The Overture

// Tracklist

1. The Invitation

   The phone rings out, a fateful sound My heart sinks deep into the ground “I have two tickets,” says the voice As if I ever had a choice

   She speaks of culture, speaks of art Of music that will stir my heart Poo-chee-nee, she says his name As if we speak of sacred flame

   I cannot go, I must refuse I search my mind for some excuse A prior engagement, sudden flu But nothing, nothing will get through The opera awaits for me This is my destiny

   “How long,” I type into my phone Three hours sitting there alone Three hours trapped inside that hall Why must I suffer through it all

   She speaks of sopranos, speaks of soul Of arias that make one whole I nod along, I fake a smile I’m dying slowly all the while

   I cannot flee, I cannot hide There is no stopping this cruel tide She bought the tickets weeks ago And so to opera I must go The opera awaits for me This is my tragedy

   It’s culture! It’s refined! It’s everything I cannot find Within myself to truly love What nightmare falls from stars above

   And so the date is set in stone I face this evening on my own The opera comes for me tonight There is no hope There is no light

2. Dress Code

   I stand before my closet door A battlefield I’ve seen before But never stakes as high as these What fabric brings a man to his knees

   Black tie optional, says the card But getting dressed should not be hard I own one suit from years ago Does anyone still wear a bow

   What do I wear, what do I wear Everyone will stop and stare They’ll know at once I don’t belong They’ll see that everything is wrong The opera people, they just know Which way the proper fabrics flow

   I try the jacket, much too tight The pants, they bunch, it isn’t right I search online for what to do Three hundred posts, no single clue

   Some say a tuxedo is required Some say smart casual’s desired The contradictions multiply I think I’d rather simply die

   What do I wear, what do I wear Everyone will stop and stare They’ll sense the fraud within my soul This costume cannot make me whole The opera people, born refined I was not fashioned for this kind

   Mirror, mirror on the wall I look like I don’t belong at all A stranger stares back wearing clothes That fit everyone but me, I suppose

   And yet the hour now draws near I must depart despite my fear In borrowed shoes that pinch my feet I march toward my defeat

3. The Lobby

   The chandeliers hang overhead Like diamonds for the cultured dead I step inside this gilded hall And feel myself becoming small

   A woman mentions La Bo-em I nod as if I know the name A man speaks fondly of Vair-dee I smile like he’s just complimented me

   Twenty-two dollars for a plastic cup of wine Twenty-two dollars and I’m standing in a line Surrounded by opinions I cannot understand Pretending I belong here with a program in my hand The lobby of the opera house Where I am just a mouse

   “The Callas recording from ‘58 Remains the one I venerate” I nod along, I stroke my chin I have no clue what state we’re in

   Someone asks me what I think I contemplate the nearest drink “The tenor’s interpretation seems…” I trail off into fever dreams

   Twenty-two dollars for this mediocre wine Twenty-two dollars standing in this endless line Everyone speaks languages I’ll never comprehend When will the small talk, when will the suffering end The lobby of the opera house Where culture swallows up the mouse

   They speak of movements, speak of themes Of subtext buried in the scenes I search my phone for talking points This place is wearing down my joints

   The lights they flicker, time to go Into the darkness, row by row I take my seat, I hold my breath Perhaps this is the night of my death

4. The Overture

   The lights go down, the murmurs cease For just a moment, there is peace A single note from somewhere deep Awakens something long asleep

   The violins begin to swell Perhaps this won’t be living hell The cellos rise to join the fray Perhaps I’ve judged this art astray

   Oh, maybe I was wrong Maybe all along The music wraps around my heart Maybe this has been the missing part Oh, maybe I was wrong I feel my spirit lift along Carried by this wave of sound Maybe something true is being found

   No voices yet, just instruments The pure expression, no pretense That words could never hope to say I feel my cynicism fade away

   The horns declare a golden phrase I sit here bathed in gentle praise The timpani rolls soft and low Perhaps there’s something here to know

   Oh, maybe I was wrong Maybe all along This orchestra, this grand design Perhaps the fault was only mine Oh, maybe I was wrong I feel my heart grow strong Rising with this symphony Maybe opera is meant for me

