{"id":1226,"date":"2017-03-21T15:39:17","date_gmt":"2017-03-21T15:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/vccs-tcc-music-rford\/?post_type=chapter&p=1226"},"modified":"2021-07-16T12:10:50","modified_gmt":"2021-07-16T12:10:50","slug":"opera-2","status":"web-only","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/vccs-tcc-music-rford\/chapter\/opera-2\/","title":{"raw":"Opera","rendered":"Opera"},"content":{"raw":"\u00a0https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/music-app-rford\/chapter\/italian-opera\/<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u00a0<\/span>Opera seria vs Opera Buffa\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1037\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"200\"]\"Portrait Portrait of Italian poet Pietro Metastasio (1698-1782)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nThough its opera originated in the\u00a0 court, it was not\u00a0 confined to court audiences for long. In 1637, the idea of a\u00a0 publicly\u00a0 attended\u00a0 \"season\" (Carnival) supported by ticket sales emerged in Venice. Monteverdi had moved to this\u00a0 city from Mantua and composed his last operas.\u00a0Francesco Cavalli, his most important\u00a0\u00a0follower,\u00a0 helped spread opera throughout Italy.\r\n\r\nTragedy \u00a0and Comedy in opera<\/strong>\u00a0 In early baroque operas, broad comedy was blended with tragic elements in a mix that jarred some educated sensibilities. Previous to this\u00a0\u00a0libretti \u00a0had featured a separate unfolding comic plot as sort of an \"opera-within-an-opera.\" \u00a0A reason for this was an attempt to attract members of the growing merchant class to the public opera houses.\u00a0 This\u00a0 newly wealthy population, not as cultured as the nobility was attracted to such a format. However, in time this above described\u00a0 tradition yielded\u00a0\u00a0opera seria <\/strong>(tragedy) -\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>the first of opera's many reform movements\u00a0 associated with the poet Metastasio<\/span>.<\/strong> whose\u00a0 libretti\u00a0helped crystallize this genre.. Opera seria\u00a0 became the leading form of Italian opera until the end of the eighteenth\u00a0century.<\/span>\r\n\r\nHowever the\u00a0 separate plots Form early opera (opera within an opera)\u00a0 were almost immediately resurrected in a separately developing tradition \u00a0partly derived from the\u00a0 a long-flourishing improvisatory stage tradition of Italy m- commedia dell'arte<\/strong>,. This\u00a0 new comic genre of\u00a0 \"intermezzi\", was\u00a0 initially staged during the intermissions of opera seria. <\/strong>They became so popular, that they were soon being offered as separate productions. Hence \u00a0Opera Buffa<\/strong> \u00a0began to emerge as a separate genre in the early 18th century.\u00a0 Thus we have two formats of opera in the 17th and 18th centuries: Opera Seria<\/strong> and Opera Buffa<\/strong> (or comic Opera).\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1041\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"225\"]\"Painting Teatro Argentina (Panini, 1747, Mus\u00e9e du Louvre)[\/caption]\r\n

Reform: Gluck, the Attack on the Metastasian Ideal, and Mozart<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Christoph_Willibald_Gluck<\/span>\r\n\r\nGluck \u00a0thought both above descriptions of the main Italian operatic genres \u2013 opera buffa<\/strong> and opera seria<\/strong> \u2013 seemed unnatural\u00a0 and had strayed too far from what opera should really be. The singers decorated the vocal lines so floridly that the original melody could no longer be\u00a0 recognized . \u00a0 He wanted to return opera to its origins, focusing on human drama and passions and making words and music of equal importance striving for \u00a0a \"beautiful simplicity.<\/span>\" This is evident in his first reform opera, Orfeo ed Euridice<\/i>, where his non-virtuosic vocal melodies are supported by simple harmonies and a richer orchestra presence throughout.\r\n

LISTEN: GLUCK<\/h3>\r\nListen to an aria by Gluck from his opera:\u00a0\u00a0Orfeo ed Euridice<\/em> below:\u00a0 Note that this aria is not for a virtuoso yet\u00a0 beautiful, simple and direct.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/C1B85UQT4AY\r\n\r\nGluck's reforms have had resonance throughout operatic history. Weber, Mozart and Wagner, in particular, were influenced by his ideals. Mozart,<\/strong> in many ways Gluck's successor, combined a superb sense of drama, harmony, melody, and counterpoint to write a series of comedy operas<\/span>\u00a0notably Cos\u00ec fan tutte<\/i>, The Marriage of Figaro<\/i>, and Don Giovanni<\/i> (in collaboration with Lorenzo Da Ponte), which remain among the most-loved, popular and well-known operas today.\r\n
\u00a0In contrast, the model that generally held for opera buffa<\/strong> was having two acts (as, for example, The Barber of Seville<\/i>), presenting comic scenes and situations as earlier stated and using the lower male voices to the exclusion of the castrati.\u00a0<\/span>This led to the creation of the characteristic of \u00a0\"basso buffo,\" \u00a0-- a specialist in patter who was the center of most of the comic action.<\/div>\r\n
\r\n

