Thank you, Maria Grazia, for welcoming me
here today on the blog tour for my latest ‘Pride and Prejudice’
variation, ‘Miss Darcy’s Companion’, it’s always such a pleasure to be
your guest! I am especially glad to be here this time because my post is about
an extremely beautiful Italian aria, and I can’t imagine a better place to talk
about it than on your blog.
Music played a great part in Jane Austen’s
life and novels. Not only was it the major source of entertainment in an age
where people had to create their own amusements, but it also was the main
conduit for falling in love. Indeed, how could Jane Austen and her characters
have flirted, courted and been courted without the delicious opportunities
offered at balls and assemblies? How would Jane Austen have learnt the first
joys and sorrows of falling in love, had she not danced with the dashing but
all-too-practical Tom Lefroy? How much poorer would her novels be without the
Netherfield ball or the ever so delightful scene where Elizabeth plays for the
company at Rosings?