   The melody soars ever higher I’m lifted by this unseen choir Of instruments that speak as one Perhaps my suffering is done

   The overture begins to fade I sit here hopeful, unafraid The curtain rises, here we go How bad could this really be… oh… oh no…

5. Who Are These People

   The singing starts, the hope dies fast These vocals were not built to last A woman screams at someone new Is that her lover? I’ve no clue

   I read the supertitles high above “She loves him but she also does not love” The translation raises questions more What were they even fighting for

   Who are these people, what do they want Why do they sing instead of just confront The basic issues plaguing their lives Why does that man have fourteen wives Who are these people, I’m so confused The plot has left me battered and bruised

   A man in robes walks to the stage He sings about some ancient rage Wait, is he dead? He might be a ghost That’s the one I understand the most

   I lean and whisper, “Who is that?” My date just shushes, cold and flat The program’s notes are no help here Three paragraphs and nothing’s clear

   Who are these people, what is the plot I’m following nothing, connecting no dots Is that her father or is that her son The staging’s so dark I can’t tell anyone Who are these people, where are we now Did someone just kill a sacred cow

   The supertitles scroll on by “He weeps because the moon must die” THE MOON? What happened to the Duke? I think I’m going to puke

   And now there’s someone wearing wings And now a chorus dressed as kings I’ve lost the thread, I’ve lost the way Please tell me this ends today Please tell me this is the final act Wait, we’re not even halfway through… that’s a fact?

6. Intermission

   The lights come up, I gasp for air Survivors blinking everywhere We stumble to the lobby space The intermission saving grace

   But wait, someone is walking near With questions I don’t want to hear “What did you think of act one’s arc?” I’m grasping desperately for a spark

   The… singing… was very… present The… whole thing… was quite pleasant The lady doing all the high notes there Had really… very… nice… hair? I’m nodding like I understand Making gestures with my hand The loud part was… I liked it… yes I make my uneducated guess

   I flee into the bathroom stall And press my back against the wall I check my phone with dread and fear One and a half more hours here

   My face goes white, I meet my fate There is no escaping what awaits I splash some water on my face Return to this ah-kur-sed place I’ll have more lies prepared this time Rehearsing as I walk the line

   The man’s… choices… were quite bold The story’s starting to unfold In ways that feel so… raw… and real The… band was… good… I liked the feel I trail off, let my sentence bend This is how pretending doesn’t end The… thing… she did… that part… was good I’ve said everything and nothing, understood

   Another glass of overpriced wine Maybe this will help me feel fine Twenty-two dollars down the drain Here comes the small talk again

   The lights they flicker once, then twice My stomach fills with shards of ice There’s more to come, there’s more ahead Act two approaches, filled with dread I take my seat, the darkness falls I hear the orchestra’s first calls Round two begins, and I’m not ready My nerves already unsteady

7. The Longest Note

   The soprano steps into the light Her mouth opens impossibly wide A single syllable takes flight “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh” - I’m losing my mind

   Up and down the scales she flies I check my watch, rub my eyes One word stretched to forty-five seconds long How is this considered a song

   Just say the word! Just say it plain! This vocal run is causing me pain La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-laaaaaaa My sanity’s coming undone She’s been singing “love” for what feels like an hour My will to live begins to sour Just say the word! One syllable! Please! I’m begging on my metaphorical knees

   She pauses and I start to clap But no, we’ve fallen into her trap She opens up her mouth once more I grip my armrests, brace and swore

   Another word, another run Is this how language should be done? Trilling, warbling, up and down I’m slowly starting to drown

   Just say the word! Stop showing off! From all this warbling, I might cough Mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-meeeeeee Please just let me go free She hits a note I’ve never heard Then seventeen more on the same dang word Just say it! Spit it out! I’m dying here! This vocal run’s a nightmare

   Ahhhhhhhhhhh-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-laaaaaaaah

   And finally, the torture ends She holds her final note and bends Into a bow, the crowd goes wild While I sit broken like a child One word, she sang one single word For three whole minutes, quite absurd And everyone around me cheers While I sit drowning in my tears

