chapter 41 music in the ae - opera
TRANSCRIPT
• Enlightenment: a philosophical, scientific, and political movement that dominated 18th-century thought – and ultimately brought about the transition to a
more democratic society.
• Also called the Age of Reason, the Enlightenment was characterized by:
– scientific pursuit of truth and discovery of natural laws.
– the extension of natural laws to the political realm, including the notion that all persons are born free.
– faith in human reason rather than divine providence.
– the rise of Deism, a natural religion postulating that a Creator had made the world, put it in motion, but left it alone thereafter.
• Les philosophes: a group of French freethinkers who espoused the principles of – social justice – equality– religious tolerance– freedom of speech.
• Among them were Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
• Between 1751 and 1772, les philosophes compiled the 28 -volume Encyclopédie– the most comprehensive work of its kind to date.
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau: a leading Enlightenment philosopher, he was also a composer and writer on music.
• As well as providing the entries on music in the Encyclopédie and compiling a Dictionnaire de musique, – Rousseau composed several works, including comic opera.
• Galant style: music of the 18th century that emphasized grace, lightness in texture, and, symmetrical melodic structures.
• The galant ideal goes hand in hand with the Enlightenment values of naturalness, clarity, and simplicity.
• The opera house in Dresden, built in 1719, became one of the most important operatic centers in 18th-century Europe.
• This opera house hired some of the most successful singers and composers in the continent. – Among them, opera composer Johann Hasse.
• Pietro Metastasio: principal librettist of 18th-century opera seria.
• Although he often collaborated with Hasse, his libretti were set nearly 400 times by other 18th-century composers– including Handel, Gluck, and Mozart.
• When compared to its Baroque counterpart, Enlightenment opera seria featured a reduced number of characters and a simplified libretto. Among its characteristics:
– a disguised allegorical praise of the ruler.
– a lieto fine, or happy ending.
– elaborate scenery, sometimes including animals on stage.
– castrati sing the roles of young romantic leads• while tenors and basses sing those of authoritative
male figures.
– the music consists exclusively of simple recitative and florid da capo arias which provided a display case for virtuoso sopranos and castrati.
Opera seria
Coloratura: a florid figuration assigned to the soprano voice. The singers of such passage work are called coloratura sopranos.
• Comic opera: a simpler, more direct type of musical theater that – made use of comic characters– dealt with everyday social issues– emphasized middle class values more than opera
seria.
• Rather than only in Italian, comic opera was sung in the local tongue.
• Arising in several countries in Europe, comic opera went by various names:
– Ballad opera in England
– Opera buffa in Italy
– Opéra comique in France
Comic Opera
The Beggar's Opera
• Ballad: a traditional, usually strophic, English song that tells a story.
• Ballad opera: a comic opera that makes use of re-texted ballads (or other popular songs) and spoken dialogue rather than recitative. John Gay's seminal The Beggar's Opera, produced in London in 1728, was the first important ballad opera.
• Opera buffa: Italian comic opera, it featured a wide spectrum of social classes, from peasants to noblemen.
• Developed first as separate comic scenes between the acts of an opera seria.
• Unlike in an English ballad opera, the dialogue is delivered in simple recitative.
• Intermezzo: a musical diversion between acts of an opera or play.
• Giovanni Battista Pergolesi: composer of the famous two-act opera, La serva padrona– the best known opera buffa of the first half of the 18th
century.
• War of the Buffoons: a war of words sparked by the Parisian performance of Pergolesi's La serva padrona in 1752.
• Social critics on either side of the argument debated on what sort of opera was appropriate for the French stage: – The traditional French court opera (tragédie
lyrique) or– the newer, lighter Italian opera buffa?
• Opéra comique: similar to the Italian opera buffa, it features characters from everyday life. – While the dialogue is sometimes spoken and other
times sung in simple recitative, the lyrical portions consist of simple airs or popular melodies called vaudevilles.
• Chistoph Willibald Gluck: a native of the Czech Republic, he worked in most major cities in Europe until 1752, when he settled in Vienna.
• There he directed the French opera and dance company at the court of Empress Maria Theresa.
• In 1762 Gluck and librettist Ranieri Calzabigi teamed up to create a new type of opera called "reform opera."
• The first such "reform opera" was Orfeo et Euridice, based on the ever popular myth of Orpheus.
• Reform opera: Gluck's new type of opera that aimed at combining the best features of the Italian and the French operatic traditions. Among its characteristics:
– Reduced importance of elaborated, coloratura singing.
– Elimination of da capo arias in favor of strophic forms.
– Extensive use of obbligato recitative (also called accompanied recitative).
– Less distinction between recitatives and arias.
– Fewer characters and simplified plot.
– Increased importance of the chorus.
– Dance assumes a dramatic role.
– Increased importance of the orchestra.