, in addition to my general art likes:
• Sophie and Marie Thérèse’s first kiss, as Octavian watches.
• Sophie or Marie Thérèse reclining in the other’s arms, as Octavian kneels at her feet.
• Sophie and Octavian both kissing/embracing Marie Thérèse.
• Any affectionate embrace between the three of them, really.
• One of the three telling a joke to the other two.
• Any two dancing while the third watches or plays an instrument for them.
Relationships: Conte di Almaviva/Rosina; Conte di Almaviva/Rosina & Figaro
Media Type: Fic, Art
Favourite Production(s): I’ve watched a lot of Barbers! “My” Barber is the Met 2007, starring DiDonato, Flórez, Mattei, and Del Carlo. Perfect casting in all roles, fantastic chemistry, and gorgeous singing. It’s on Met Player (with a free 7-day trial subscription), and bits and pieces are on Youtube. I also like the famous 2009 RoH one with DiDonato in a wheelchair after breaking her foot opening night (DVD only as far as I know), which retains DiDonato & Flórez, but I like 2007 better because Mattei is an absolutely perfect, definitive Figaro and Del Carlo’s Bartolo is hilarious. Also Flórez’s drunk-soldier costume & act is funnier in 2007, and he and DiDonato are about 50% more lovestruck teenagers, especially towards the end, which I enjoy. (Poor exasperated Figaro, trying to get these handsy besotted lovers to escape down the fucking ladder already!) [Six-and-a-half minutes of this part, from “Ah, qual colpo inaspettato!” through all of “Zitti zitti”, is on Youtube, to give you a taste for the central trio’s chemistry.] And finally I also enjoy the 2014 Met one, which is the same production as 2007 but stars Leonard, Brownlee, and Maltman. I find Maltman’s Figaro underwhelming, but Leonard and Brownlee are lovely and I’d particularly enjoy art of them together. (Tiny Youtube clip.)
I just love this opera. It’s so funny and bubbly and effervescent, and yet there’s a real story as well. Rosina’s being menaced with a forced marriage to her elderly guardian, and she’s willing to elope with a penniless student she’s fallen in love with during nighttime serenades in order to escape. This could’ve gone extremely badly for her! (See for example poor Gilda in Rigoletto.) But instead Rosina outwits her guardian, wins her true love, and becomes a Countess, all in the course of one extremely eventful day.
Rosina is the heart of this opera for me. (As she is in Nozze too.) I adore her cleverness, her quick wit, her fearlessness, and her utter commitment to getting what she wants. Every time she outwits Bartolo I grin (the falling letter! The laundry list! Etc.). And all the clandestine flirting with ‘Lindoro’ (in his various costumes) is adorable. By the end of the opera, she’s truly earned her happy ending.
I obviously ship Rosina/Almaviva a lot – and while I do see Barber & Nozze as two halves of a whole, I’d prefer to have Barber fic not foreshadow Nozze. (For example, I see the Count as truly infatuated with Rosina at this point, and wouldn’t enjoy a Barber fic in which he was perving on/flirting with other women.) Some ideas: Rosina or the Count’s POV during any of the opera’s scenes. Rosina and the Count’s wedding night (as explicitly, joyously smutty as you please!) Rosina learning how to be a Countess, with a fondly infatuated husband constantly distracting her. (If you want to give the Count a first name, I’m fine with that. Or Rosina can use Lindoro as a pet name if you like, or keep playfully calling him ‘signore’. Whatever works for your story!)
I also love Rosina and the Count’s separate relationships with Figaro, and how they seem to be growing towards friendship as the opera progresses. (Culminating in the comradeship of “Zitti zitti”.) It’d be neat to see his POV on the events of the opera, particularly if using the older-brother flair Mattei gives to the character, or how he allows himself to be persuaded to give up his barbering and enter the Count’s service afterwards. (Lots of gold, I imagine?)
Art ideas, in addition to my general art likes:
• ‘Lindoro’ serenading Rosina on her balcony.
• Rosina writing her letter to Lindoro and plotting her plan of attack during “Una voce poco fa”.
