nonetheless , players were expected to befor those three times dailyemotive mediums channeling the true anima and feeling of the characters they portrayed : they sang often forcefully , at other times gently , dictated always by the pianissimos and fortissimos of their musical notations , but in such a way as would make it seem that the lyrics represented something true and meaningful to them ; occasionally , they entered into mellifluous ariettas as though the very soul of the character were exiting from its body through the mouth , bound inseparably to the ascensions and declensions of sweet melody , swirling upwards and spiraling like ribbons of paper through air and about the stratosphere above the stage in an elegant immaterial form , and then drifting down like a sweeping feather to alight gently again upon the singer , whose composure could be seen to return immediately and whose eyes would open again as though awakening to the world anew .