Opera – a drama that is sung to orchestral accompaniment Music, acting, poetry, dance, scenery and costumes Characters and plot a revealed through song Music is the drama Actors that can sing and act at the same time Solo characters, choruses, and dancers Personnel Conductor, stage director, vocal coaches, rehearsal accompanists, techncians, stagehands… Can be several hundred people Began in Italy around 1600 Associated with high social status

Composition – joint efforts of composer and dramatist Libretto – text Written by librettist (dramatist) Music is set to the libretto by the composer Opera characters are dramatic and over the top Composer places and paces the drama through the music Genre can very – serious, comic or both Can contain some spoken parts, but mostly vocal Characterization varies from opera to opera Stage Director – assists singers in acting

Voice categories of opera- Coloratura soprano – Very high range, can execute rapid scales and trills Lyric soprano – Rather light voice, sings roles calling for grace and charm Dramatic soprano – Full, powerful voice; capable of passionate intensity Lyric Tenor – Relatively light, bright voice Dramatic Tenor – Powerful voice; is capable of heroic expression Basso buffo – Takes comic roles; can sing very rapidly Basso profondo – Very low range, powerful voice; takes roles calling for great dignity

1-5 acts subdivided into scenes Aria Main attraction of an opera Song for solo voice with orchestral accompaniment Outpouring of melody that expresses an emotional state. Repetition is common in order to emphasize point Lasts several minutes Definite beginning, climax and end 1 syllable can be stretched across several notes All action stops Applause is welcome at the end of the Aria

Recitative Used to lead into an Aria A vocal line that imitates the rhythms and pitch fluctuations of speech From the Italian word recite Words are sung quickly with repeated notes 1 syllable to each note Used in monologues or dialogues that connect sections Sung by soloists with a simple chordal accompaniment

Besides solos there are compositions for ensembles Ensembles – 3 or more singers Performers face audience or move through action developing the plot Emotions are expressed Chorus Makes comments on the action Tonal background for the soloists Prompter Cues and reminds the singers of words or pitches Located right over the edge of center stage

Dance is part of the setting not the center of attention Ballroom or country fair, court Orchestra Pit – sunken area directly in front of the stage Symphony orchestra with a smaller string section Orchestra supports the singers, and depicts mood and atmosphere Conductor shapes the entire work Tempos, cues singers, dynamics Overture/Prelude Orchestral introductions to acts Sets the overall dramatic mood Orchestral work only Since 18 th century the melody line is from material heard later within the opera

Born in Italy Created by Camerata musical discussions among a group of nobles, poets and composers who met regularly in Florence in Composer Vincenzo Galilei – father of astronomer Galileo was involved Desired to create a new vocal style modeled on the music of ancient Greek tragedy Idea based on theories Rejected polyphony Desired importance to placed on text Euridice by Jacopo Peria Earliest opera that was preserved Composed for the wedding of King Henri IV of France Performed in Florence in 1600 Orfeo by Monteverdi Composed in 1607 First great opera Performed for the court of the Gonzaga family Based on the Greek myth of Orpheus’s descent into Hades to bring back his beloved Eurydice

Composed for ceremonial occasions Subject usually came from Greek mythology and ancient history Aristocrats identified with the heroes and divinities First Public Opera House Opened in Venice in 1637 Anyone that could pay admission was welcome to attend brought more opera houses 17 in Venice alone By the early 1700s Hamburg, Leipzig and London also had opera houses Opera outside of Italy took longer to develop

Venetian opera became a great tourist attraction Stage machinery was elaborate for the time Stage effects might have people descending into the clouds or boulders splitting Set design was an art Rise of the virtuoso singer Castrato – male singer who had been castrated before puberty Lung power of a man with the range of a woman Highest paid of all vocalist Today this part would be sung by a countertenor Ability to sing in a female pitch range using a special kind of voice production

Secco recitatives Recitatives consisting of recitatives usually accompanied by basso continue Accompanied recitatives Used in an emotional high point Recitative supported by the orchestra Aria All actions stops and the singer faced the audience Expresses feelings Vocal virtuosity Form Late baroque aria – ABA – da capo aria (meaning after the B section return to the beginning)