• Rosina’s wheelchair and pink cast from RoH 2009 are adorable. I’d love to see any art of her from that production, especially flirting with/kissing Almaviva, but also plotting with Figaro.
• Almaviva in costume! As I mentioned, I love the 2007 drunken-soldier costume a lot. But any costume is great.
• The singing lesson scene (with a sleeping Bartolo, perhaps?)
• Exasperated Figaro on the ladder, with besotted lovers necking beneath.
• The trio singing “Zitti zitti” and smiling a lot. Especially the trio from 2007.
• The Count and Rosina kissing, or embracing. (I’m equally fond of DiDonato/Flórez and Leonard/Brownlee’s portrayals, and would love to see either. If the latter, I found the height difference hot, so please keep it!)
Relationships: Conte di Almaviva/Rosina Contessa di Almaviva; Figaro/Susanna & Rosina Contessa di Almaviva; Rosina Contessa di Almaviva/Susanna
Media Type: Fic, Art
Favourite Production(s): I must have seen thirty Nozzes at this point! It’s my favourite opera. I do have a favourite production which I utterly adore – the 1993 Gardiner (Paris), with Terfel, Hagley, Martinpelto, and Gilfry. The central couples are perfectly cast, with fantastic voices, chemistry, and acting, and Hagley is THE Susanna. I also really like the character interpretations, and Rosina’s relationship with Susanna & Figaro. It’s available on Youtube.
Notes on a few other productions:
• For an older Count/Countess, IMO the best is the Met’s 1998 production with Fleming, Terfel, Bartoli, and Croft. I don’t really like Croft’s Count, but the other three are good (though Bartoli switches out Susanna’s arias and I miss the standard ones).
• For another good young cast (all early 30s or younger), try Salzburg 1995 (on Youtube), with Hvorostovsky, Terfel, Kringlebotn, Graham, and a young Röschmann in her first big break. I think it’s the only time Hvorostovsky & Terfel ever co-starred; Dima’s own laughing assessment was that “Bryn ate me alive and spat me out!”, but his Count is fine (particularly when he’s singing with Kringlebotn & Röschmann in Act II, and not overshadowed by Terfel). And Röschmann’s Susanna is lovely and has a good rapport with Kringlebotn.
• For my favourite Cherubino, see Isabel Leonard’s portrayal in Met 2014.
• For Rosina/Susanna, Gardiner is my favourite but I also really like La Scala 2017 (Damrau/Schultz), which is Damrau’s debut as the Countess. She and Schultz have great chemistry together (here’s Sull'aria), and are both absolutely gorgeous. (Although fair warning, some of that production is weird and Rosina/Count doesn’t work for me in it).
Like in Barber, Rosina is the centre of Nozze for me. Figaro/Susanna is delightful (particularly in well-cast productions) and I love their relationship too, but it’s Rosina who owns my heart. The combination of her steadfast love for her husband (even when he’s being an utter dickhead) and her alliance with Susanna to outsmart him and show him the error of his ways is just fantastic. I want a happy ending for her so desperately!
So, relationships! First, Count/Rosina, of course. If you can get them to what Rosina would consider a happy ending, that would be wonderful. I think she’s clear-eyed about his weakness for pretty women at this point, and accepts that it’s probably impossible to cure him of straying and sleeping with other women occasionally. But him remembering how & why he fell in love with Rosina in the first place, and no longer neglecting her and leaving her pining for him, would go a hell of a long way. I’d love it if it was her clever outwitting of him that reminded him of their courtship in Barber, and led to a reconciliation. (I am also never going to say no to repentant!Count making it up to Rosina in every way he can, including in the bedroom. And I do think he’s genuinely repentant – he’s a proud man and if he wasn’t repentant he would never humble his pride and kneel to her in front of so many people.) Even if it’s just ‘happy for now’ (with the tacit acknowledgment that he’ll probably be back to his old ways in six months), I’ll take it.
