MUS 323/523 Opera History
Introduction
What is opera?
á dramatic, musical, fully staged
á controversies:
á sung throughout? (book refers to Òthrough-composed music dramasÓ)
á comic?
á subject?
Antecedents: Music and Drama have always been connected
á plays of ancient Greece were probably sung
á plays often used characters from myths: Orpheus and Eurydice, Electra, Medea, Alceste, Iphigenia
á plots were intended to remind audience about moral consequences
á Ancient
Greek tragedies explored the nature of mankind
á Doctrine of Ethos connection: music affects the character, so it was appropriate to use music for commentary on character
á stories and characters appeared often in opera:
á Orpheus and Eurydice: 30
á Iphigenia: 50
á Hercules: 100
á BerliozÕ Les Troyens, StraussÕ Elektra
á in late Renaissance, there was a revival of interest in ancient Greece that helped establish opera
á Middle Ages and Renaissance: after Fall of Rome, dramatic activity declined; then a gradual increase in activity beginning 10th or 11th
á Liturgical Dramas: 10th to 16th centuries; mostly 11th to 13th
á sung mostly in Latin using texts, later some vernacular, esp. German
á music and organization borrowed from Liturgy
á most were written for Easter or Christmas. Sometimes actually part of service, sometimes a separate ÒproductionÓ right before Mass
á singing would be a better delivery method in Gothic Cathedrals than speaking
á Mysteries (Late Middle Ages and Renaissance; 14th - 16th centuries)
á mostly bible stories, but performed outside church, often outdoors
á usually in vernacular (esp. England)
á major step forward in stagecraft: depicted floods, other disasters, etc.
á music was mostly Òincidental;Ó few surviving examples
á Secular music dramas (many genres; a few are):
á Pastoral(e) Play (Italy, France): evokes images of country life, esp. shepherds; often contained music but not sung throughout.
á Madrigal Comedy (Italy): 16th century groups of madrigals strung together, loosely bound by plot
á Intermedio (pl. intermedii)(Italy): Short episodes between the acts of another play (comedy or tragedy); might be only instrumental music, but often included singing (solo and choral), staging, dancing, etc. Subjects were often myths or pastoral; purpose was to glorify ruler.
á Masque/Masquerade (England/France): masked performers staged allegorical stories at carnival times; they would be brought in as the entertainment, then join party
á Florence in the 1590Õs
á a very intellectually active place; groups of ÒliteratiÓ gathered to discuss philosophy, ancient literature and drama; Florentine Camerata
á there was awareness that drama could be obscured in dramatic works by other things, e.g. music
á Literati
asked: why did music in ancient Greece enhance drama? What can we do to make
music enhance our drama?
á Camerata
included Vincenzo Galilei; he worked
with Girolamo Mei, Roman music
scholar who read ancient Greek, looked at sources brought by Byzantine
scholars. Mei and Galilei
corresponded; published by G. as Dialogue of Ancient and Modern
Music. Important points of Dialogo:
á text
must be clearly understood
á words
must be sung with correct, natural declamation
á melodies
should do more than depict graphic detail
á Jacopo Corsi (1561-1602) became chief patron in Florence; working with him composer Jacopo Peri (1561-1622) and librettist Ottavio Rinuccini (1562-1621); they collaborated on what some call the first true opera, Dafne (1598)
á reasons to use myths for plots:
á they found them inspiring
á also they justified the use of song and verse (language of the gods) rather than prose and speech (language of mortals). Orpheus and Apollo were known in mythology for their musical powers
á Rinuccini and Peri collaborated on another opera, Eurydice for a royal wedding in 1600
á This music is preserved; opera opens with prologue
á words are understandable due to abandonment of polyphony
á prologue is rhythmic but still allows declamation according to speech rhythm
á Giulio Caccini (1551-1618; also of Florentine Camerata) set the same libretto around the same time; another rival for credit for first opera
á Drawbacks of early experimental operas
á music was dictated by text, but not that interesting to listen to; solo style rather monotonous
á ranges are limited to imitate ranges of speech, therefore emotion and expression donÕt come across well
á characters arenÕt well developed
á early operas often rather passionless; opposite of ideals of Camerata
á Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
á Was able to solve the problems because he was a fine composer and musician, understood ideals of Camerata, but also a fine dramatist
á wrote over 20 dramatic works; only 6 survive
á His first opera was Orfeo, produced in Mantua (not Florence) in 1607
á Much more dramatic than other operas to date; libretto by Alessandro Striggio (?1573-1630) is better suited to drama than that of the average poet
á contains speech-like declamation, but much more rhythmic and tuneful sections provide contrast
á orchestration was unusual: a highly varied group of instruments
á he wrote for vocal ensembles, as well as solo voices
á The difference between aria and recitative emerges gradually; at first they just had monody (solo song with instrumental accompaniment). Eventually these develop:
á recitative: less structured verse, free rhythmically; often used to move plot ahead rapidly or for dialogue
á aria: more structured verse, more set rhythm; usually set more tunefully; used for moments of introspection or commentary
á MonteverdiÕs LÕIncoronazione de Poppea (1642)
á Many differences from his first opera 35 years before: it is on an historical subject, not myth, although gods are still worked into plot (Fortune, Virtue, Love), taking bets on what will happen
á WeÕll return to this opera later, after looking at developments elsewhere in Italy