Impressionism in Opera

In the late 19^th century in Paris, two important movements came together and made a huge impact on music:

· Impressionism was a movement that applied primarily to the visual arts, named for a painting by Claude Monet (Impression: soleil levant). Painters attempted to record impressions of nature by refracting light into its primary components (the colors of the spectrum), and juxtaposing them onto canvas, where they were later reassembled by viewer. Forms and outlines were obscured, creating dreamy atmosphere. The effect is like viewing an object through haze or smoke

· Symbolism was a type of poetry that emphasized the lyricism of the language; sonority was more important than syntax. This poetry suggests rather than asserts; it is often intentionally vague, exploring nuance of feeling through symbols, illusions, and understatement.

· These trends influenced composers who became known as impressionists, especially Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

· Debussy wrote many works that defined the musical language known as impressionism:

o Scales other than Major or Minor tend to be used (pentatonic, church modes, whole tone, octatonic)

o Harmony is more for color than function

o Forms are not clearly demarcated

· Debussy wrote an opera Pelléas et Mélisande between 1893 and 1902.

o Based on a play by Belgian symbolist poet Maurice Maeterlinck

o Contains numerous Leitmotives