Opera Flashcards
What earlier genres set the stage for the birth of opera?
Liturgical dramas (religious stories with music), Madrigals and Italian Intermedi (Musical interludes between acts of a play) (Baroque)
What was the Florentine Camerata?
A group of intellectuals that were led by Count Giovanni de’ Bardi of Florence that met and discussed topics such as poetry, music and drama. Among its members were composers Giulio Caccini, Jacopo Peri and Vincenzo Galilei, the father of Galileo Galilei. This group conducted the earliest experiments with opera and is credited with creating the genre around 1600. (Baroque)
What was of particular interest to the Florentine Camerata?
Ancient Greek theatre because there was a chorus and individual voices to move the plot like a narrator, which would be the precursor to Baroque recitative (Baroque)
What style of singing did the Florentine Camerata encourage?
Monodic (Baroque)
What was Le nuove musiche?
A collection of monodic arias and madrigals published by Giulio Caccini that also contains instructions to ornament melodies (Baroque)
What is opera?
Drama that is sung (Baroque)
What is opera seria?
A subgenre of Italian opera that has a more serious theme such as mythology, tragedy and heroism (Baroque)
What is an aria?
A solo song with accompaniment sung in an opera, oratorio or cantata that reveals a character’s emotions (Baroque)
What is a da capo aria?
An aria in ternary form (Baroque)
What is ground bass?
A compositional device where the same short melody is repeated as variations occur that provided the basic structure of an aria (Baroque)
What is a chorus?
A vocal ensemble that sings together and adds musical variety to operas (Baroque)
What is stile rappresentativo?
The term used by the Florentine Camerata to describe the monodic style that usually contained recitative. The music was used to heighten the emotional power of the text (Baroque)
What is recitative?
A speech-like declamatory style of singing to advance the plot (Baroque)
What is recitativo secco?
Recitative with basso continuo that was popular in 17th century opera (Baroque)
What is recitativo accompagnato?
Recitative with orchestral accompaniment that was popular in 18th century opera (Baroque)
What is a libretto?
The text of an opera, oratorio or cantata usually written by someone other than the composer (Baroque)
What is a castrato singer?
A male singer who retained the ability to sing soprano and alto music due to a surgical procedure (removing a testicle) performed before puberty to reduce growth hormones (Baroque)
ALL CHARACTERISTICS OF L’ORFEO
Genre: Italian Opera
Composer: Claudio Monteverdi
Date: 1607
Librettist: Alessandro Striggio
Plot source: Greek Mythology
Structure: Prologue and 5 acts
Texture: Varied
Plot: A man’s wife is bitten by a serpent and dies. When he tries to retrieve her from the underworld, he accidentally looks back at her and loses her forever (Baroque)
Musical characteristics of L’Orfeo
Tu se Morta: Recitativo secco with simple chords as accompaniment with lots of word painting and chromaticism
Ahi, Caso Acerbo: Chorus including Imitation and Homorhythm with lots of word painting (Baroque)
ALL CHARACTERISTICS OF DIDO AND AENEAS
Structure: 3 acts
Genre: English opera
Composer: Henry Purcell
Date: 1689
Librettist: Nahum Tate
Plot origin: Aeneid from ancient roman poet Virgil
Plot: Queen Dido and Prince Aeneas fall in love and when Aeneas is tricked by a minion of a witch to leave, Dido kills herself (Baroque)
Musical characteristics of Dido and Aeneas
Thy Hand Belinda: Recitativo Secco with lots of word painting
When I am laid in Earth: 5 measure ground bass heard 11 times in an aria with lots of word painting
With Drooping wings: SATB Chorus with lots of word painting (Baroque)
Musical characteristics of Giulio Cesare in Egitto
V’adoro pupille: Sarabande rhythm with a motive used in the Fortspinnung of the aria. Many instruments serve as accompaniment and some play the basso continuo. Caesar’s interjection is a recitativo secco. Section B is in D minor and has less accompaniment. Ending is da capo with a cadenza (Baroque)
ALL CHARACTERISTICS OF GIULIO CESARE IN EGITTO
Plot: Cleopatra needs Caesar’s support and seduces him in a play to regain power
Genre: Italian Opera Seria
Composer: George Frideric Handel
Date: 1724
Librettist: Nicola Francesco Haym
Source of plot: Roman history (Baroque)
3 acts
Who was Claudio Monteverdi?
He was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras who served as the music director for the Duke of Mantua and the Maestro di cappella at the Basilica of San Marco in Venice. He composed madrigals, operas, and sacred vocal music. He is known for embracing the methods of the Baroque style and influenced the development of operas by creating love duets, chorus incorporation, and instrument incorporation. Additionally, he was also a master of word painting as shown in is quote “the text is the master. the music the servant” using chromaticism and other techniques to heighten the meaning of the text (Baroque)
