Opera "Maria and Draco"

The Opera Maria and Draco is an event in Final Fantasy VI and the collective name of a set of four tracks, written by Nobuo Uematsu and Yoshinori Kitase, featured in the original soundtrack, later released as a single track in multiple album compilations. It is sometimes referred to as The Dream Oath, though this title is never used in the game or in any of the compilations.
The four tracks that play during the sequence are "Overture", "Aria di Mezzo Carattere", "Wedding Waltz - Duel", and "Grand Finale".
In the original Japanese version the music is closely aligned with the lyrics, although because of technical limitations the "voices" are created on the SPC700 sound format. In the Pixel Remaster edition, the song is voiced by real opera singers.
The "Aria di Mezzo Carattere", one of the Final Fantasy series' most famous musical themes, is performed within the opera.
The development team had an idea to include an opera scene and Yoshinori Kitase wrote lyrics for it, while Uematsu composed the music. Translator Ted Woolsey found the opera scene unique and interesting and thus spent plenty of time on that scene; the scene had multiple files that combined to provide the experience: battle texts, the opera text displayed during the different cinematics, and the usual screen text all had to work in concert.Transcript of Ted Woolsey interview
== Gameplay ==
To establish contact with Setzer, the owner of the only functional airship in the World of Balance—the Blackjack—Celes impersonates the opera singer Maria, with whom Setzer is in love. Although Celes successfully poses as Maria for the majority of the opera, Locke discovers during the performance that Ultros is planning on dropping a weight on Celes from the rafters.
The attempt to stop him ends with Locke, his allies and Ultros plummeting to the stage, knocking the actors playing Ralse and Draco unconscious. Locke thus attempts (and somewhat succeeds) to improvise this into the opera, and after battling Ultros, Setzer kidnaps Celes as per the original plan.
===SNES / PS / GBA / 2014 versions ===
The opera also features a small game element. Three times during the opera the player has to pick the correct line for Celes to sing. Failing to do so will stop the opera, and the player must do a new attempt; it is easy to guess which line is the correct one, however. Although if one "overthinks" the line to be chosen, the game will automatically select the highlighted line after a couple of seconds. The lines to be chosen are the first, then the second, and then the first one again. Then Draco appears on the scene and turns into a flower bouquet. The player has to pick it up and walk upstairs to throw the bouquet off the terrace to finish the mini-game. Doing it too fast (Pixel Remaster version only) or too slow will also get the party kicked out of the Opera House. Failing the opera four times in total will be resulted as a game over. Story-wise, the actions are intended to be performed so that the events of the opera are performed in time with the music, thus performing the actions too quickly would throw off the musical cue. Throughout portions of the opera sequence, the player is not permitted to advance dialogue.
===Final Fantasy VI: Pixel Remaster===
The castle set has been redone in a 2.5D isometric style and all musical parts are voiced in Japanese, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Korean. The English version has subtitles in Brazilian Portuguese and Russian while the Japanese version has subtitles in Thai, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. Many of the above sequences are automated, meaning that the player will not be required to move Celes save to run toward Draco's avatar. Button cues will appear that the player must press to advance in the scene. On the third cue, the player must wait until Celes approaches the balcony to throw the bouquet, or the attempt will fail.
== Story ==
The armies of the east are battling the forces of the west. The hero of the western army is Draco, who is in love with the western princess, Maria. When the west loses the war and Draco is presumed lost, Maria is forced to marry the eastern Prince, Ralse.
During a ball, the survivors of the west, led by Draco, launch a surprise attack. A duel ensues between Draco and Ralse, in which the latter is defeated and Maria and Draco go on to live happily ever after.
After Ultros threatens Celes (who doubles as Maria's actress to draw out Setzer), Locke and the other Returners stop him from dropping a 4 ton weight onto the stage during the opera. The Returners end up knocking out the actors for Draco and Ralse during the "duel", and ad-lib the confrontation as if it were part of the opera while also dealing with Ultros.
In an early draft of the opera sequence, Biggs and Wedge disrupted the opera instead of Ultros, using icicles rather than an anvil.Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive, Volume 1 - Page 324
== Lyrics ==
The opera has been arranged and performed live in its entirety numerous times, both in English and Japanese. Its lyrical content has varied accordingly, although it is possible to determine 6 different versions of it:
* The Japanese and the English versions of the SNES release.
* The Japanese and the English versions of the GBA and smartphone releases.
* The Distant Worlds/More Friends version.
* The The Black Mages III: Darkness and Starlight version.
* The Distant Worlds V: more music from FINAL FANTASY version.
* The Final Fantasy VI: Balance and Ruin version.