Then there’s Susanna/Figaro & Rosina. I love Susanna & Figaro’s relationship – especially in productions like the Gardiner, where Susanna absolutely has Figaro wrapped around her little finger and they’re ridiculously in love – and I love that Rosina’s friendship with and reliance on Figaro has continued after the events of Barber. She hasn’t developed airs on becoming Countess and dropped him. One thing I’d be interested in is a story that looked at Rosina’s friendship with Figaro (and subsequently Susanna as well) from Barber through to Figaro – how it changed and developed, and how it was there for her when she needed it during the events of Nozze. Or maybe a story about how Rosina helped matchmake Susanna & Figaro! Or a post-Nozze story about Rosina’s continuing friendship with Susanna & Figaro after their marriage.
And finally, there’s my non-canon pairing of Rosina/Susanna. This particularly works for me in productions where they’re close in age, like the Gardiner. In many ways Susanna is very similar to Barber!Rosina, so I definitely buy that they would become close friends and companions. I’d love to read a story in which that friendship developed over time into something more. Usually I’m not a fan of infidelity, but in this case I’d be fine with Rosina/Susanna existing alongside their canon pairings. Anything from a cute stolen kisses scene, to Susanna comforting Rosina after the Count’s latest shenanigans, to another Susanna/Rosina plan to outwit the Count, would be great. Or their first meeting, or the first time Susanna or Rosina realized she was falling in love with the other, or Rosina or Susanna thinking about how the Count's jealous suspicions of the men of the household are laughably misplaced, etc. etc. I will love it all.
Art ideas, in addition to my general art likes:
• I love the Act II finale – the music is gorgeous, and the drama tense. Any snapshot from it would be neat. Susanna hiding around a corner/behind a curtain while Rosina and the Count face off! The bit where the Count offers Rosina his arm to leave together and she totally scorns him! Susanna emerging from the wardrobe to shocked faces from Rosina and the Count! Etc.
• Susanna and Figaro flirting.
• Susanna and Rosina dressing in each other’s clothing/Susanna adjusting Rosina’s veil.
• Susanna, Figaro, and Rosina smiling at each other.
• The Count romancing ‘Susanna’/his wife in disguise.
• The final scene, with a penitent Count kneeling at Rosina’s feet (the Gardiner in particular does this very well). Or with him kissing her hands (or a real kiss! Only a few productions give us one but I’d like it.)
A few canon-specific DNWs:
• While I like Cherubino, and having him around is fine, Cherubino/Countess is my NOTP, and the Countess being attracted to him is a big DNW for me. I also don’t like the idea of Cherubino as the Count’s lovechild.
• Some productions have the Count be physically abusive to Rosina during his jealous rage in “Esci ormai garzon malnato”. Physical abuse is an ironclad DNW for me. I’m okay with him having a jealous rage/shouting at Rosina/threatening to kill Cherubino, as long as he doesn’t physically touch her. (Although honestly I’d prefer not to have that part of the finale be focused on.)
• Please no age gap between the Count and Countess. I’m fine with either a young Count/Countess or a middle-aged Count/Countess, but not with age-gap.
• For Rosina/Susanna, please no power-dynamic or mistress-servant kink. I know they aren’t social equals, but I prefer them to be as much genuine friends as possible.
Relationships: Nadir/Zurga; Leïla/Nadir/Zurga
Media Type: Fic, Art
Favourite Production(s): The 2016 Met production with Damrau/Polezani/Kwiecien, because I love Damrau, Polezani does a good job with “Je crois entendre encore”, and Kwiecien is quite pretty. But I'm less wedded to it than to some of my other favourites (it’s kind of my favourite by default, I guess). And I don’t like how “Au fond du temple saint” is staged with the guys on opposite ends of the stage for almost the whole time. No chemistry, tsk tsk. I’m still looking for a production with a dynamic Nadir & Zurga relationship.
It’s love triangle time! Two childhood friends fall in love with the same vestal virgin, and swear to forsake hopes of gaining her love to preserve their friendship. But only one keeps his vow! Will the other take revenge, or will friendship forgive? My solution is, of course, to acknowledge the elephant in the Pearl Fishers room, which is that Nadir and Zurga are obviously in love with each other. Leïla can be included to make it a OT3, but I’m also fine with just Nadir & Zurga realising the incredibly obvious and taking their friendship to the next level. Stop fighting over Leïla and kiss already, guys!
