recitative
A recitative is the slimy narrator of musical stories, dodging melody while strutting in the no-man’s-land between actor and singer. It claims to drive drama yet skulks around in the plainclothes of music, forcing audiences to choose between acting chops and vocal prowess. Clinging words to bare notes to proclaim theatrical depth, it seduces conductors with cries of “freedom!” only to be shackled by the same. In the end, it survives as the phantom life-support of plot, masquerading as the soul of the scene.