Abstract

Some of the most important European novels of the XIX century present a scene in which a provincial audience attends the opera. Such a key scene has two possible main features. First, the description of the evening can be intended as a social ritual. Secondly, a comparison can be made between what happens to the characters in the novel and the opera as it is played on stage. Usually, the character is someone unsatisfied with their own life while the story played on stage stands for a passionate, yet unreachable, alternative.