This is my submission for Maddygirl13's Owl House OC Halloween Contest. This piece involves my Owl House OC, Melanie, having a nice time with her best friend for life in the form of one of Maddygirl13's OCs, Niahm. Sit back, relax, and enjoy these two lovely young ladies dressed as two of my favorite Wagnerian opera heroines.
The hardcore fan of Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde has ebulliently sprung forth from my heart, mind, and soul this Winter season. For your viewing pleasure, from right to left, here are Maddygirl13's Owl House OC, Niahm, dressed as the regal, powerful, and passionate Princess Isolde, and my Owl House OC, Melanie, dressed as Isolde's sensitive, ladylike, and loyal handmaiden/confidante/best friend for life/sister from another mister Brangäne. Melanie as Brangäne holds her signature love potion for Isolde that she either mistakes as her death potion or purposely hands over the love potion instead of the death potion for Isolde to drink it when she encounters Tristan. Niahm as Isolde holds her golden goblet which is used to contain the potion diluted in water for herself and for Tristan. Together, they make a fine duo of best friends dressed as Wagnerian heroines full of regality, femininity, and gorgeousness.
When I saw Niahm's character design so lovingly accomplished by Maddygirl13, I immediately thought that she would make the perfect Isolde. That fiery brownish-red hair, her blue attire, and the sparkle in her baby blue eyes made her really great for the Irish princess full of dramatic passion and boundless elegance. On top of that, the flowers that Niahm possesses also make the perfect headdress suitable for a royal princess. In terms of favorite sopranos that I visualized to make Niahm as Isolde come to life, I thought about Frida Leider, Kirsten Flagstad, Marta Fuchs, Gertrude Rünger, Helen Traubel, Anny Konetzni, Helena Braun, Erna Schlüter, Margaret Harshaw, Martha Mödl, Roszi Delly, Gertrude Grob-Prandl, Astrid Varnay, and Birgit Nilsson because of Leider's and Traubel's musicianship; Flagstad's, Grob-Prandl's, and Nilssons glorious top notes; and Fuchs's, Rünger's, Konetzni's, Braun's, Schlüter's, Harshaw's, Delly's, and Varnay's middle notes and chest tones clearly as resonant as any true mezzos are. Therefore, Niahm totally fits Isolde to a tee, and I am so pleased and delighted to make her dress like her.
I had the idea of making Melanie's dress as Brangäne by being the color scheme opposite to Niahm's predominant blue, thus making her have shades of violet, fuchsia, and a bit of red on her dress to compliment her brownish-red hair. I gave her a simpler outfit to show that Brangäne is a humble, sensitive, and deeply loyal handmaiden to her mistress and sister from another mister Isolde. Nevertheless, I also see Melanie's dress as Brangäne as her being just as noble and feminine as Niahm as Isolde. As for favorite mezzo-sopranos that I associated with Melanie as Brangäne, my mind turned its attention to Sabine Kalter, Karin Branzell, Kerstin Thorborg, Margarete Klose, Rosette Anday, Elisabeth Höngen, Georgine von Milinkovic, Blanche Thebom, Ira Malaniuk, Hilde Rössl Majdan, Grace Hoffman, Hertha Töpper, Rita Gorr, and Christa Ludwig because they all master the chest tones exceedingly well, are sensitive and beautiful in their own special ways of singing Brangäne, and have brilliant top notes to boot. There is no doubt that Melanie fits the bill as a gorgeous, elegant, and nobly loyal Brangäne to Niahm's Isolde.
I hope you all enjoyed this, it was really fun endeavoring myself to give this a go, and I had fun doing this. Until then, I will see you in the next submission. Take care, stay safe, and always show your love not only to Melanie and Niahm but also to the fine singers of Brangäne and Isolde from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, everybody.
Melanie belongs to me.
Niahm belongs to Maddygirl13.
The Owl House belongs to Disney and Dana Terrace.
