Unit 4: Opera Flashcards
1
Q
Reason for Gluck and Operatic Reform
A
- late Baroque era: opera began to favour empty musical display over dramatic integrity
- overture little to do w/ work that followed
- lengthy ballets were a distraction
- stars of the day - singers - would substitute aria from different opera if they felt it would display their virtuosity more effectively
- Gluck’s goal: restore dramatic integrity to opera, (much like Monteverdi did before him: that the music should serve the poetry)
2
Q
Gluck and Operatic Reform
A
- restore chorus in opera: make it integral part of dramatic action
- minimize contrast b/t recirative and aria: arioso stye
- make overture organic part of score: use themes that would be heard later in opera
- reject empty display of virtuosity: favor “beautiful simplicity”
3
Q
What are examples of the Fluck and Operatic Reform?
A
- Orfeo ed Euridice
- Alcest
- Iphigénie en Aulide
- Iphigénie en Tauride
4
Q
opera buffa
A
- Italian comic opera
- sung throughout with no spoken dialogue
- down-to-earth characters, fast-paced plots, farce, sexual innuendo
5
Q
modified sonata form
A
- abbreviated sonata form
- exposition and recapitulation, no development
- developed 18th century
6
Q
terzetto
A
- Italian: “trio”
- musical number for three voices (characters)
7
Q
trouser role
A
- male character performed by soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto
- male castrati roles turned to trouser role in modern performance
8
Q
(overture)
A
- orchestral work preceding opera or oratorio
- frequently sonata form
- in 18th century: quoted themes heard later in opera
9
Q
(singspiel)
A
- German comic opera
- contains spoken dialogue