# Opera-savvy folks: can you save my sanity & identify this snippet of melody? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 30, 2016, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opera-savvy-folks-can-you-save-my-sanity-identify-this-snippet-of-melody/750610 "2016-03-30T05:03:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opera-savvy-folks-can-you-save-my-sanity-identify-this-snippet-of-melody/750610/1 "2016-03-30T05:03:48Z")
Argh. About a half-hour ago I started humming this melody–out of literally nowhere, since I wasn’t listening to any music that reminded me of it. Thing is, I am having a total senior moment (okay, middle-age moment) and _cannot_ figure out what the bloody thing is from. I can’t even remember the beginning of it. **WARNING: VERY BAD SINGING FROM SOMEONE WHO HASN’T SUNG FOR REALSIES IN AT LEAST A DECADE, IS NOT WARMED-UP, AND ALSO HAS POOR PITCH.** I apologize to every musician in the world for what you’re about to hear, but I don’t have an instrument handy so all I’ve got is my old-crone voice and Sound Recorder. [The snippet.](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0f1NNRLZ8wZUTl5NFBjcUt2N2c/view?usp=sharing) Forgive me for the cringeworthy vocal. Esp. those of you who have perfect pitch, because I’m sure I’m flat as hell a lot of the time. What I know (or think I know): - The aria/solo/whatever is in a major key, and the first note I sing is the tonic. But in the section I’m singing, the piece begins a bunch of modulations starting with a move to IV, then to V. For example, I _think_ the first note is either a B or B-flat (again: no perfect pitch-haver, me), and the first interval rises a seventh up to either A or A-flat before going down the scale to either E or E-flat. - It’s from an opera, 99.999999999% certain it’s French, and a pretty well-known part of the opera, at that. - The fact that it’s French makes me strongly suspect (90% certainty) it’s from either _Carmen_, _Faust_ or (not likely) _Tales of Hoffman_.\* I suppose there’s a miniscule chance it’s from _Samson and Delilah_, but I barely know that so it’s even less likely than _ToH_. - The reason I highly doubt it’s _Tales of Hoffman_, although musically it would fit in there, is that I “hear” the libretto in French (though I can’t remember any of the actual words, sigh). I don’t know \*ToH \*very well in French except for Olympia’s aria; my primary exposure to it was when we performed it in my high school, which we did in English. _Carmen_ and _Faust_, however, I’ve sung in their original language. - It’s from a solo (or at least this portion of it is solo) but I don’t think it’s an aria–possibly the first half of a duet, or the beginning of a small ensemble moment? - I _think_ it’s sung by a tenor; possibly soprano? Part of me feels as if I’ve sung it myself a kabillion years ago when I was a singer (and if so I’m even more embarrassed)–and I’m a soprano, or at least I was. But OTOH, I could’ve sung it while practicing just because it was pretty. Okay, shutting up now. Help? ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opera-savvy-folks-can-you-save-my-sanity-identify-this-snippet-of-melody/750610/2 "2016-03-30T12:49:27Z")
Well, the beginning sounds like _Samson et Dahlila_’s "Mon coeur s’ouvre a ta voix " but the latter part, not so much. Hope this helps. [Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9piRiiZ0C4Q) ---
**Author:** ![MickNickMaggies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/59ef9b/32.png) [@MickNickMaggies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MickNickMaggies)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opera-savvy-folks-can-you-save-my-sanity-identify-this-snippet-of-melody/750610/3 "2016-03-30T12:58:31Z")
Final scene of Faust? ‘Oui c’est moi je t’aime’, ‘Anges pures…’ ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opera-savvy-folks-can-you-save-my-sanity-identify-this-snippet-of-melody/750610/4 "2016-03-30T13:59:57Z")
> [@MickNickMaggies](#): > > Final scene of Faust? ‘Oui c’est moi je t’aime’, ‘Anges pures…’ BINGO. Well done!!! Holy cow, I can’t believe you got that from my poor rendition–which was even worse than I thought, since I got the beginning note and modulation completely wrong. You’re _good_! Dang, and it’s not Faust who starts it after all, but Marguerite, which means _I_ sang that part myself! Yipe. Last night I was homing in on “Anges Purs” for that very reason–we did the trio/finale in a concert during my junior year of high school–but completely blanked on anything before the “Anges Purs” part kicked in. For anyone interested, I’ll link directly to [the beginning of ‘Oui c’est moi je t’aime’](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vCFqMzg3-I&feature=youtu.be&t=1m54s), with the part I was trying to remember showing up about 13 seconds later. Bless you, thank you, and bravo (brava?) **MickNickMaggies**! And I’d better stock up on Ginko or something because I cannot be_lieve_ I didn’t remember something I actually frickin’ sang myself. Oy. Edited to add: Oops sorry, and thank you too, **Two Many Cats**! ---
**Author:** ![MickNickMaggies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/59ef9b/32.png) [@MickNickMaggies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MickNickMaggies)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opera-savvy-folks-can-you-save-my-sanity-identify-this-snippet-of-melody/750610/5 "2016-03-30T14:04:34Z")
Faust is just about the only opera I know through and through (and a frequent earworm) so you got lucky!