Terms 5 Flashcards
What Italian movement did Verdi contribute to, and what was its purpose?
The risorgimento: the movement for Italian unification
What does Viva VERDI stand for?
Viva Vittorio Emanuele Re D’Italia
What was Verdi’s style?
Worked within conventions established by Rossini but expands and develops them
What is a reminiscence motive?
An unchanging motive that returns later in the piece to represent a past event, character, or memory
What was romantic german opera based on?
Singspiel (german opera consisting of spoken dialogue and singing)
What themes were popular in german opera?
Legend/the supernatural, symbolic struggle between good and evil, nature
Who was the first master of german opera and what was his masterpiece?
Weber, Der Freischutz
What is the plot to the Wolf Glen Scene in Der Freischutz?
He goes into the woods to get the magic bullets but is warned against it by the ghost of his mother
What were Wagner’s early conventions?
Operas no longer singspiel based (all sung) using reminiscence motives and overtures
What is a music drama and who invented it?
Wagner’s later opera’s where the expression of the drama is the most important goal of the opera (this term was rejected by Wagner)
What is a gesamtkunstwerk?
Total artform; used by Wagner to describe a work where all of the arts work together to serve the expression of the drama
What is a leitmotif?
A musical idea that represents a character or object in Wagner’s operas. They are constantly developed and can be combined with other motives
What is musical prose?
A freely developing melodic line that unfolds more like prose than poetry (no rhyming)
What is stabreim?
A style of german medieval poetry that features alliteration. Used by Wagner to point out connections between various ideas and events in his operas
What is an endless melody?
A melody in which every note has meaning in its expression of the text and does not use cadences or formulas