== The Black Mages III: Darkness and Starlight ==
"Darkness and Starlight" is a rock arrangement of Maria and Draco included in the Black Mages' third studio album The Black Mages III: Darkness and Starlight. Because the opera scene in the game ends abruptly with Celes's kidnapping just before Draco and Ralse's duel, the rest of the lyrical content was unknown until this release. The album features the complete opera scene in a rock rearrangement which, while slightly deviating from the original version, was made to be as faithful to the original opera as it may.
The recording for the Black Mages' third studio album had already started when the idea of adding Maria and Draco came to Uematsu, and he decided to add it because he wanted to try something new with the album. He has stated that nothing had really changed from when he was composing Final Fantasy VI; he always wants the challenge of something new.http://www.nobuouematsu.com/nobm4g.html
==== Personnel in Darkness and Starlight ====
* Maria (Mezzo-soprano) - Etsuyo Ota
* Draco (Tenor) - Tomoaki Watanabe
* Ralse (Baritone) - Tetsuya Odagawa
* Female Chorus - Manami Kiyota
* Male Chorus - Nobuo Uematsu, Kenichiro Fukui, Michio Okamiya, and Arata Hanyuda
* Impresario (Narrator) - Koori Masao
=== Distant Worlds V: More Music from Final Fantasy ===
In May 2019, Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY released their fifth studio album, Distant Worlds V: More Music from Final Fantasy, included "Opera "Maria and Draco" (FINAL FANTASY VI)" in Track 6. The lyrics are an English translation based on the complete Japanese lyrics from The Black Mages's "Darkness and Starlight" version.https://www.finalfantasyforums.net/threads/distant-worlds-v-lyrics.64986/
== Final Fantasy VI: Balance and Ruin ==
The Opera spans three tracks in the OverClocked ReMix album: "The Nightmare Oath", an original track that borrows many motifs from "Overture"; "The Impresario", a reinterpretation of the Opera itself; and "Till We Meet Again", a reinterpretation of "Aria di Mezzo Carattere". All three tracks feature original lyrics that tell a different story from the original sequence of events as told in the game.
A fourth track, "Jidoorian Rhapsody", is remixed from "The Wedding", but is non-lyrical.
=== "The Nightmare Oath" ===
The lyrics of "The Nightmare Oath" follow a dialogue between Draco and Ralse that mirror their exchange during the original sequence's overture. The title refers to the Opera's apocryphal title The Dream Oath.
=== The Impresario ===
The lyrics of "The Impresario" tell a wholly different story from that of all other arrangements of Maria and Draco. The story is told in the form of a flashback, as Draco recollects how he arranged eloping with Maria but was caught when they attempted it; Maria is slain in the ensuing fight between Draco and the members of her family, and it is implied that she was accidentally killed by Draco himself and that, upon realizing this, he plans on committing suicide to join her in the afterlife.
=== Till We Meet Again ===
"Till We Meet Again" is a reinterpretation of "Aria di Mezzo Carattere", featuring original lyrics that bear no relation to the plot of the opera.
== Merchandise ==
When Final Fantasy VI was first released key chains depicting the game's cast were available in Japanese vending machines. A Celes as Maria from the opera is one such key chain that was sold.
The Final Fantasy Cold Cast Collection is a limited edition collectible series featuring cold cast statues that display notable scenes from Final Fantasy series. Only 3,000 Celes and opera house cold casts were made, each coming with a card and card stand that had the statue's limited number and description. The series has been out of production since 1999.
== Other appearances ==
=== Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade ===
Celes can appear in her opera singer's dress.
=== Final Fantasy Record Keeper ===
Celes' performance of "Maria and Draco" was the focal point for the Challenge Event Prima Donna, where her Opera Star Wardrobe Record could be obtained. This alternate costume pays homage to the performance.
Even if she is not wearing the dress, her Maria's Song Burst Soul Break will depict her in the dress, singing her aria and throwing a bouquet in full moonlight as is done in the opera.
===Final Fantasy Portal App===
The Opera appears as a Triple Triad card, depicted by the scene of Celes throwing the bouquet.
== Gallery ==
FFVI Maria Sprites.png|Maria sprites (SNES/GBA)
FFVI Ralse Sprites.png|Ralse sprites (SNES/GBA)
FFVI Draco Sprites.png|Draco sprites (SNES/GBA)
FFVI PC Maria Sprites.png|Maria Sprites (Non-Pixel Remaster Mobile/PC)
== Etymology ==
== Citations ==
ru:Опера "Мария и Драко"
Category:Events in Final Fantasy VI
Category:Event themes from Final Fantasy VI
Category:Written works