La Traviata: “Libiamo, ne’ lieti calici”

Imogene Schwarz, Undecided, GS ’23

The first thing that struck me when I listened to “Libiamo, ne’ lieti calici” was the strong emphasis of the first beat in each bar of music. This rhythm is characteristic of a waltz, or a piece of music in triple meter. In the video I have chosen of penguins fighting over mating, you can see starting at about 1:38 one of penguins begins nodding his head in rhythmic timing with the strong beats in “Libiamo, ne’ lieti calici.” Then, at around 1:50 another set of penguins begin having an altercation in which they slap each other with their wings. The quick back and fourth motions that their wings make as they slap each other mimics the contour of the music and the feeling the music provides of quickly floating back and fourth. Later in the video, fighting begins to break out between the male and female penguins and this interaction reminds me of the way in which the male and female performer in the video of “Libiamo, ne’ lieti calici” interact and sing in a conversing manner. Additionally, in the video there is a large group of penguins surrounding the two fighting penguins. These penguins mostly just watch the two penguins fight, but occasionally join into the altercation. This is similar to the way in which the crowd of people in “Libiamo, ne’ lieti calici” are mostly just onlookers of the lead man and woman singing, but sometimes the entire chorus joins in.