Chapter 21 - Opera and Vocal Music in the Early Classical Period

Question 1

When did a divergence between comic and serious opera begin to develop?

Answer 1

Around 1700

Question 2

Musical style during the enlightenment can have it’s roots traced to what kind of music?

Answer 2

Vocal music, because of it’s natural expressiveness

Question 3

Many aspects of classical era music originated in what Italian genre?

Answer 3

Many classical era musical traits originated in Italian opera during the 1720’s and 30’s

Question 4

Why was comic opera more innovative than serious opera?

Answer 4

Comic opera had the freedom to be more innovative because it was not weighed down by serious subject matter and conventional means of expression

Question 5

What is opera buffa?

Answer 5

Italian comic opera, a full length work with six or more singers

Question 6

The plot lines of opera buffa revolved around what?

Answer 6

The lives of ordinary people in the present day

Question 7

The plot lines of serious opera evolved around what?

Answer 7

Mythological or historical stories and characters

Question 8

True or false: In comic opera the story lines often revolve around serious characters that interact with the comic characters

Answer 8

True

Question 9

What style is usually for arias in comic opera?

Answer 9

Galant style is the norm, consisting of short tuneful phrases, organized into periods, often repeated or varied and accompanied by simple harmonies

Question 10

What are some characteristics of the galant style?

Answer 10

• Short tuneful phrases
• Phrases organized into periods
• Slower, simpler harmonies

Question 11

Who was an important pioneer of galant style aria?

Answer 11

Leonardo Vinci (1696-1730)

Question 12

What is intermezzo?

Answer 12

This is a type of Italian comic opera that was played between the acts of a serious opera or play

Question 13

When and where did intermezzo originate?

Answer 13

Intermezzo originated around 1700 in Venice and Naples

Question 14

Why did intermezzo come about?

Answer 14

Intermezzo was invented at a time when comic characters and scenes were being purged from serious opera

Question 15

Intermezzo allows the serious opera to maintain it’s_____, while still providing _____

Answer 15

Intermezzo allows the serious opera to maintain it’s integrity while still providing comic relief

Question 16

Birth and death of Giovanni Pergolesi

Answer 16

1710-1736

Question 17

Giovanni Pergolessi is best known for what work?

Answer 17

The intermezzo, La Serva Padrona (1733)

Question 18

Why is Giovanni Pergolessi important?

Answer 18

Pergolessi is important because his works were influential in that they show early classical style, with many contrasting but simple melodies over sparse accompaniment

Question 19

As the eighteenth century went on how did the plots of comic operas change?

Answer 19

New elements and plot lines began to be seen alongside comic ones, including woeful, sentimental, and serious plots

Question 20

What is a new development in comic opera that appeared in the operas of Logroscion and Galuppi?

Answer 20

The ensemble finale which is where at the end of the act all the characters are gradually brought on stage and join into the action and music, creating a hectic atmosphere

Question 21

What are ensemble finales?

Answer 21

These are where at the end of the act all the characters are gradually brought on stage and join into the action and music

Question 22

Who were pioneers of the ensemble finale?

Answer 22

Nicola Logroscino and Baldassare Galuppi

Question 23

What are some characteristics of Italian comic opera?

Answer 23

• Galant style
• Emotional fluidity
• Direct expression
• Stylistic contrasts

Question 24

What is opera seria?

Answer 24

Serious opera; does not have comic scenes or characters

Question 25

Who set the standard form for opera seria?

Answer 25

The Italian poet Pietro Metastasio (1698-1782)

Question 26

Pietro Metastasio was poet for what court?

Answer 26

Metastasio was court poet in Vienna from 1729 until 1782

Question 27

Metastasios' serious operas are usually about what?

Answer 27

Conflicts in human passions, often pitting love against duty, usually with a happy ending

Question 28

Opera seria is strictly conveyed through what two styles?

Answer 28

Aria and recitative

Question 29

What is the role of the orchestra is opera seria?

Answer 29

Almost entirely as accompaniment to support the singers

Question 30

When did composers begin to convey multiple emotions in a movement rather than only one as in baroque music?

Answer 30

in the 1720's and 30's

Question 31

Who was considered by his contemporaries the master of opera seria?

