19th Century Opera: Legacy of Wagner Flashcards
Describe Italian opera:
- Passion.
- Plays, novels, and history.
- Relatable, real characters.
- Recitative aria, ensemble chorus.
- Regular phrases, tuneful melody, functional harmony.
- Homophonic.
- Singers main event.
Describe German opera:
- Philosophy.
- Legends and mythology.
- Gods, heroes, kings.
- Unbroken symphonic poem with voices.
- Irregular phrases, unclear “melody,” unstable harmony.
- Polyphonic (elaborate web of vocal and orchestral lines).
Describe Wagner’s character:
- Outspoken, arrogant, theorized about politics and philosophy as well as music.
- Critique of the state of opera in the 1840’s.
- Developed new philosophies around art, music, and opera.
What was Wagner’s problem with opera?
- It was too superficial, melody focused, undramatic, frivolous.
- Everything music should not be.
- “Concerts in costume.”
Who was the chief culprit in Wagner’s critique that operas is “fatally flawed?”
Rossini.
What did Wagner say about opera?
That it was “fatally flawed.”
Wagner believes that ___ is the key.
Beethoven.
Wagner thought opera should be…
Gesamtkunstwerk. Opera should be an all-encompassing human experience.
Wagner thought opera should be a vehicle for ___.
Philosophy.
Wagner loved the idea of Schopenhauer’s ___ vs. ___.
“Will,” “Appearance.”
What is the Will and the Appearance?
Id vs. Superego.
Opera becomes ___ ___ as human issues are explored cloaked in Germanic/Norse mythology.
Music drama.
Symphonic Continuity
No distinction between recitative and aria.
How does Wagner theoretically eliminate what distracts from dramatic flow?
- Symphonic continuity.
- Flow, organization determined by dramatic action.
- Music reveals inner meaning, emotional significance of words.
How does Wagner practically eliminate what distracts from dramatic flow?
- Continuous phrases (chromatic, unsettled, few cadences).
- Small-scale forms follow patterns built into text (variants on statement/parallel statement/conclusion).
- Large, colourful orchestra. The most critical role - source of musical-emotional polyphony. Exemplifies stress on interior, emotional.
