Opera

- A western classical music/theater drama -sometimes includes dance

- Most often dramatic stories, but sometimes comedy

Elements of Opera

• Shares many elements with spoken theater and instrumental music like:

• Acting, scenery, costumes, storytelling, plot,• Elements of music are many: singing, symphony/orchestra, melody, harmony, rhythm, etc

Elements of Opera

Opera singers are specifically trained for a vocal range of pitchThese are classified from high to low sounds, these singers are called-soprano-alto-tenor-baritone-bass

History

• The first opera was written and performed around 1600 in Italy

-it was trying to resemble ancient Greek theater by combining storytelling/singing /musicIt developed mostly in Italy, Germany, France,And Britain

History- originally performed for european royalty- By 1650 opera was being staged before large public audiences

usually in an ‘opera house’- Styles changed over the years with major time periods in the

late 18th, mid 19th, and 20th centuries.

Elements

Singing: opera has evolved unique singing styles-’recitative’ is a plot based style, tries to exaggerate sounds of speaking -sometimes replaced with spoken words-’aria’ formal and structured melody, using tones/pitches/scales to express emotion-Choruses (groups of singers) often used to provide commentary/narrative

Famous Figures• Mozart – 18th century “The marriage of Figaro” “Don Giovanni”• Richard Wagner- mid 19th century “Tristan and Isolde”• Puccini- early 20th century “Madame Butterfly”, “La Boheme”• Philip Glass-late 20th century “Einstein on the Beach”,