As for “Au fond du temple saint”, there’s two ways to play it. One is to make it ‘faux’ – the men are avowing endless friendship, but they’re both lying to each other and after their own ends. (Especially Nadir, with his secret about Leïla.) The other is to play it straight and to have it really be a stirring affirmation of friendship. I obviously prefer the latter – or rather, a romantic version of the latter. Or, if more complexity is desired, I could go for the former, as long as they eventually overcome the faux-ness and really do end up together.
However you want to have them get together is great with me! Maybe they realise during “Au fond du temple saint”, and the rest of the opera gets discarded because they settle down happily to be boyfriends and Leïla is left alone to do her protecting-the-pearl-fishers job in peace. ;) I’m also happy to have them run off together with Leïla in the end to settle down as a trio somewhere else.
And porn, either as a couple or with Leïla too, is great.
Art ideas, in addition to my general art likes:
• A proper staging of “Au fond du temple saint”. Lots of staring into each other’s eyes.
• Zurga watching Leïla and Nadir together.
• Leïla watching Zurga and Nadir together.
• Zurga freeing Leïla and Nadir in the end.
• Zurga and Nadir embracing or kissing.
• Zurga and Nadir and Leïla in a group embrace.
One canon-specific DNW:
• When Leïla comes to plead with Zurga for Nadir’s life, the 2016 Met production portrays him as almost raping her. There’s no support for this in the libretto - please don’t include it.
Relationships: Vladimir Lensky/Eugene Onegin, Olga Larina/Vladimir Lensky, Tatyana Larina/Eugene Onegin
Media Type: Fic, art
Favourite Production(s): I think the definitive Onegin is the Hvorostovsky/Fleming (Met 2007), and it’s definitely my favourite. Both Fleming and Hvorostovsky were at the top of their game, and I love Vargas’s Lensky. It’s also the version that made me believe Tatyana’s instant ‘love at first sight’ for Onegin – Dmitri in that red tail-jacket and tight trousers would turn anyone’s head. ;) And I like the production choice to have Onegin’s costume change on stage during the Polonaise at the beginning of Act III. I think it’s a neat way to show him literally washing his hands of Lensky’s death, and the blank stunned stoniness of Hvorostovsky’s face as he’s undressed and redressed by his lackeys foreshadows his later pained recapitulation of his metaphorical haunting by Lensky and of his aimless wanderings in the years since the duel. And the final scene with Tatyana and Onegin is brilliant.
(If you’re uncomfortable/sad watching the Met production because of Hvorostovsky’s recent passing, however, feel free to use another production as reference. Personally I find enjoying his recordings to be a celebration of his life, but I understand that other people may feel differently.)
Olga Larina/Vladimir Lensky: I absolutely adore Lensky’s first-act arioso, “Ja lyublyu vas” (“I love you”). It’s so tender and sweet. And there’s a bit that doesn’t translate in (English) subtitles – Lensky starts it addressing Olga formally (using ‘vas’), and by the end he’s overcome with love and affection and it’s all informal (using ‘tebya’). It’s just lovely. There’s this little moment at the end of the Met version of the arioso where they’ve kissed and now they’re gazing into each other’s eyes and Olga whispers “I love you” back to him, and I have literal heart-eyes. SO. I would definitely love for Olga & Lensky to get a happy-ever-after together (duel, what duel?). Or you can stick with canon and give me a POV snippet of either/both during the adorable arioso! :)
Tatyana Larina/Eugene Onegin: The first act of Onegin is always a trip for me because he starts out all nice and sweet (and hot, if we’re talking Met 2007), and then his aria begins all ‘letting Tatyana down as gently as possible’ but swerves into dickland by the end (patronisingly telling her girls move on from “passing fancies”, lecturing her to learn to control her feelings, and hinting a lesser man might have taken advantage of her). Plus the Met version is unintentionally hilarious to me because his costume goes from ‘super hot, showing off all my goods’ when they first meet to ‘super buttoned up, long shapeless concealing coat’ when he comes in response to her letter. He’s being considerate, perhaps, and not rubbing his hot unavailability in? IDK, but the radical costume switch always cracks me up.
