Opera Today Research Paper

To provide an overview of the scope of the genre of rock opera, I will briefly discuss some of the most renowned works. It is usually the British rock band

An opera can be defined as a dram a set of music which is made of vocal pieces having orchestral accompaniment as well, as orchestral overtures and interludes. In this discussion, I am going to write about Opera which was written in 1775 by Mozart (La finta giardiniera). The opera is assumed to be the first opera that was done by Mozart as part of his opera buffa which is of significance. La finta giardiniera can be translated as “The Pretend Garden-Girl”. The opera was written in “Munich when Mozart was 18 years old and the first performance was done on January 13, 1775, at the Salvator Theatre in Munich” (Cantrell 22, 27). There has been a serious debate on who write the libretto for the opera with most people ascribing to Calzabigi while others attributing the libretto to Giuseppe Petrosellini. There are also a lot of questions on whether the style of libretto is for Giuseppe (Cantrell 53).

My least favorite is operas because it is hard for me to understand what is mainly about, but it was interesting to see their performance. I think Americans have been slow to cultivate the enthusiasm for opera that prevailed in Germany and Italy during the 19th Century because they must be interested in live performance or foreign languages. I believe that Americans went to listen opera because they think it was entertaining. They are attracted to live performance, singing, and great costumes. It is like watching a movie on their days. I honestly don't think operas are enjoying an increasing popularity in the United States because most people focus on modern music like pop music or rock music. For example, I found a channel about a woman and

I started singing classical music when I was 10. I do not remember the name of the first piece, but I do remember performing the song Voi Che Sapete by Mozart. I do not know much about operas. Although, now that I am older, and I appreciate music a lot more, I enjoy going to operas and singing opera pieces.

Musicals are timeless. They will never go away,

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

William Hazlitt stated “It has been said that tragedy purifies the affections by terror and pity. That is, it substitutes imaginary sympathy for mere selfishness. It gives us a high and permanent interest, beyond ourselves, in humanity as such. It raises the great, the remote, and the possible to an equality with the real, the little and the near. It makes man a partaker with his kind. It subdues and softens the stubbornness of his will. It teaches him that there are and have been others like himself, by showing him as in a glass what they have felt, thought, and done. It opens the chambers of the human heart. It leaves nothing indifferent to us that can affect our common nature. It excites our sensibility by exhibiting the passions wound up

Due to having qualities that go along with both definitions of an opera buffa and opera seria, I would, personally, classify Don Giovanni as a successful combination of both. In addition, I accredit the mixture of both types of operas to its attractiveness and fluidity. This merger begins at the start with the initial orchestra music fluctuating between cheerful and creepy tones. Notably, the first scene includes Don Giovanni attempting to seduce/rape Donna Anna as well as the murder of the Commendatore. However, this tragic scene is mixed with Leporello's antics like griping about this servitude to Don Giovanni as well as directly questioning who died after the duel:

The first roots of modern opera first appeared in Italy in the 17th century from the Camerata (an academy of Florentine poets, musicians, and scholars). The Camerata, inspired by ancient Greek drama, sung dialogues and choruses which were accompanied by musical instruments. The Camerata developed the “stile recitative,” in order to integrate drama, action, dialogue and narration. In this “sung speech,” a singer delivered a recitative melody with an actor’s dramatic and oratorical skills, achieving the goal of providing

Music in the opera doesn’t contribute so much to the singing: it completes opera. By playing with rhythms, tones, and melodies, the composers have the power of the music. This creates particular atmospheres that lyrics or staging could not create. Music is beyond words. It addresses the audience's heart and makes it have sensibility and

Through recent more widespread distribution of Videos/DVDs and CDs – in well known music stores. Also through Touring and Open-air Opera and to some extent educational workshops and talks, the English National Opera (ENO) has improved accessibility socially, geographically and physically. On a social level, Opera can be taken to the people, giving it a new and more innovative image therefore creating interest throughout a more widespread number and class of people.

In the play Othello written by Shakespeare, the issue of racism is addressed. Othello, the protagonist of the play, is African American or black. “According to Lois Whitney, many of Othello’s specific attributes probably derive from Shakespeare’s reading of Leo Africanus, whose Geographical Historie of Africa which was translated and published in London in 1600”(Berry, 1990). Many critics have different views on this. “If Shakespeare depended upon Leo Africanus for such details, he must have been much more interested in racial psychology than critics such as Bradley or Heilman suggest”(Berry, 1990). One of the most prominent features of this Shakespeare play is the

When students study to sing Italian bel canto opera, it’s better to use the work which performed by people who is original singer to imitate and practice. However, there are still a series of problems will happen for non-Italian students when they are study singing the opera, for example Semiramide. Bel raggio lusinghier. Even according to the video soundtrack to imitate, the overall effect artistic and performances is not satisfactory. The problems are pronunciation hesitation, slurred speech, unknown the meaning of the text. All of these problems will reduce the bel canto opera artistry.

This movie is one I’ve came back to often, the acting, music, scenery, and the story itself is what brought me back. I liked how every actor in this film not only fit their role, but also made it believable. If they were to recast the actors today, I don’t think they could find better actors to fit the roles. Some of the roles in this are Viscount de Chagny “Raoul” played by Patrick Wilson, Christine Daaé played by Emmy Rossum, The Phantom of the Opera “Opera Ghost” played by Gerard Butler, these are just the main characters. The role of the Opera Ghost is played by Gerard Butler, his acting was good which wasn’t surprising I have seen some of his other roles and they were all well done also. What surprised me the most how well he could sing. There any many characters that are seen throughout the film, some supporting roles include Madame Giry played by Miranda Richardson, Meg Giry played by Jennifer Ellison, Carlotta Giudicelli played by Minnie Driver, Gilles André played by Simon Callow, Monsieur Lefèvre played by James Fleet, and Monsieur Reyer played by Murray Melvin. There are of course extras. This movie is a musical that is mainly drama based, so not only does it help keep the movie interesting, the music is good enough you could listen to it on its own. The movie is set in an Paris Opera House named the Opera Populaire in 1870. The Opera Populaire is very beautiful and huge. Christine gets a visit from “The Angel of Music” after her father’s death, the angel then

Donald Grout defines opera in his text, A Short History of Opera, as “a drama in music: a dramatic action, exhibited on stage with scenery by actors in costume, the words conveyed entirely or for the most part by singing, and the whole sustained and amplified by orchestral music” (4). A literal translation of the word opera is simply work, and although the term opera was not coined until 1634, one of the first known operas was performed in 1597 (Grout 1). Grout explains that there are two types of opera. The first type is when the main emphasis is on the music (Grout 6). Examples of this type of opera can be seen in the works of Lully and Wagner (Grout 7). The second type of opera is characterized by the music and other factors being of