Silent film representing the voice of opera wishes to emit a cry, yet the very essence of that cry is that it will not be heard.
The only language included in the silent film was the speech of the actors that was presented in the titles (see footnote 5).
Silent film is a specific construction of images in relation to the absence of speech; it struggles with expression in conditions lacking speech.
In both silent film and in opera, moments of generic anxiety, so to speak, are signified by the gesture of the cry.
They also suggest, perhaps, some essential quality of silent film itself.
Tambling mentions a few prima donnas who were lent to silent film, but does not account for their silence.
Would a silent film of or about opera have any meaning?
Surprisingly then, silent film is uniquely suited to revealing opera's tendency to go beyond song, in its fascination with and anxiety about silence.