Anyway, this is one of my rare tragic pairings, where I don’t want a happy-ever-after for them (unless in very specific circumstances). I mostly want Onegin to realise what he missed out on and pine sadly forever for his dead friend and lost love. Which is mean, but…he literally incited a fatal duel with his best friend by flirting with his friend’s fiancée to punish him for inviting him to a boring ball. WHO DOES THAT. I mean, Lensky really should’ve had some chill and not gone all Hulk-jealous and denounced him, but you can be bored for a couple hours without trying to incite mayhem, Evgeni. Imagine if Darcy had tried to piss off Bingley because he was bored at the assembly room ball, and ended up shooting him dead in a duel. Not cool.
So yes, I want Onegin to sadly pine and regret his past choices. Unless, there’s only one way I could see a Tatyana/Evgeni happy ending, and that’s if he swallows his pride and backs down to Lensky – either before Lensky officially issues the duel challenge (which would be easier), after (which would be very hard), or at the duel itself (perhaps he could apologise – and not for being late, ffs Evgeni you troll - and suggest they shoot into the air?) He knows right away that it’s his fault and is berating himself for not using common sense and for inciting Lensky. He’s a proud man and backing down would be really painful to him, though. But if he did, and the duel was averted, I could see him falling in love with Tatyana over time and them ending up together. Otherwise – sad pining!
I also greatly love Tatyana as the regal Princess Gremina who freezes Onegin out at the ball where they meet again (Score, Tanya! Show him what he lost out on!), and as the conflicted woman in the final scene who still loves Onegin but won’t betray her husband. That last scene of the opera is incredible. To have the man she’s always loved literally holding her in his arms swearing over and over again that he loves her, and still have the strength to wrench herself away and tell him farewell forever and leave him sobbing behind her… damn, Tatyana. That is incredible. I’d love to read her POV during that scene.
Oh, there’s one other way I could see Tatyana and Onegin ending up together – if Onegin is willing to wait and be faithful to her until Gremin dies a natural death (he does seem to be drastically older than both of them, like forty years older or something like that). After the way Tatyana crushed his pride by rejecting him so soundly, I don’t know if Onegin would be willing to humbly wait, though. But waiting could prove his constancy. (Though it’d still be tough to marry someone who killed your sister’s fiancé – Olga would be devastated.)
Vladimir Lensky/Eugene Onegin: I haven’t been able to find a recording of the famous “Brokeback Onegin” production, but just reading about it made me watch the standard productions with an eye for the ship. And it’s a good one! Onegin and Lensky are eminently shippable, and if they could only avoid that pesky duel… In the DVD liner notes from the Met production, we get Tchaikovsky’s own description of the opera, which runs thus: “a bored society lion, out of boredom, out of petty irritation, against his will, as the result of a fateful coincidence of circumstances, takes the life of a young man whom, in essence, he loves!” If only the duel could be averted!
Any way you get Onegin and Lensky together would be fine with me, whether that’s an established relationship before Lensky falls in love with Olga, or the two of them realising their feelings for each other after their argument at the ball (but before the duel), or Onegin and/or Lensky swallowing their pride and backing down and them calling off the duel/firing into the air/deliberately missing (and then making up which turns into kisses/more). Or something else! The only thing I’m not particularly interested in is ghost!Lensky. (I’m good with metaphorical haunting, but not literal haunting.) I’d also be interested in sad pining melancholy Onegin who realises he killed his one true love without ever breathing a word of his feelings. (Yes, we’re back to the sad pining again.)
Art ideas, in addition to my general art likes:
• Lensky and Olga during the first-act arioso, very much in love.
• Tatyana and Onegin dancing.
• Lensky and Onegin standing ready to draw in the duel.
• The moment either Lensky or Onegin decides to back down and apologise.
• Lensky and Onegin kissing.
• The ending pose of Act II, with Onegin standing over Lensky’s body full of silent grief.
• Sad pining Onegin!
• Onegin kneeling humbly at Tatyana’s feet during the final scene of the opera.
