Opera

Opera was a musical form of theater characterized by dramatic singing and varieties of overtures and arias, typically performed by actors in flashy chimerical costumes. Operas typically told stories, often driven by faithful coincidences.

"I've heard that people commit murders at the operas and no one notices because everyone on stage is bellowing at the top of his lungs."

- Olive Ruskettle

Opera Across the Realms
"Attending the opera would be interesting in Menzoberranzan. During the overture, the audience could place bets on whether more drow will die onstage or off."

- Liriel Baenre

In Sembia, opera was considered entertainment suitable for nobility. The Sembian opera was accompanied by glaurs, zulkoons, and thelarrs, as well as choral clerestory. The city of Selgaunt had an open-air amphitheater used for operatic performances. The theater, the stage, and its benches were made of carved limestone. The amphitheater - the Palace of Beauty, was constructed by Andeth Ilchammar the Hulorn of Selgaunt. It was used as a theater, a concert hall, and an art gallery, and the place was a gaudy architectural atrocity. The theater's foyer was decorated by a statue of Rauthauvyr the Raven, the founder of Sembia, slaying a gorgon.

Opera, on occasion, was used as a subtle weapon when handled by the Harpers. A ranking Harper agent Morala of Milil wrote an opera - Cassana's Lament, to subtly undermine evil schemes by Cassana, an evil wizard with powerful friends. The Harpers could not move against the evil sorceress in the open. Instead, the opera gained popularity, informing folk of the Realms of Cassana's deeds. Eventually, the embarrassment and social backlash forced Cassana to leave North Faerûn.

Notable Operas
"Opera is the sound of nightingales sighing in sympathy over the tomb of a maiden whose ghost weeps of its broken heart, lamenting true love lost and wasted-except when it sounds more like cats on a still summer night, yowling in heat right outside one's window."

- Storm Silverhand


 * Cassana's Lament, an opera popular in Ravens Bluff, Cormyr, Sembia, and the Dalelands that dramatized the lives of Cassana the Cruel and her lover Zrie Prakis, written by Morala of Milil. It told the story of Cassana's kidnapping by pirates, separating her from Zrie. The wizards stayed apart for a long time. They grew narcissistic, vein, and powerful. Eventually, when the lovers met again, all they did was argue over who was more powerful. They dueled. In the opera, Cassana felt remorseful over her first love's death in the duel and encased his bones in a glass sarcophagus to keep by her bed until the rest of her life.
 * ''The Fall of Myth Drannor, a long-winded and exhausting opera in several parts with a grand finale. The opera depicted the events of the Weeping War and the destruction of the City of Song Myth Drannor, written and popularized sometime before 1368 DR.
 * Visions of Chaos, a dangerous musical work penned by a renowned and mysterious genius composer Guerren Bloodquill who was rumored to have been a mystic who entered a pact with infernal creaturs in exchange for his talent.

History
In 1368 DR, Ayryn Farlight held a scrying session for select members of the Society of Sensation of Sigil, using her sorcerous gift to observe various deities of Toril. When she attempted to scry Tymora, her magic sight was redirected by the goddess to Milil, the god-Lord of Songs, who was delighted to have an audience. The deity used magic to affix the scrying and performed a plethora of songs. Eventually, the Sensates started getting bored of the performance, to which Milil responded by starting to sing an opera - the Fall of Myth Drannor. The long and torturous performance was a punishment for trying to spy on a god.

In 1370 DR, the matriarch of House Uskevren, Shamur Uskevren, and her unruly daughter Thazienne Uskevren attended an opera in Selgaunt's amphitheater. Strange events started affecting the nobles who attended the performance. People became affected by chaos magics, plunged into delirium, and some were tossed across time to relive their past. This was caused by the Visions of Chaos, a lost opera penned by Guerren Bloodquill. The opera was an arcane wok of music that created absolute chaos and discord. Once it started, the musicians went into a trance, mindlessly performing the magical work of theater. Shamur and her daughter successfully stopped the chaos, saving the lives of all in attendance.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * Tymora's Luck &bull; The Halls of Stormweather
 * Azure Bonds &bull; The Wyvern's Spur &bull; Song of the Saurials &bull; Elfsong
 * Azure Bonds &bull; The Wyvern's Spur &bull; Song of the Saurials &bull; Elfsong