Genre - aria - ensemble Flashcards
1
Q
Opera buffa general
A
- Comedy, usually ending with wedding
- Set in contemporary period of composition: same time, setting as spectators.
- Focus on the domestic, personal sphere and thus greater sense of realism for the audience.
- ‘Lower’ style in poetry and music which is more ‘natural’.
- Multiple singers will perform together to move the action forward – ensembles involve action unlike seria.
- Confrontation between characters central to action moving forwards.
- Action reflected in music with clashing/melding of harmony, thematic ideas, formal patterns.
2
Q
Parti buffe (parte buffa)
A
- Lower class characters
- Syllabic setting, ‘natural’ delivery (except patter)
- E.g.
o Masetto, Zerlina, Leporello
o Figaro, Basilio, Bartolo
3
Q
Parti serie (parte seria)
A
- Introduced in mid 18th century to opera buffa
- Introduced in mid 18th century to opera buffa
- Characters who express themselves in poetic and musical style more redolent of opera seria
- Generally aristocrats
- More lyrical style (e.g. porgi amor) or heroic (e.g. end section of dove sono)
- Heroic arias often in keys like D major or less often C or Eb (same as overtures) – to allow inclusion of winds and brass.
- Often duple time, cut time
- E.g. in Figaro ‘hai già vinta la causa…vedro mentr’io sospiro’
- Serious arias in opera buffa can be used through a spectrum of serious to parodical, comic (ie a servant singing an aria associated with aristocracy)
o Donna Anna and Don Ottavio not ironic
4
Q
mezzi carrateri (mezzo carattere)
A
- Either ‘mixed’ or ‘median’ character
- Therefore either mixing/juxtaposing styles and genres of parti serie and parti buffe or somewhere in the middle of the two styles
- Don Giovanni is an example – despite being the titular character, he never expresses himself truly: his style is defined by his interactions with others, often pretending to be someone he is not.
- Donna Elvira – more seria with addition of ‘mi tradi’ (Vienna 1788)
- Dorabella
5
Q
Mozart on genre
A
- ‘most essential thing [about the libretto] is that on the whole the story should be really comic’
- The librettist should introduce ‘two equally good female parts, one of these to be seria, the other mezzo carattere
- The third female character may be ‘entirely buffa, and so may all the male ones, if necessary’
- Therefore has all hallmarks of 18th century Goldonian buffa
- Also preference for women as more serious
- ‘in opera the poetry simply has to be the obedient daughter of the music’
6
Q
Linking characters by voice type
A
- Roles with equivalent range suggest same social status
- Susanna and Despina
- Donna Elvira and Fiordiligi – suffering, sensually aware upper-class women
- Leporello and Figaro – comic servants
- Count Almaviva and Don Giovanni
7
Q
Mozart influence of instrumental music
A
- E.g. Figaro opening duet; frag li amplessi; lots more..
- New levels of musical complexity transformed the operas into more dynamic objects
- Allowed characters to become more complex in modern sense, more psychologically interesting
- Shouldn’t let this undermine affective power of beautiful music.
8
Q
Figaro as dynamic/action-heavy music
A
- Figaro Act II finale: everything that happens, each bit with more musical layers
- Maintains pace throughout – action-ensembles and action-arias
o E.g. Non più andrai or venite inginocchiatevi
o Even reflective arias have purpose and emotional dynamism e.g. vedrò mentre io sospiro and dove sono
o Few orchestral introductions into pieces
o The recit often cadences straight into the aria e.g. vedrò mentre io sospiro (straight into fanfare and drums), no.17 duet ‘crudel’ Susanna and Count (often count stuff) - Only Bartolo, Cherubino and Countess are introduced by arias that allow time to establish a specific scene
- Other characters (Figaro, Susanna, Count) are introduced in ensembles: interaction is the most important bit of this ‘folle journée’.
- Susanna is in all six duets of the show and is at least equal if not better than duet partners
9
Q
James Webster on arias
A
Webster has written about arias, complaining how greater attention has been payed to operatic ensembles, to the detriment of arias. He believes that in recent decades musicologists have not payed enough attention to arias, instead focusing on ensembles.
10
Q
Buffa aria
A
- Usually sung by bass
- Preference for stage gesture/action over vocal skills
- Lower ranking – part of ideology about non-noble masculinity
- Demonstrates certainty later to be misplaced e.g. ‘aprite un po’ Figaro
o 4/4, dotted crotchet-quaver pattern can be seen as fake version of march/seria aria
o Typical of antifemale diatribe (condemnation) like ‘Donne mie’ - Inevitable collapse into sputtering inanity shows that his ambitions are unrealisable (patter song)
- Also have constructions of lists e.g. Catalogue Aria Leporello
- Hard to believe these arias served a serious lesson to the audience – in Vienna bourgeois ambition was encouraged.
11
Q
Platoff Buffa aria
A
- Buffa aria is clearest conventional type – for leading comic bass (primo buffo)
- Neutral 4/4 time sig, allegro tempo
- Two distinct melodic styles
o Neutral declamatory singing with final accentented syllable on downbeat. Successive two bar phrases.
o Patter song – fear, joy, strong emotion. Two-bar setting of lines becomes one bar - Often a buffa aria will have one after the other
- Dramatic aims: to set stage for comic outburst and then provide comic outburtst
- e.g. ‘Aprite un po’ quegli occhi’- Figaro rage aria has two-part structure of buffa aria (first part 2 quatrains of settenario then later free scenario)
- e.g. Catalogue aria
o in two tempi but second is slower (unusually), so patter is included in first half when he names the countries etc
o patter lines separated by four beat rests for effect of gradual acceleration
o Second half andante mimics seduction techniques because set as minuet
12
Q
Noble seria aria
A
- Often occur near beginning
- Both genders sing this aria type
- Compressed da capo form stands for nobility in a way that no other form does (Mary Hunter)
- Stately melody over pulsating bass line
- E.g. Or sai
- John Brown aria di portamento
13
Q
Seria rage arias
A
- E.g. hai già vinta…Vedrò mentr’io sospiro
- Rage idiom might be undercut by comic associations in buffo
- Count’s aria isn’t one single affect and slightly leaps from one topic to another
- Comparing it to Bartolo’s ‘la vendetta’ either undercuts its seriousness (Allanbrook) or emphasises how serious it is in comparison (Tim Carter)
14
Q
Seria Sentimental statement aria
A
- Sentimental expression is an occasion in which social barriers can be breached
- But can also be used to redefine relation between gender and class
- Women – sentiment, naturalness, upper-class sensibility
- Rondo as paradigm of sentimental expression
- E.g. ‘Dove sono’ and ‘per pietà’
- Rondo: two tempo aria most often with a slower opening section and faster concluding one (and return of main section)
- Generally in buffa it is only women who get sympathetic music
- Gender distinctions take on markers of class distinction
15
Q
Finali (general)
A
- Internal finale often moment of greatest tension – high point of imbroglio (entanglement) – misunderstanding/complication
- After this comes dénoument – untangling, solution
- All multisectional
- Openings became a bit like finali e.g. Don G opening with lots of characters and Cosi with three trios
