Study Questions Unit 2

Week 5 Day 11. DefineNationalism1. Attempt to unify a group of people by creating a national identity through characteristics such as a common languages, shared culture, historical traditions, and national institutions and rituals.2. DefineBel canto1. Beautiful singing. It is about effortless technique throughout the whole range.2. Extremely versatile and lyric control.3. How did opera become an important part of elite culture?1. Individual numbers and scores were published in versions for voice and piano.2. Performed in salons. Amateurs at home.3. Selections were transcribed for piano. 4. Overtures and arias appeared in orchestra concerts. 5. Operas were abridged and parodied in burlesques, puppet shows, etc. 4. How did librettists create texts that had broader appeal for middle class audiences?1. By incorporating peasant dances and parts of middle class culture into the shows. 2. They create symbols of the nation through the music.5. How didnationalismandexoticismimpact opera?1. It attracted audiences from other cultures.2. Made opera a world wide thing a collision of identity.6. What are the characteristics of Rossini's style? What is the "Rossini crescendo"?1. Crescendo is the repetition of a phrase louder and louder until it feels like the world will spin out of control Kind of like our drop the bass build ups.2. Catchy melodies, clear phrases and snappy rhythm. Coloratura and repetition.3. Spare orchestration, but gives single instruments room to shine (like the winds)4. Non-complex harmonies, but certainly original.7. Define the following terms, and be able to identify the relevant sections in NAWM 145:cantabile,cabaletta,tempo di mezzo,tempo d'attacco,stretta.1. Cantabile 1-42 in Una Voce. A slow, singable section. Quasi recit.2. Cabaletta 43-120 in Una Voce. 3. Tempo di mezzo a middle scene where something happens to change the mood of the character.4. Tempo dattacco opening section where characters swap phrases.5. Stretta fast-paced galloping thing.

NAWM 145Il barbiere di Siviglia Una voce poco faComic Opera1816 (1820)See above for pertinent facts in Study Questions

Week 5 Day 21. What relationship might there be between Bellini'sNormaand politics?1. Creates a sense of nationalism with uprisings.2. How does "Casta diva" (Norma) follow the Rossinian scene structure? (Be able to identify the sections in NAWM 146.)1. Check out the piece itself3. What are the melodic features of Bellini's style? What is the role of the chorus? How does Bellini create a sense of continuous action?1. Long, sweeping, highly embellished, intensely emotional melodies.2. Continuous action is because action is built into the arias and built in lyrical moments within the recits.3. Underlying simple structure.4. Role of the chorus: responding to the action. Interaction with subordinate characters/chorus by the primary characters makes this continuous action.4. How does Donizetti blur the strict formal boundaries of the Rossinian scene structure?1. Sometimes the intro, cantabile, and cabaletta are disguised by choral or recit episodes. Seemless continuity.5. How does Donizetti usereminiscence motivesto shape the drama and character interpretation?1. Theme of her love duet comes back hearkening to another moment.2. This provides depth and temporal importance to moments.WEEK 5, DAY 31. How did opera become part of the classic repertory in Italy? How might we compare this phenomenon to the symphony in German-speaking countries?a. Large dissemination by arrangements. People KNEW the arias.b. Beethoven style classics. Same dissemination stuff There developed a core repertory. 2. How was opera connected to politics in France? What were the three Paris theaters, and which repertories did each perform? How did changes in government affect the ways in which opera was financed?a. Napolean restricted theaters, allowing only three to present operas. b. Opra tragedy, prestigious, new works, revivals by Gluck, etc. French versions of Mozart operas.c. Opra-Comique spoken dialogue instead of recit. Many had serious plots.d. Thtre Italien Operas in Italian.e. Government continued to subsidize opera and concerts, but now the royal family contributed informally to opera and benefit concerts rather than sponsoring them directly.3. Define the characteristics ofGrand opera. Name several works in this genre.a. For middle classb. Focused on romantic love in the context of historical conflicts.c. Exploited possible occasion for ballets, stage machinery, choruses, and crowd scenes.d. Rossinis Guillaume Tell, La muette de Portici by Daniel-Franois-Esprit Auber.i. Les Hugeunots4. How is Meyerbeer'sLes Huguenotstypical of French grand opera? Be able to describe the plot and how its historical events related to current political issues. How is the finale of Act II modeled on a Rossinian scene structure? How does it differ?a. Five acts, enormous cast, ballet, dramatic scenery and lighting effects.b. Plot centers on events leading to the St. Bartholomews Day Massacre of 1572, in which Catholic slaughtered hundreds of Protestants in Paris.c. Finale of Act II is has orchestral introduction, opening section, slow movement, dialogue, and fast stretta at the end.d. 5. Be able to discuss the contributions ofopra comiqueand of ballet to opera and theater.a. Less pretentiousb. Romantic ballets, ballerinas became preeminent. c. Composers wrote music for ballets after the choreography was done.WEEK 6, DAY 11. How do the plots of German Romantic opera differ from those of the French Grand opera tradition?a. Lots of mythology and folklore, less historyb. Mortal characters are now agents of superhuman forces.c. In giving such an importance to physical and spiritual background, its difference.2. What are the new musical features of German Romantic opera, in comparison to its French and Italian counterparts?a. Harder dramatic voicing.b. More drama in the orchestra.3. What is a melodrama?a. Genre of musical theater that combined spoken dialogue with background music.4. What are the characteristics of the reminiscence motive used to characterize Caspar in Weber's Der Freischutz? How does Weber alter this material?5. What kinds of harmonies did Weber use to evoke the supernatural, the dangerous, or the mysterious? How was he influential in this respect?a. Diminished chordsb. Lower ranges!c. Tritone related and third related stuff diminished 7ths string tremolos this are conventions followed by countless Romantic composers and still used by composers for film and television.6. Be able to name some other operas by Weber.a. Euryanthe, Oberon.7. Be able to describe the operatic and musical theater traditions of Russia, Britain, and the United States.a. 673-677, not a big dealWEEK 6, DAY 21. Define the concepts ofnationalism,exoticism, andrealism. How are these represented by music, and what historical factors influenced their development?1. Nationalism: using nationalistic ideas (folk songs, individual identity) to strengthen a group of people. Revolutions, same language. Novel sounds.2. Exoticism: Evocation of foreign lands. 3. Realism: showing the actuality rather than the common pain.2. Define the operatic genresopra bouffeandoperetta.1. Opera bouffe:2. Operetta: Light opera!3. Describe Wagner's use ofleitmotivesand his concept ofGesamtkunstwerk. Be able to name several important publications by Wagner, and their significance. How is aleitmotifdifferent from a reminiscence motive?1. More changeable, and in the mix of the whole piece.4. What were Wagner's contributions to opera, theater architecture, and literature?1. 5. What is the importance ofDer Ring des Nibelungen(The Ring of the Nibelung, or the Ring Cycle)? Which operas make up this cycle?1. Neue oper!6. How do the musical motives from the opening of the Prelude toTristanrecur and shape the dramatic interpretation at other moments of the opera?1.

Mollys notes: Only artwork that combined everything was worthwhile Ring Cycle Gesamtkunstwerk, total artwork. Expansive use of harmony, moving away from functionality. Endless Melody Leitmotives Orchestra plays central role in the drama Singers secondary in importance New significance of the prelude Intricate staging Wagner hides the orchestra to keep the myth.