“Monica’s Waltz” is an English aria by Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007) from his 1945 opera, The Medium. Menotti was an Italian-American composer who focused primarily on opera composition, and he composed twenty-five over the course of his life. This piece is sung by Monica, the young daughter of Baba, a fake medium who performs “seances” for a profit. Monica is singing to and also for Toby, the mute servant. Monica and Toby perform the lighting and sound tricks to make customers think Baba’s seances are legitimate (they make eerie noises, shadows, and so on). The piece begins with a wild and curious piano introduction as Toby gives Monica a puppet show. Monica begins her aria praising his performance, and later on realizes his affections for her. There are brief moments of recitative occurring in the middle and end of the aria that represent “real life”. For example, the first is when Monica asks Toby what the matter is and she is serious. The second happens when Toby is crying for his lack of speech to tell her he loves her, and she tells him that he has the most beautiful voice in the world, and she means it. During the aria, she switches perspectives from herself to pretending to be Toby, if only he could speak.