When I said "Make it brief - I didn't mean THAT brief!"

When is a story not a story? When it's the plot of an opera, perhaps! I've always been puzzled by my total failure to remember the storylines of operas; I read the programme note, and then as soon as the curtain goes up, I literally lose the plot. I always thought it was just my inattention. But I gather others have the same problem. So, having started this blog, I had another look at the way the plot is laid out in a typical programme. Here's Act 3 of Janacek's "Makropulos Case", 35 minutes of action, in 129 words (from ENO's programme, 2006):

Prus has spent the night with Marty. Bitterly disillusioned by her coldness, he hands over the document. But although the prize is in her grasp, her control of events is on the wane. Prus is overwhelmed by news of a personal tragedy, caused by Marty’s callousness; Janek has committed suicide. Hauk-Sendorf enters. He has stolen his wife’s jewellery and plans to escape with Marty to Spain. She consents, but the others arrive to call her to account for her actions and to explain her past. As they begin to discover elements of the truth - for example the document dated 1836 which Marty sent Kolenaty has been discovered to be a forgery – she decides the time has come to reveal her identity and the secret of her tormented existence.

It's a pretty complicated plot, but no worse than any other opera. If you tried reading it and then got someone to ask you what happens, I would defy you to remember very much - it's worse than memorising a shopping list, because it looks like a story, and yet, is just a jumble of facts. A reminder, if any were needed, that storytelling needs more than just a plot if it's to be memorable!