• Onegin and Tatyana sharing one kiss before they part forever.
• Brokenhearted Onegin left behind on his knees by Tatyana.
Canon Note:
• I’m fine with first names, surnames, and standard diminutives (where appropriate). (So for example Tatyana is called Tanya by her nanny, and I’d buy Lensky calling Onegin Zhenya, whether as a lover or as a best friend – but not when he’s challenging him to a duel and has become extremely formal.) First names + patronymics don’t seem to be used in the opera, but they’re correct in Russian, so they’d be fine too. Whatever works for you. The one thing I don’t want is Onegin being called Eugene. It throws me right out of the story. Whatever the title says, Evgeni is what he’s called within the opera.
Relationships: Adèle/Isolier/Comte Ory; Adèle/Isolier; Adèle/Isolier & Comte Ory
Media Type: Fic, Art
Favourite Production(s): As this is the one opera where I nominated and requested a particular production, I obviously have a favourite! ;) This production is available on Met Player (with a free 7-day trial) and on DVD. The central trio is Damrau/DiDonato/Flórez, and all three have ridiculous levels of chemistry with each other. Which is great because this is the production that takes the farce in the last act – with Isolier pretending to be Adèle and tricking the Comte into feeling up/trying to seduce his own male page – to another level. Instead it becomes a delightful, consensual threesome in which the Comte realises halfway through what’s going on and doesn’t give a fig. Cue threesome romp in bed!
Beyond the threesome, I just really love this production in general. As in Barber, Flórez is a hoot in disguise (here a pontificating hermit and a surprisingly handsy nun). DiDonato is a delight as Isolier, the earnest young page who lays honest siege to his lady love’s heart (and wins her hand!) while conspiring with her to frustrate the Comte’s amatory intentions (and then choosing with her to indulge those intentions for a little while). And Damrau, one of my favourite sopranos, is a sweet, fluffy, but shrewd young Countess who totally rumbles “Sister Colette” and spends the rest of the opera trolling him.
Things I would love to see! The threesome, obviously. As explicit and hot or as bubbly and light-hearted as you like. (Or both! Both is good.) There’s an additional outtake clip on Youtube (from the dress rehearsal) that takes the explicit level even higher than in the actual show – the Comte and Isolier stick their heads up Adèle’s skirts – and I love that. I’d also love to see if the Comte came back later (perhaps for their wedding? Or a year or so down the line?) and all three of them fell back into bed together again.
I’d also enjoy Adèle/Isolier fic, with or without the platonic(ish) presence of the Comte. (Maybe he comes back a year later and there is no threesome but he flirts roguishly with both of them? Maybe he tries to come back in a new disguise to troll them but they see through it immediately – or do they?) Damrau and DiDonato have delicious chemistry and I would definitely love to read more about their Adèle and Isolier falling in love. Either of their POVs during an opera scene would be lovely, or after the opera when Isolier meets Adèle’s brother and the engagement goes forward. What do they tell Adèle’s brother about how they met/fell in love? Somehow I doubt they’d ever tell him about the threesome, lol, although they might tell him some abridged version of how Isolier saved Adèle from the aspirations of the libertine Comte.
Art ideas, in addition to my general art likes:
• The Comte in his nun disguise! I love ‘Sister Colette’.
• Sister Colette and Adèle.
• Sister Colette kneeling at Adèle’s feet (especially if Adèle has that knowing smirk on her face).
• Adèle and Isolier in love, embracing, kissing, etc.
• Threesome romp!
• Isolier and the Comte kissing while Adèle watches them, smiling.
• Isolier or the Comte with their head up Adèle’s skirts while the other one watches avidly and Adèle giggles.
Relationships: Elena/Malcolm; Elena/Uberto | James V
Media Type: Fic, Art
Favourite Production(s): I’ve only seen one full production, the Met 2015 one with DiDonato, Flórez, Barcellona, and Osborn. DiDonato and Flórez’s chemistry is, as always, good, and I also really liked DiDonato and Barcellona’s chemistry. (Look how lovely they are together! Plus it was neat that Barcellona, the mezzo, was taller and more physically imposing than both of the tenors!) I’ve also read on DiDonato’s blog, however, about a 2010 production in Geneva (scroll down) in which the whole framing of the opera was changed – Malcolm isn’t real and is a figment of Elena’s imagination, and Elena falls in love with the King and ends up with him instead. It’s a radical plot difference, but one that I would be interested in reading about.
