Queen of the Night

aria for contralto from Lesson Plan (PDF Download)

DURATION: 4:30

PAGES: 6

Lesson Plan brings an internationally celebrated operatic contralto into the world of online teaching while her headlining stage engagements are put on hold. Thought to be teaching trained singers at a prestigious conservatory, she catches her assistant in a scheduling faux pas and instead takes the stage for a community college with the same acronym – a group with little singing experience or interest in what the great diva had in mind. Intercepted by an overwhelmed school administrator with a side hustle as an amateur choir director, the pair clash over teaching technique, singing and the true meaning of art. At this point in the opera, ALICE, now pretty worn down, wonders if her only remaining choices are to teach dilettantes forever or to leave the profession entirely. ALICE publicly reveals--in a plaintive deconstruction of Mozart’s famously difficult “Queen of the Night” star turn--what stymies her most: there is simply no way to compress and convey the experience of a hard-won opera singing career in an hour-long class.

This opera was originally conceived for virtual performance on Zoom and then rewritten for live performance. This piano/vocal score reflects the live performance version. (The audio below does not reflect the updated lyrics, but the music is the same.)