The Complete Opera Book The Stories of the Operas, together with 400 of the Leading Airs and Motives in Musical Notation — A Closer Reading

Recurring Intervals and Oriental Scales

Kobbé repeatedly highlights the interval of three semitones as characteristic of Oriental scales. In Aïda, he brackets the intervals in the sacred chant (D to C-flat) and sacred dance (G to F-flat), explaining that the ascending version sounds more familiar to Western ears because of the scale's upward tendency. He contrasts this with Oriental systems, where the scale tends downward. This technical observation recurs across multiple operas, serving as a structural thread. Kobbé does not merely describe the music; he uses the interval to argue about cultural perception of tonality. The same analytical lens appears in discussions of other works, though the excerpts limit full comparison.

Scene Shifts and Dramatic Contrast

The Aïda excerpt demonstrates Kobbé's method of moving between scenes to heighten emotional stakes. Act II opens in Amneris's hall, where she feigns sympathy and tests Aïda's feelings. The duet “Amore! gaudio tormento” encapsulates the princess's craftiness and Aïda's conflict. Then the scene shifts to the triumphal gate near the temple of Ammon, where the king sits under a purple canopy. Kobbé notes that Aïda is compelled to attend, intensifying her humiliation. This juxtaposition of private manipulation and public spectacle is a recurring pattern in the book, though the excerpts only show this example. The structural choice underscores how Verdi builds tension through location.

Voice and Narrative Distance

Kobbé maintains a detached, informative tone throughout. He writes that Amneris “craftily feigning sympathy” and “vents the refined cruelty of her jealous nature,” but avoids emotional commentary. The foreword by Katharine Wright confirms that Kobbé intended the work to stand on facts, not personal opinions. This voice is consistent: he describes the duet as “formulated by Verdi” and uses phrases like “what has just been described.” The narrative distance allows the plots and musical examples to speak for themselves. However, the excerpts are too brief to assess whether this tone persists across all 41 sections.

Integration of Musical Notation

Kobbé embeds musical notation directly into the prose, with clickable [Listen] links in the e-book. In the Aïda analysis, he provides two music examples for the sacred chant and dance, bracketing the intervals. He also includes a phrase from the Amneris-Aïda duet, noting it expresses “combined haughtiness and jealousy.” This integration is not merely decorative; it supports his analytical claims. The book contains 400 such motives, making it a hybrid reference work. The notation serves as evidence for his structural observations, such as the Oriental scale. The excerpts do not reveal how many operas include notation, but the pattern is clear.

Readers approaching Kobbé's book should expect a methodical blend of plot summary and musical analysis. The 1919 first edition contains typographical errors, which this e-book corrects without note. The work's value lies in its specific observations—like the three-semitone interval—rather than broad interpretation. Use the table of contents to navigate by opera, and listen to the embedded MIDI files to hear the motives discussed.

Flipping through Kobbé’s old pages, I kept pausing on those printed motives, imagining the singers’ breath behind the dots. It felt less like reading and more like listening to someone hum a memory. That same unfinished, wondering quality surfaced later in Aspects of Modern Opera: Estimates and Inquiries — A Closer Reading, though its questions pointed forward, not back. Odd how one book can quietly hand you another, without ever saying a word.