Music: Opera Terminology
Opera in the Classical Era
What is Opera?
1. A dramatic work. This usually contains one or more acts, set to music for singers and instrumentalists.
2. Opera falls under the genre of Classical music
3. Opera is like a play where rather than speaking lines, they are sang. It contains music, costumes and a story.
History
- Opera first began in the 1600's (The Baroque Era)
-Nobles, poets and composers began to meet together in Florence, Italy around 1575. This group was called the "Camerata group". Camerata means fellowship or society in Italian.
- The men met regularly at the house of Giovanni de' Bardi to discuss trends in the arts, music and drama.
-Their goal was to create a new vocal style on the music of the ancient Greek tragedy.
-They bases their ideas on literary accounts that were still existent.
The Camerata experiments led to the development of stile recitativo. This put together the existence of dramatic music and opera.
-The first Opera house opened up in Venice, Italy. It was called Teatro San Cassiano
-The fastest growing opera houses were located in Italy
-Opera was mainly formed in Italy, but is now preformed in mostly every language.
-Back in this time, Opera was written for ceremonies and special events.
-The audience was mostly aristocracy, second social class usually did not attend.
-This is the reason people have the impression that opera is for the wealthy.
-Nowadays opera is just as casual as going to the movies.
Types of Opera
Opera formed many new musical styles such as recicitaive speech and virtuoso singers began to arise.
Opera Semiseria: Contains a serious story, with a happy ending.
Opera Cornique: A French opera where the lines are spoken rather than sung.
Comic Opera: A light opera containing a happy ending.
Serious Opera: The story usually revolves around heroes and myths.
Grand Opera: Everything was on a larger scale, for example: flamboyant costumes. Grand Opera included ballet.
Opera
What is Opera?
1. A dramatic work. This usually contains one or more acts, set to music for singers and instrumentalists.
2. Opera falls under the genre of Classical music
3. Opera is like a play where rather than speaking lines, they are sang. It contains music, costumes and a story.
History
- Opera first began in the 1600's (The Baroque Era)
-Nobles, poets and composers began to meet together in Florence, Italy around 1575. This group was called the "Camerata group". Camerata means fellowship or society in Italian.
- The men met regularly at the house of Giovanni de' Bardi to discuss trends in the arts, music and drama.
-Their goal was to create a new vocal style on the music of the ancient Greek tragedy.
-They bases their ideas on literary accounts that were still existent.
The Camerata experiments led to the development of stile recitativo. This put together the existence of dramatic music and opera.
-The first Opera house opened up in Venice, Italy. It was called Teatro San Cassiano
-The fastest growing opera houses were located in Italy
-Opera was mainly formed in Italy, but is now preformed in mostly every language.
-Back in this time, Opera was written for ceremonies and special events.
-The audience was mostly aristocracy, second social class usually did not attend.
-This is the reason people have the impression that opera is for the wealthy.
-Nowadays opera is just as casual as going to the movies.
Types of Opera
Opera formed many new musical styles such as recicitaive speech and virtuoso singers began to arise.
Opera Semiseria: Contains a serious story, with a happy ending.
Opera Cornique: A French opera where the lines are spoken rather than sung.
Comic Opera: A light opera containing a happy ending.
Serious Opera: The story usually revolves around heroes and myths.
Grand Opera: Everything was on a larger scale, for example: flamboyant costumes. Grand Opera included ballet.
Opera