Elena/Malcolm: I’d love to get either’s POV on any of the opera scenes, especially their duet (“Vivere io non potrò”) or the ending. Or the story of how they fell in love! Or post-opera happy-ever-after fic. Or – and this may be a niche request – I’d also be interested in a female Malcolm. (Whether she was pretending to be a man in order to be a warrior, and only Elena knows, or whether this is an AU in which women can be fighters too.) A Malcolm who proved herself in battle and won the hand of her true love would be delightful.
Elena/Uberto: Two options here – first, if Malcolm died in the war and Elena eventually fell in love with Uberto. (I’d prefer it if she really did fall in love with Uberto, though, not find out that he’s the King and decide to be with him because of that.) Or second, the Geneva interpretation in which Malcolm is Elena’s imaginary-protector and she falls in love with the King instead of acceding to her arranged marriage with Rodrigo. In either case historical accuracy about the likelihood of the King marrying a Scottish maiden, however beautiful, can go hang. I’m not interested in a story about Elena becoming his mistress (which would be the historically accurate choice).
Art ideas, in addition to my general art likes:
• Elena and Malcolm embracing/kissing, whether during their duet or at the ending.
• An illustration of the Tenor Duel trio (“Qual pena in me gia desta”), with Elena caught in the middle of the flying high C’s.
• The King giving his blessing to Elena & Malcolm.
• Elena singing “Tanti affeti” as everyone looks on.
• Elena looking absolutely joyous (DiDonato does this extremely well).
• (if writing Elena/King) Elena being crowned.
Relationships: Female Opera Singer/Female Opera Singer; Female Opera Singer/Male Opera Singer; Male Opera Singer/Male Opera Singer
Media Type: Fic, art
Opera singers in love! I’m particularly interested in a story that sets opera singers falling/being in love while working together on an opera production (especially, but not limited to, the ones I’ve requested elsewhere in this letter).
So, for example, a Nozze in which the Rosina and Susanna are newlyweds who keep sneaking moments on set to steal kisses. Or a new Pearl Fishers production that’s playing up the homoerotic tension between Nadir and Zurga, and the Nadir and Zurga have great chemistry and it turns out eventually that that’s because they’ve been hooking up since the second rehearsal. Or a pair of singers who keep getting cast together in various operas all over the globe, for like five-ten years, and one day they flabbergast everyone by getting engaged when nobody even knew they were dating. Or a story about a Wagnerian soprano in love with a Rossini tenor, and how they never get to star in the same opera but that might be for the best (because both have scene-stealing tendencies and that can be vexing). Or maybe two singers don’t share a language so they woo each other in snippets from Italian operas. Or maybe an accident like DiDonato’s in the London Barber brings a cast closer together and leads to a flirtation between the injured singer and a castmate. Or maybe one singer flirts with another by doing impressions of lots of other opera singers, past and present, and they’re irresistible. Or two singers fall in love during a production in which they’re playing bitter enemies.
I could go on, but I imagine you get the gist! I adore opera and opera singers, so bring it on.
Art ideas, in addition to my general art likes:
• Stealing a kiss on stage during rehearsal.
• One singer practicing with a music stand while the other one is standing behind them with their chin on their lover’s shoulder.
• Grinning at each other in costume during dress rehearsal or backstage during a performance. Ridiculous/OTT/’disguise’ costumes encouraged. Bring on Ježibaba/Rusalka in full costume!
• Helping each other practice recitatives.
• Singing a duet together!
Thank you for writing or drawing for me! If you have any questions, send them my way through the mods and I would be happy to answer them. :) [If you aren't assigned to me and you just want to chat about one of the fandoms we share, I'm always happy to make a new fandom friend, so feel free to comment below.]
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Date: 2018-02-20 05:52 am (UTC)