#le comte ory

[monotonous-minutia]

Tumblr keeps marking my gay opera posts as containing "sensitive content" so in honor of the last few days of Pride Month here's a master post (in reality a tiny sampling) of gay opera gifs, view them while you can

it's mostly divas because I'm Me but it's also the divas they've been censoring lately

[isaddeos]

opera stream alert!

what: rossini's 1828 comedy/farce "le comte ory", at the glyndebourne festival in 1997

when: saturday 25 april, 21:00 EEST/18:00 UTC (check your local time)

where: kosmi

language: french with english subs

duration: 2h 20min

cast: Marc Laho, Annick Massis, Diana Montague, Ludovic Tézier, Jane Shaulis, Julien Robbins. Conducted by Andrew Davis, directed by Jerome Savary.

plot:

the music is the real highlight, not the story, but the gist is this:

notorious libertine and spoiled brat Count Ory wants to seduce the hopelessly depressed Countess Adèle

figures that the best way to do this is to first give her therapy to awaken her repressed sexuality, and then dress up as a woman to awaken her repressed bisexuality

in true Rossini fashion, there is a thunderstorm and everyone is really scared

in true Rossini fashion, half the music was borrowed from one of his own earlier operas

very low/nonexistent bar to watch this stream! you don't need a kosmi account, and you can ofc join or leave the stream at any time. (the plot is very simple and vibes-based, so you can miss plot points without being terribly lost later!)

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

rossini: *writes a grand coloratura soprano scena and puts it in two operas*

“en proie à la tristesse” from le comte ory and the ensuing cabaletta: legitimate emotional crisis about making a religious vow she doesn’t know if she can keep and rejoicing when she is (allegedly) freed from it

“partir, o ciel, desio” from il viaggio a reims and the ensuing cabaletta:

[derring-do]

are you fucking new here

[noughticalcrossings]

Ah! But that’s your job;

You’ll watch over us, and we’ll laugh for you.

We won’t lack anything, I think;

For I wisely chose

My companions for pleasure,

And my governor for prudence.

Le Gouverneur, Le Comte Ory, Teatro alla Scala (2014)

The lecherous Count Ory is determined to win the key to Countness Adele’s heart, or rather her bedchamber, and to this end has set up in the countryside as a hermit of enormous power - wooing all the local peasants with his wisdom and “spiritual” prowess. But crashing onto the scene comes his long-suffering governor who has been hunting him hither and yon, and who does not hesitate to reveal his true identity in front of the countess.

But Ory has another trick up his sleeve; if the castle is closed to all men, then what better a prank than to disguise himself and all his knights as nuns escaping from a storm? The governor, powerless to actually go against his titled master, would really rather he stayed out of trouble. But if that won’t work, then the least he can do is get in on the action of drinking his way through the castle’s copious stores of wine.

Such is the profit and honour of being a governor.

[vera-dauriac]

Upside to when my dining and living rooms come up on the cleaning schedule --I can watch opera while I work.

[opera-shitpost]

Also belated, but here are the promised tumblr text posts ft. the three of Le Comte Ory!

[il-piccolo-paggio]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

HEY I've finally decided to post that huge 66k Le Comte Ory fic that I promised to post like half a year ago!!

We're picking up in the middle of act 2, when Isolier is sulking outside in the rain. Including but not limited to: polyamory, so much bisexuality, pre-established Ory/Isolier, Adèle being smarter than everyone, unwise decisions made out of love and also much spicy content in the later chapters :3 And wonderful excerpts like this:

“How long, my lady… for how long have you wanted this?” 

He had to know. At that moment, not even to savour his winnings, but to know how long she had wanted to return his feelings. Since when had she desired him in this way?

Adèle’s eyes returned to his for a moment, a secretive little smile pursing her lips. “Perhaps the events of this morning led me to think about-” 

Her eyes suddenly widened, her hand gripping Isolier’s clothing tighter. Mouth falling open in a mixture between absolute shock and a spike of outrage, Adèle quickly pushed herself upright from where she had started leaning heavily on the bedpost amidst their passion. 

In between the fervent kissing, heated touches and the storm still raging outside, neither of them had heard the door opening. But as soon as Isolier turned around, preemptively moving protectively before the Countess, he knew precisely why. 

Count Ory could be very, very quiet if he wanted to. 

Not so much when he crossed the threshold, starting to laugh when he spotted them near-entwined against the bedpost. It was a laugh Isolier knew very well, the sound that others may call dark and devious, but he had long since learned it was simply the way Ory laughed. And surely he had reason to do so now. In fact, despite his flare of protectiveness, Isolier felt his own mouth trying to twist into a grin at the entrance of Ory, in this moment suprême. 

“Isolier, you handsome devil!” he called out, far too joyful for the moment.