Opera in france and italy ch20 Flashcards
Opera in the 19th century
- Opera continued to be a central part of musical life in the 19th century,
- France, Italy, Germany, serving as an elite entertainment,
- Although its music was popular among all classes and professions,
- Rossini, Bellini, Meyerbeer, and weber
By 1850, a permanent repertory of operas began to emerge,
* Operas by Rossini, Bellini, Meyerbeer, and weber,
* Second half of the century, - Verdi and Wagner dominated Italian and German opera, others developed national styles,
nationalism
themes into opera during the 19th century,
Casting middle class characters in their operatic works,
Star singers are getting paid more than composers,
French Grand opera
- Equivalent to that of the Hollywood film epic in the 20th century,
- Influencing the works Bellini, Verdi and Wagner,
- Opera comique continued to be fashionable as well,
Comique opera
used spoken dialogue instead of recitative, size and subject matter was diff too as it required fewer singers and players,
* Comedy or semi-serious drama rather historical,
* Works by Daniel-Francois auber
* Spoken dialogue,
French light opera or opera bouffe
- During the reign of napoleons nephew louis,
- Could freely satirize the society of the second empire by restoring the fictional character types.
- Emphasized the smart, witty, and satirical elements of comic opera,
Lyric opera
Lies somewhere between opera comique and grand opera,
* Like comique, its main appeal is in the melody,
* Subject matter is romantic drama or fantasy,
* Larger than an opera comique,
The Pirates of Penzance, Act II (159)
- Comic opera in England,
- Gilbert and Sullivan,
Carmen, Act I, no. 10 (156)
- Landmark in the history of French opera,
- By George Bizet,
- First performed at Paris,
- Opera comique because it contains dialogues,
- Realistic drama, ends with tragic murder,
- Spanish rhythms and tunes, flutes at the start
- A brazen gypsy who works in a cigarette factory, lives only for the pleasure of the moment,
- Because of her costume, behaviour, provocative sexuality, and language, she is characterized as a creature living outside the conventions of normal society, making her both dangerous and enticing in short, a femme fatale,
Italian opera
- Giovacchino Rossini, best known today for his comique masterpiece il barbierer di siviglia.
- Yet his reputation during his lifetime rested on much of his serious operas, such as Otello and Guillaume Tell,
- Blended aspects of buffa and seria in both his comic and serious operas,
- Making them all more varied, truer to human character,
- influenced the style of bel canto, beautiful singing.
o Singing characterized by seemingly effortless technique, equally beautiful tone throughout out the singer’s entire range, agility, and flexibility,
o Most important element is the voice,
Il barbiere di Siviglia, Act I, no. 7 (149)
- Entrance of Rosina in aria form,
- Patter arias of buffo characters such as figaro himself,
- Rapid singing, sometimes with nonsense syllables,
- Combination of bel canto and comic,
- An opening section and a faster more brilliant conclusion – cantabile and cabaletta
- Uses cabaletta to reveal both sides of rosinas personality.
La traviata, Act III (154a-e)
- Giuseppe Verdi
- Is about love and death,
- Set to present than the past,
- Verdi’s mature work
- Was one of the first tragic operas to be set in the present rather than the historical past,
- A women trapped between her livelihood as a courtesan, her desire to escape that life and be loved,
- The strucutte of the final act follows rossinis duets style,
- Cantabile – looking forward to life together as she recovers her health,
Giuseppe Verdi
- Italian composer, second half of the 19th century
- Ruling presence in Italian music
- Nationalist, very Italian dramatic operas,
- Human drama is the heart of his dramas,
o Emphasis on romanticized nature and mythology,
o Preference for subjects that are novel, big, beautiful, bold, - Firmly believed that each nation should cultivate its own native music,
- Deplored the influence of foreign music, especially German ideas in the work of his younger compatriots,
- By the 1859, his name had become a patriotic symbol and rallying cry “viva Verdi.”
- Planned the sequence of musical forms so that each singer has the opp for arias, dramatic duets,
Vincenzo Bellini 1801-1835)
- Younger contemporary of Rossini who came to prominence after the elder had retired from opera compositions,
- Preferred dramas of passion fast, gripping action,
- Known for long, sweeping, highly embellished, intensely emotional melodies, that have a flexibility of form and a tinge of sadness,
- Structure for an extended aria or duet that accommodated new developments in the story,
