(Opening - gospel) In skies of pearl and golden hue, An angel guards, an angel too, He dreams of marble stage and light, Where voices turn to sacred rite. (Air 1 – andante, soprano solo) O lyre of Orpheus, whisper low, Show me where divine songs flow, I long to taste the soul’s refrain, Where music burns through joy and pain. (Chorus – tutti, mystical and lyrical) Garnier, palace of flame and shade, Your arches echo love’s cascade, The angel falls, his heart on fire, Seeks for Orpheus… finds a choir. (Air 2 – mezzo / baritone, spectral duet) — Who are you, who dares to sing? — An angel lost, still wandering. — The gods here silent stand and stare… — Then I shall sing their voice in air. (Interlude – ethereal flutes and harps) (Air 3 – allegro maestoso, dramatic crescendo) The mirrors open, faces gleam, The ghosts return within the dream, The angel rises, walls resound, Beneath the dome, the worlds are bound. (Final – adagio, celestial choir and organ) He found no lyre, but found instead, The flame of voices long since dead, Within the phantom’s breath he reigns, His song eternal, free of chains. (Coda – soprano solo pianissimo) And from the dome’s translucent height, One final cry ascends the night: “The opera is not of stone — It is the heart, the prayer, the tone.”
