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Abstract
Plot development in operas may take many forms. As the great opera composer Giuseppe Verdi noted, the best practice is to show an audience rather than to tell them. However, certain plots are so convoluted that external conventions are often employed to guarantee clear delivery and maximize dramatic impact in a limited amount of time. Characters which are specifically mentioned during an opera may help drive story lines even if those characters do not ever actually appear on stage. This development is especially notable when an archetype, such as a deceased mother, is utilized. This dissertation discusses three operas in which deceased mothers play important roles, despite never appearing onstage. This study should be of use in analyzing how other “absent” characters have been treated in existing works, and how they might be presented in performances or in future compositions. The analysis is a starting guide for approaching new depths of characterizations using a previously little-studied dramaturgical device and will be of use to vocalists, voice coaches, voice instructors, directors, and composers.