Answer 31

Johann Adolf Hasse (1699-1783)

Question 32

Who was Johann Adolf Hasse? Where was he born and in what style did he compose?

Answer 32

He was a composer of opera seria and one of the most successful composers of opera from the 1720's to 1770's. He was born in Hamburg but composed in an Italian style

Question 33

Comic opera was always performed in what language?

Answer 33

The local language

Question 34

Comic opera encouraged the growth of _____

Answer 34

Comic opera encouraged the growth of distinct national opera traditions

Question 35

What are vaudevilles?

Answer 35

These are popular tunes or imitations of popular tunes used in opera comique

Question 36

What is opera comique?

Answer 36

This is the French style of comic opera that features spoken dialogue and popular music known as vaudvilles

Question 37

Gradually the music in opera comique began to be freshly composed as the Italian influence became more prominent. When were vaudevilles phased out by original music?

Answer 37

In about the 1760's

Question 38

Who was the leading composer of opera comique in France?

Answer 38

Andre Ernest Modeste Gretry (1741-1813)

Question 39

Define ballad opera

Answer 39

Ballad opera was a popular form of comic opera in England that features music that sets new words to borrowed tunes, folk songs, and dances as well as spoken dialogue

Question 40

Define singspiel

Answer 40

German for "singing play," this is a type of comic opera that features spoken dialogue and musical numbers

Question 41

How did comic opera help drive the development of distinct national styles?

Answer 41

Because it had to pander to the general public instead of depending on aristocratic patronage for support, comic opera became more individual to the locality of the production

Question 42

How many acts does opera seria have?

Answer 42

Three

Question 43

Who was a prominent figure in opera reform?

Answer 43

Christoph Gluck (1714-1787)

Question 44

Birth and death of Christoph Gluck

Answer 44

1714-1787

Question 45

Gluck advocated for what concerning opera?

Answer 45

He advocated for a return to plot as the focus of opera rather than virtuosic flashy displays of singing and staging

Question 46

Gluck and opera reformers wanted music to do what?

Answer 46

Opera reform wanted music to return to its role as servant to the plot and poetry

Question 47

Opera reform sought to opera that was "natural." List four qualities they desired

Answer 47

- Expressive - Flexible - Less ornamented - More musical resources

Question 48

Amateur music making was becoming popular at this time, especially for published songs. Describe these songs for the public as they typically appeared

Answer 48

- Relatively simple - Keyboard or guitar accompaniment - Diatonic - Strophic - Syllabic

Question 49

An important genre in German aimed at amatuers was what?

Answer 49

The Leider or German language song

Question 50

Name three characteristics of Leider

Answer 50

- Designed to be easy to sing - Very simple accompaniment - Performed for pleasure rather than to impress

Question 51

Name four important composers of leid

Answer 51

- C.P.E. Bach - Telemann - Carl Graun - Johann Reichardt

Question 52

Church music during the Classical era was not _____

Answer 52

Innovative

Question 53

Church music during the Classical tended to follow what sector of music?

Answer 53

Church music during this time tended to follow secular modals and innovations

Question 54

What are fuging tunes?

Answer 54

These are songs that begin with a syllabic homophonic section and then move into a section of imitation before returning to homophony

Question 55

What was the first collection of music in North America?

Answer 55

The New England Psalm Singer (1770) by William Billings

Question 56

English church music kept what kind of music alive?

Answer 56

Baroque music

Question 57

Church music in the new world was modeled after what?

Answer 57

It was modeled after the colony's respective national styles and traditions

Question 58

How is Italian comic opera different from comic other in other countries?

Answer 58

It is sung throughout

Question 59

What element of opera buffa derives from Italian commedia dell’arte?

Answer 59

The caricatured personae

Question 60

What is one distinguishing feature of opera buffa in comparison to opera seria?

Answer 60

Opera buffa contains everyday characters and contemporary settings

Question 61

What shift occurred in opera seria in the 1720s and 1730s?

Answer 61

Arias began to display a variety of moods and emotions

Question 62

What is commedia dell' arte?

Answer 62

A type of Italian theatre drama featuring improvised lines on familiar stories, and an emphasis on the ensemble. The form was around from the 16-18th centuries