Comparing Opera And Opera

Musical theatre started in the fifteenth century, in Greece. They incorporated music and dance into their performances, which many were comedy based. Slowly, music and dance was integrated into Roman theatre as well. In the 1700-1800’s, Opera became a popular musical entertainment to the British, French and Germans. They enjoyed ballad operas which included popular tunes at the time with comedy or sentimental plays, such as John Gay’s “The Beggar’s Opera” performed in 1728 (http://www.odl.ox.ac.uk/balladoperas/what.php) Many of these opera’s were mimicked and comic operas with original scores and many romantic plot based plays. Many believe that musical theatre is a descended of Operas, however Operas are actually spoofs of Greek musicals as the artists in the Renaissance Times were trying to bring out Greek music that faded over many years.

The Opera is described as the relationship between words and music. Opera is dramatic staged secular vocal work with orchestral accompaniment .Consisting of alternating recitatives, arias, and chorus numbers. Soloists, solo ensembles, choruses, dancing, dramatic action, costumes, staging are all components of opera. It was important because it added interest in dramas and music and it created interest is homophonic texture. Cantata was another important Baroque style. Cantata extended solo or choral work. It was created for Lutheran worship service. Cantatas include harmonized chorales, polyphonic choruses, arias, recitatives, solo ensembles, and instrumental accompaniment. Oratorio is dramatic work for chorus, solo voices, and orchestra. It is similar to cantata except it is longer and to a larger scale. Most were based on biblical texts to teach and entertain. Chamber music works for solo instruments performing together in small ensembles. Trio Sonatas were important chamber music pieces during the Baroque Period. Church sonatas would be performed in church. Chamber sonatas were meant for concert performance. Finally, orchestra varied in size and instrumentation. This style was favored by royalty and wealthy families. Most court orchestra were made up only bowed stringed instruments although woodwinds and others were gradually

‘Othello is one of the brilliant plays written by William Shakespeare. It is the story of man named Othello and how his mind was twisted and manipulated by a man named Iago and how Iago made Othello think that his wife Desdemona was cheating on him with his lieutenant Michael Cassio, which results in many deaths. Tim Blake Nelson has creatively restructured ‘Othello’ into a film to appeal to a teenage audience. It still contains the same central ideas which are racism, jealousy and deception which will be analysed on how they are portrayed in ‘Othello’ and are creatively reshaped in ‘O’.

Handel had started to experiment with oratorios in 1732, after the success of a ballad opera called the Beggars Opera by Johann Pepusch and John Gay. His own operas had declined in popularity, and operas were expensive and difficult to produce (Barber, and Donald). An oratorio was basically the same thing as an opera, except there were no expensive sets and costumes (Bonds). Handel composed Messiah from August 22 to September 14, 1741, a space of only 3 weeks. After finishing the oratorio, he put it away and started to work on another oratorio, Saul. It sat collecting dust for months, until Handel was invited to Ireland to visit the Duke of Devonshire in early November of 1741. After a rather disappointing opera season in 1740 and 1741, Handel was eager to get to Dublin. The libretto for Messiah was written by Charles Jennens (who also wrote the libretto for Saul) in the summer of 1741. It contained a compilation of verses from the bible; it didn’t tell a story, but reflected on the life of Christ and the Christian message, which is why it is a popular performance with churches today (Barber, and Donald). Messiah contains a recitative, “He that dwelleth in heaven”, and an aria, “Thou shalt not break them”. A recitativeis a style of singing that is between a lyrical song and speech, and makes the words clearer and easier to understand. An aria is the lyrical movement or piece for solo voice with some kind

When we put Purcells Didos lament next to Handels Messiah in order to compare and contrast them you will notice some interesting things; to start they are both a different genre since one was created during the Baroque time period and the other in the classical, obviously they are both composed by a different person, Didos lament is an opera aria whereas Ev’ry valley is an oratorio aria. Operas purpose is secular entertainment which is usually performed in a theater and is fully dramatic with staging and costumes. Oratorios purpose is sacred entertainment which is also performed in a theater but is a concert type. The both have the same musical form of a recitative and they are both accompanied by an orchestra. Both the opera and Oratorios were made around the same time. To make it a little

Oratorios were performed in prayer halls, which was a sacred setting similar to the cantata. Oratorios were recitative and contained de capo arias and chorus, like the Italian opera. It was sung drama performed without staging or costumes. “The catholic church saw the power of operas and was quick to take on operas for sacred subjects, such as the lives of saints. However, the church also condemned operas for its power to seduce and dazzle, banning the performance of opera during Advent and Lent.”3 George Handel, an opera composer also composed Messiah, which was one of the best-known oratorios. Another important composer of this genre was Giacomo Carissimi, who wrote many early

Don Giovanni can be characterized as a comic opera due to its indulgence with tragic themes, such as crime and murder, in an astoundingly funny manner. By definition, an opera is an art form in which the composers combine dramatic works with musical scores and libretto or text in theatrical settings. The singing may be either melodic or recitative. Traditionally, operas incorporate most of the typical elements of spoken theatre, including

Oratorio and cantata were two genres that re-emerged in the first half of the eighteenth century. They were already important musical alternatives to opera by the mid-seventeenth century, but differed in nearly every respect from the genres of the same names found in the early eighteenth century. As genres late in the period, they both bespoke the traditions from which they originally sprang and permitted new recombination of the musical elements of these same traditions.

Opera Seria refers to a very serious opera, this style of opera was the predominant style in Europe, and was typically performed for royalty and individuals of the more affluent social classes. A non-mozart example of Opera Seria is Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel

The court orchestra consisted of twenty-two players. Bach’s function was mainly a violinist, however he also played harpsichord. Bach, on occasion, wrote some of the music that was played. During this period he wrote strictly for the organ, and he was rapidly becoming known throughout the country. As time went on, people were coming to see him far and wide.

As stated by Burkholder, Grout and Palisca, Weber’s Der Freischutz’s “rustic choruses, marches, dances and airs”; multisectional aria form (influence from Rossini) and florid vocal lines were all common characteristics of the Italian Opera. Meanwhile in Verdi’s Otello, Wagnerian influence could be seen. Verdi used melodic motives to show the characters’ emotions. In Act 4 scene 3, the orchestra was used to heighten the dramatic moment instead of the voice, which was a breakthrough in the history of Italian Opera. It is apparent that both Italians and Germans knew how to blend the musical elements and text well to demonstrate the Romantic traits in their opera.

4. While an aria is one of the main components to an opera, there are several other components that that contribute to the story line. An aria is a song for a single voice along with orchestral accompaniment. For the most

They used similar plots involving a hero and usually some sort of conflict of human passions, and these operas were often based on a story from an ancient Greek or Latin Author. The opera always consisted of three acts with alternating recitatives and arias. To show the virtuosic skill of the singer, cadenzas were used within arias. The action was created from the dialogue within the recitatives,

Opera in the Romantic Period was a time when opera changed drastically, especially in the country of Italy. The recognition of singers as being important, almost irreplaceable, in the art of “bel canto” opera changed the idea of a vocalist in opera forever. A singer’s voice was prized and Italian composers, like Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini wrote operas and works to showcase the voice, it’s color, range and agility. These Italian composers were moving away from the normal style of composition of the time, and the composer Rossini, who set the stage for many other followers. Many of the operas written during this time are still performed today and are highly acclaimed. For the most part, before Italy became a main player, France

Opera is the combination of drama and music. Like drama, opera embraces the entire spectrum of theatrical elements: dialogue, acting, costumes, scenery and action, but it is the sum of all these elements, combined with music, which defines the art form called opera.