Yeah, the plotlines in opera are meant to be ridiculous. Part of this is because the libretto isn't the point, it's the music and then the costuming. Part of this is because when opera began to boom, literature was already full of melodrama and ridiculous plots. Consider:
Lorenzo manages to prevent Hieronimo from seeking justice by convincing the King that Horatio is alive and well. Furthermore, Lorenzo does not allow Hieronimo to see the King, claiming that he is too busy. This, combined with his wife's suicide, which happens just prior to Hieronimo's appeal to the King, pushes Hieronimo past his limit. He rants incoherently and digs at the ground with his dagger. Lorenzo goes on to tell his uncle, the King, that Hieronimo's odd behavior is due to his inability to deal with his son Horatio's new found wealth (Balthazar's ransom from the Portuguese Viceroy), and he has gone mad with jealousy. Regaining his senses, he and Bel-Imperia feign reconciliation with the murderers and plan to put on a play together, Soliman and Perseda. Under cover of the play they stab Lorenzo and Balthazar to death in front of the King, Viceroy, and Duke of Castile (Lorenzo and Bel-Imperia's father); Bel-Imperia kills herself, and Hieronimo tells his audience of his motive behind the murders, but refuses to reveal Bel-Imperia's complicity in the plot. He then bites out his own tongue to prevent himself from talking under torture, after which he kills the Duke and then himself. Andrea and Revenge are satisfied, delivering suitable eternal punishments to the guilty parties.
That's part of The Spanish Tragedie by Thomas Kyd but would be at home in any of Verdi's operas. If all these revenge tragedies actually happened there would have been no royalty left in Europe.
Funny thing is...the plot of most Shakespeare plays, especially the comedies, are no less believable, but the writing's so good it's easy to ignore the fact that everyone seems to have a cross-dressing identical twin whom they were separated from at birth so one of them could be raised by the faeries while the other became prince of Moldavia.
no subject
Lorenzo manages to prevent Hieronimo from seeking justice by convincing the King that Horatio is alive and well. Furthermore, Lorenzo does not allow Hieronimo to see the King, claiming that he is too busy. This, combined with his wife's suicide, which happens just prior to Hieronimo's appeal to the King, pushes Hieronimo past his limit. He rants incoherently and digs at the ground with his dagger. Lorenzo goes on to tell his uncle, the King, that Hieronimo's odd behavior is due to his inability to deal with his son Horatio's new found wealth (Balthazar's ransom from the Portuguese Viceroy), and he has gone mad with jealousy. Regaining his senses, he and Bel-Imperia feign reconciliation with the murderers and plan to put on a play together, Soliman and Perseda. Under cover of the play they stab Lorenzo and Balthazar to death in front of the King, Viceroy, and Duke of Castile (Lorenzo and Bel-Imperia's father); Bel-Imperia kills herself, and Hieronimo tells his audience of his motive behind the murders, but refuses to reveal Bel-Imperia's complicity in the plot. He then bites out his own tongue to prevent himself from talking under torture, after which he kills the Duke and then himself. Andrea and Revenge are satisfied, delivering suitable eternal punishments to the guilty parties.
That's part of The Spanish Tragedie by Thomas Kyd but would be at home in any of Verdi's operas. If all these revenge tragedies actually happened there would have been no royalty left in Europe.
Funny thing is...the plot of most Shakespeare plays, especially the comedies, are no less believable, but the writing's so good it's easy to ignore the fact that everyone seems to have a cross-dressing identical twin whom they were separated from at birth so one of them could be raised by the faeries while the other became prince of Moldavia.