The Lamenting Nightingale (The Music of Zaide)

There are more literary references to a caged bird yearning for freedom than junk cars trapped in groves. The reference has become cliché, but as with most clichés, they become cliché for a reason. They illustrate truths well. I wonder where the caged bird metaphors came from. Thus, the ponderings bring me to the next aria in my Zaide series. A beautiful song, not quite to the level of Ruhe Sanft, that yearns for better. Here Zaide compares herself to a nightingale trapped in a cage. Was Zaide the origin of the modern cliché? I doubt it. If anyone knows for sure, let me know. But why does this metaphor resonate? In some way or another, many feel trapped. Mozart did for sure, especially during the period in which he wrote this opera. 


In Trostlos schluchzet philomele (a rough translation would be ‘Desperately, the nightingale cries) Zaide finds herself in a dungeon. She compares herself to a nightingale. Calling out day and night. Interesting fact about nightingales, they are known for singing at night (Duh). But, they do so in search of a mate. So, they cry out day and night until they find their love. Nice poetic happy hippy stuff. The nightingale has been fine fodder for fancy verse from its first flight. I’m sure Mozart was aware of all this. But, I am not out to accuse him of delving into the cliché. No. It’s simply so perfect an illustration. Mozart was young. Or perhaps it was his libberest’s doing. 

Yet, he wrote the music. The music’s mood is that of seeking, searching. There a smidge of content. It has more peace than Ruhe Sanft. Not a peace that says, 'Things are going my way,' but one that says, 'Things are not, and I'm ok with that.'

The lyrics ‘Ach, wer könnte sie wohl strafen, Wenn sie findet, was sie sucht’ hold the key. (I hope I have them translated right. But if not… Well, what would you expect from a troglodyte.) In both the music and the lyrics, this is the work of a man searching, not the work of a man knowing. Mozart was seeking that thing (or things) that would bring him real, lasting joy. The song (the entire opera even) seems to elude that that joy-invoking element is love. Yet, why do so many, who write these lofty, beautiful songs about love, seem to have such trouble in the practical department? Have they idealized it too much? Or have the sought it in the wrong place? 

Do Zaide’s words “Oh, who could ever punish her, when she finds what she is looking for,” suggest a love no one can ever steal. A love that can endure anything. Do her words reflect Mozart’s desires? His struggles? Is such a love possible? If so, did Mozart ever find what he was seeking? Above all, isn’t that what we are all searching for… A joy that can never be taken? Is it even possible. If so, where can one find such joy?