One thing that’s gradually been dawning on me to think about in the last few weeks is whether my characters actually know they are in an opera or not. And I’ve decided the answer is both, or at least, sometimes they are more aware of the theatricality of their performances than at other times. Or perhaps it’s always ambiguous, I’m not sure. I got to thinking about this when I was writing Amy and Jim’s seduction duet. Are they simply going over the top in a sort of over-the-top raunchy-Carry-On way that I have the feeling might of floated Jim Mollison’s boat, or are they deliberately camping it up for the audience or simply for their own theatrical enjoyment? It’s probably a bit of all three.
In Paula’s jogging scene, is she being herself, talking to herself, or perhaps getting the more motivated part of herself to talk to the lazy Paula, is she just proclaiming these promises to the Thames Estuary, or us in the audience?
I’m not really sure but I’m really enjoying playing around between the boundaries of these viewpoints. That last sentence makes me sound rather more cerebral than I actually am. To be honest I try not to think about this stuff too much and just spend the day singing and playing the piano, trying to create the most expressive and characterful phrases that I can. I have a slight fear that if I think too much my brain will fall out and it will all stop working, and I’ll suddenly be unable to write anything....
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