Opera

I am an opera...

•1) Lover

•2) Hater

•3) I don’t really know

•What’s an opera?

Beginnings

•ca. 1600, Forentine Camerata

•monody

•mythology (La Dafne, 1598)

Monteverdi, L’ Orfeo (1607)

Orpheus & Euridice

Opera has its beginnings in...

•1) the tradition of the school musical

•2) the Nineteenth century

•3) an attempt to replicate Greek tragedies

By mid-17th century,

•Open to public

•Star solo singers

•Aria and Recitative

•Entertainment & Spectacle

•Recitative = “spoken” portions

•Aria = “sung” portions

Handel, Giulio Cesare (1724)

http://youtu.be/KlTTcooIR84

Late 17th- and early 18th-century operas tend to be•1) focused most on entertainment

•2) very serious, solemn, and understated

Enlightenment-era operas probably

•1) catered mostly to the ruling class

•2) emphasized social reform

•3) were televised shortly after their first performances

•new focus on middle-class, ruling class made fun of

•moralistic/socially aware

Enlightenment-era Opera

Mozart, Don Giovanni (1787)

Don Giovanni & Leporello Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, Zerlina

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Romantic-era Opera

•Italy

•France

•Germany

Verdi, La Traviata (1853)Alfredo, Violetta