Abstract
To articulate the phenomenon I call seductive visuality, I begin with a kiss—or, rather, the suggestion of a kiss. The moment comes from the Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD broadcast of L’elisir d’amore in 2012. It occurred at the conclusion of “Prendi, per me sei libero.” After the final note of her declaration of love, Adina (Anna Netrebko) grabbed Nemorino (Matthew Polenzani) for a full-throttled kiss. The blocking (which I had seen “in the house” at an earlier performance) was simple: Adina’s fervent embrace toppled the couple onto the ground.1 But on the day of the broadcast, the designated cameras (under the direction of Live in HD veteran director Gary Halvorson) failed to follow the pair in their tumble, leaving them out of frame for a moment. Eventually the couple stood and reappeared. Netrebko and Polenzani held their embrace for applause, and we saw (in a close-up) Netrebko’s lipstick smeared across her chin. This telltale smear suggested we had missed something thrilling in that moment of absence— no feigned “stage kiss,” but the “real thing.” The lipstick smear was visible for just an instant, before Polenzani leaned forward to wipe it away, while Netrebko bit her lips, trying to keep from laughing.
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