Scene one, or prologue (not sure yet) finished is. The faceless figure complained and, in a sense, foreshadowed what would come next. The figure has no face, but it is not nameless, what is a part of the mystery that is intertwined in the novel itself. It is a crime story for quite a large part, although the Author himself claims – teasingly, perhaps, but it’s hard to say for sure – that this aspect of the story was the weakest. That it is more of a romance. But who is engaged in romance here? A woman with a man? A man with a memory of a girl? An artist with a work, an object, a tradition, a future? Istanbul with Venice? 

An opera libretto is a specific piece of work. I have not carried out in-depth studies or large-scale comparative analyses; I’m far, far from knowing the entire genre. Certain ambitions of mine in this area have always given way to a specific job to be done. However, I know several librettos by heart. Something tells me that I have understood them in depth and that I am allowed to form general conclusions based on them. For my own personal use. So, a libretto is a skeleton, but it is fully organic. This skeleton is living tissue; the boundary between it and the meat connected to blood supply is completely blurred. The libretto is also an utterance, in which logic and meaning can and should be sought and pursued. And yet, this utterance is quite succinct through and through. Succinct to such a degree that the punchline might be barely suggested, or may not fit at all in the text itself, stated explicitly. But it should never be omitted in its entirety. Libretto has a lot in common with a joke. As is very well known, a joke has a well-defined purpose, which can be achieved only if a specific textual content exists within the joke. However, the assumption that purpose goal is realised in the text alone leads to extremely unpleasant and embarrassing disappointments. Disappointments in social life, in love, in teaching, on stage, and in many other areas.

A few more words about the performers. Taught by experience, I don’t want to give too much away so that I don’t have to bite my words; life happens. Anyway, certain decisions are rather irrevocable; they have to be seen through, one way or another. So, the soloists and choir will be accompanied by an ensemble, and as it turned out quite fortuitously, the ensemble represents the era that the story is about; and also the era in which the genre of opera was born, what is also in indirect deep connection with the story itself. Cornetts (also called zinks), trombones; recorders, perhaps; violin, double bass and a consort of gambas, and some percussion.

In short, the opera is gaining momentum. The flute concert is also coming along. This vary with the assumption of no narrative waves. But the model of dividing thinking and working into two phases seems to be working.

Wind and sea are bearable. Squalls happen; silence happens too. The course is stable, anyways.

(trans. Magdalena Małek-Andrzejowska)