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The fantastic and artificial character of operatic works is an essential outgrowth of vocal music because of the nature of the voice itself. Unconscious fantasies connected with the voice and with song are examined by Rosolato. He relates these fantasies to the early development of object relations and body image, to attitudes toward the magical and mysterious, and attempts to show the distortions of developmental processes which occur, for example, in auditory hallucinations. The experience of the voice in song evokes dynamic experiences of the body, experiences which have their roots in early infancy. The voice may be considered as an emanation from the body and as a manifestation of excitation. Rosolato discusses the voice as an instinctual derivative, as part object. Further attention is given to the voice as a preparatory vehicle for introjection and identification. The author reviews the various relationships and permutations of artistic production ranging from the visual to the musical and to song. He suggests that in vocal music there is an element which runs counter to the use of language for communication. It is this more primitive element which provides the source of pleasure in vocal music. A structural topology of the voice is attempted by the author, detailing its somatic characteristics, the communication system involved, and the object-relational aspects.