8. She's Been Dying For Twenty Minutes

   She clutches at her chest and falls Her voice still echoing through the halls She coughed one time ten minutes back And now she’s launched this death attack

   She’s dying, dying on the stage But singing like she’s not engaged In actually departing from this earth Her lungs seem full of endless worth

   She’s been dying for twenty minutes Dying for twenty minutes Perfect high notes from her “final” breath This is the longest death She collapses to the ground Then rises up with gorgeous sound She’s been dying for twenty minutes When will this death have limits

   Her hand reaches toward the sky She’s singing words of sweet goodbye But wait, she’s getting up again To sing the same goodbye refrain

   The tenor holds her in his arms She warns him of upcoming harms Then dies again, then rises up I want to scream, I’ve had enough

   She’s been dying for twenty minutes Dying for twenty minutes Tuberculosis took her voice away But she can still belt in B today She falls, she rises, falls once more I’ve never been so bored before She’s been dying for twenty minutes Surely there must be limits

   Farewell, farewell, my love so true I die, I die, for love of you But first let me sing seventeen more bars About the moon and distant stars And then I’ll die, but not before I sing at least a dozen more

   At last she lies there, still and cold The saddest story ever told The audience weeps, they dab their eyes And I just sit here, paralyzed She coughed one time, ONE SINGLE COUGH And still she wouldn’t just knock off Finally, mercifully, she’s done This death has been the longest one But wait… her hand… it twitches… no… NO… One final note before I goooooooo

9. BRAVO

   A man steps forth to sing his pain The Hell-den-teh-nor stakes his claim His voice could shatter crystal glass And yet they call it upper class

   And then from somewhere to my right A voice explodes into the night

   BRAVO! I jump out of my seat BRAVO! My heart skips every beat Who is this man who’s screaming in my ear While I’m just trying to survive in here BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO! Please stop, please stop, please go

   And now a woman takes the stage In Viking helmet, all the rage She’s holding what appears to be a spear Why does she have a weapon here

   A man sings high, higher than seems right His voice ascending to the light They call him counter-tenor, that’s the name But to my ears it sounds insane

   BRAVO! He does it once again BRAVO! This violence to my brain I spill my wine and knock my neighbor’s arm This bravo guy is causing actual harm BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO! My sanity’s on overflow

   Viking helmets, why are there so many Spears and crowns and shields aplenty A horse just walked across the stage I’m trapped inside a fever’s cage Why does that man sound like a child These costume choices have gone wild And still the Hell-den-teh-nor screams This can’t be real, these must be dreams

   BRAVO! One final jump scare for the night BRAVO! I clutch my chest in fright BRAVO! The opera nears its end But I’m not sure I’ll ever mend BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO! Please… let… me… go…

10. Standing Ovation

    The curtain falls, the lights come up I’ve drained my soul’s remaining cup Around me people leap to stand And clap with overwhelming hands

    They’re crying, crying everywhere Dabbing at mascara’d tears What did they see that I did not? What revelation have they got?

    Standing ovation, everyone’s on their feet Standing ovation, but I feel defeat They’re calling for encores, one, two, three, four The cast keeps coming back for more Standing ovation, the crowd is going wild And I’m just sitting here, a broken child

    I stand because I must stand too It’s what the opera people do I clap my hands like all the rest But something’s hollow in my chest

    The fifth encore, they take a bow I’ve lost all sense of time by now What magic was I meant to see? Why does this mean nothing to me?

    Standing ovation, the tears flow down their cheeks Standing ovation, I’ve not slept in weeks They throw their roses on the stage While I sit trapped inside my cage Standing ovation, am I the broken one? Or have they all just lost their minds for fun?

    The ride home, she’s radiant with joy “Wasn’t that the best?” I feel like a decoy “The way she died!” she says with glee I nod along, but what I see Is three hours gone, I’ll never get them back My soul has faded slowly into black

    “We should do this again sometime soon” My stomach drops, I feel the doom “Same time next month?” she asks so bright I stare ahead into the night A thousand yards of empty space The opera leaves no saving grace Same time next month… the damage done I am forever… come undone

    The opera has broken me I’ll never be the same The opera has shattered me I’ve lost my will to play this game Bravo…