Opera Seria In Weiss And Taruskin

The satirical description of opera seria by Carlo Goldoni in Weiss and Taruskin begins by mentioning it to be “the dominant form of Italian opera.” I had never heard of opera seria before this semester, but the readings assigned on this topic seem to be especially entertaining to me.
Opera seria was a very significant stepping stone in the world of opera. It is assumed to be the only “living, popular form” of Italian drama from 1700 to 1750. There were rules in writing librettos in opera seria’s time, but these rules were perceived as strange. The extent of the regulations on which to write an opera seria were often seen as comical and easily criticizable.
Carlo Goldoni was an unsuccessful opera seria librettist, but had a successful career later on as a playwright and librettist of comic operas. His perception of and satire on
The tall ceilings paired with the size of the stage and other various contributing factors made the acoustics more than unfortunate for the audience to hear the characters and orchestra. Sharp also wrote that some said it was hard to hear the singers over the sounds of people talking and laughing with each other throughout the opera. If people were talking throughout the performance, opera seria obviously could not have been that interesting or intriguing. To add to the distraction, Sharp wrote that there were also oranges and other refreshments that were for sale throughout the performances. In his words, the audience was “just as busy as the performers.” The Neopolitan quality men also were able to wander around the theater from box to box during the performance, while the women were to stay put in their seats during the show. The women were expected to have visitors throughout the opera and to treat and be treated with light refreshments and snacks. There were also opera-goers that held loud conversation and card games throughout the