Listen: Basso Buffo<\/h3>\r\nA well-known basso buffo role is Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni.\u00a0<\/i>You can listen to an example below:\u00a0Notte e giorno fatica<\/strong>r \u2013 Don Giovanni.\r\n\r\nDon Giovanni - a tragic comedy<\/strong>\u00a0This aria is name a buffa role but should be noted that \u00a0Mozart referred to this opera Don Giovanni\u00a0 a \"tragic comedy\" - combining elements of comedy and tragedy.\u00a0This \u00a0aria\u00a0 is sung<\/span> by<\/span> L<\/span>eporello<\/em>\u00a0 who bemoans \u00a0his lot in life as he \u00a0endures the indignities of \u00a0being \u00a0Don Giovanni's servant. Leporello wants \u00a0to extricate himself from this lot \u00a0and become a member of the gentlemen's class. During the aria he is compelled to be a \u00a0watchman \u00a0for the authorities while Giovanni commits aggression upon Donna Anna. Toward the end the commandant\u00a0confronts Giovanni and the two duel. Giovanni kills the commandant. \u00a0Thus the stage is set for Mozart's \u00a0 \"tragic comedy\" as Don cavorts over the country side indulging himself \u00a0- never considering his sins even when confronted by the \u00a0\"Statue\" \u00a0(Ghost of the commandant) at the end where he is condemned \u00a0to a fiery death in hell..\r\n\r\nLyrics of the aria:\u00a0http:\/\/operainenglish.blogspot.com\/2011\/08\/notte-e-giorno-faticar-don-giovanni.html<\/a>\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/GGPp6ghdIeM\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nLa ci darem la mano\r\n<\/strong>The duet, with words by Mozart's librettist - \u00a0Lorenzo Da Ponte, is sung during the first act of the opera. Don Giovanni has just met Zerlina and her betrothed, Masetto. In an attempt to distract Masetto and have him removed from the scene, Don\u00a0 Giovanni offers to host a wedding celebration for the couple at his castle. When Masetto has left, Don\u00a0 Giovanni attempts to seduce Zerlina to accompany him to his castle. However, after the end of the duet Donna Elvira arrives and thwarts the seduction, leaving with Zerlina.<\/span>\r\n<\/strong>\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/JKdqj7bmMZA\r\n\r\nBelow are two translations of this duet \u00a0aria. Don Giovanni is seduces Zerlina \u00a0to abandon her commitment to Masetto. There are two English translations.\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Don Giovanni-<\/td>\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nL\u00e0 ci darem la mano,\r\nL\u00e0 mi dirai di s\u00ec.\r\nVedi, non \u00e8 lontano;\r\nPartiam, ben mio, da qui.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<\/div><\/td>\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\r\nGive me thy hand, oh fairest,\r\nWhisper a gentle 'Yes',\r\nCome, if for me thou carest,\r\nWith joy my life to bless.\r\n\r\n<\/div><\/td>\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\r\nThere we will give each other our hands,\r\nThere you will say 'yes' to me.\r\nSee, it's not far;\r\nLet's go there, my dear.\r\n\r\n<\/div><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Zerlina\u2014<\/td>\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n(Vorrei e non vorrei,\r\nMi trema un poco il cor.\r\nFelice, \u00e8 ver, sarei,\r\nMa pu\u00f2 burlarmi ancor.)<\/span>\r\n\r\n<\/div><\/td>\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\r\nI would, and yet I would not,\r\nI dare not give assent,\r\nAlas! I know I should not...\r\nToo late, I may repent.\r\n\r\n<\/div><\/td>\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\r\nI would like to, and I wouldn't,\r\nMy heart is trembling a little.\r\nTrue, I could be happy,\r\nBut it could trick me again.\r\n\r\n<\/div><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Don Giovanni<\/td>\r\nVieni, mio bel diletto!<\/span><\/td>\r\nCome, dearest, let me guide thee.<\/td>\r\nCome, my beautiful delight!<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Zerlina<\/td>\r\n(Mi fa piet\u00e0 Masetto.)<\/span><\/td>\r\nMasetto sure will chide me!<\/td>\r\nI feel sorry for Masetto.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Don Giovanni<\/td>\r\nIo cangier\u00f2 tua sorte.<\/span><\/td>\r\nDanger shall ne'er come nigh thee!\u2014<\/td>\r\nI will change your fate.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Zerlina<\/td>\r\nPresto ... non son pi\u00f9 forte.<\/span>\u2014<\/td>\r\nAh ... that I could deny thee!<\/td>\r\nSoon...I won't be strong anymore.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Don Giovanni<\/td>\r\nAndiam! Andiam!<\/span><\/td>\r\nLet's go! Let's go!<\/td>\r\nLet's go! Let's go!<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Zerlina<\/td>\r\nAndiam!<\/span><\/td>\r\nLet's go!<\/td>\r\nLet's go!<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Both\u2014<\/td>\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nAndiam, andiam, mio bene,\r\na ristorar le pene\r\nd'un innocente amor.\r\n\r\n<\/div><\/td>\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\r\nWith thee, with thee, my treasure,\r\nThis life is nought but pleasure,\r\nMy heart is fondly thine.[1]<\/a><\/sup>[2]<\/a><\/sup>\r\n\r\n<\/div><\/td>\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\r\nLet's go, let's go, my dear,\r\nTo restore the values\r\nOf an innocent love.\r\n\r\n<\/div><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\u00a0Mozart's Librettist \u00a0- Lorenzo Da Ponte\r\n<\/strong>The life and career of Lorenzo Da Ponte \u00a0might be seen as \u00a0 a bit unusual \u00a0and colorful. His activities in America are interesting as well. Read it\u00a0 (below) for your pleasure.\r\n<\/em>\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lorenzo_Da_Ponte<\/span>\r\n<\/em>\r\n\r\nLorenzo Da Ponte \u00a0born \u00a0a Jew, then converted to the Roman Catholic Faith \u00a0and became a roman catholic priest. After some apparent transgressions Da Ponte\u00a0 was \u00a0banned from Venice. He then obtained the post of librettist to the Italian Theatre in Vienna where, \u00a0as\u00a0court poet and librettist in Vienna, Da\u00a0Ponte wrote the libretti for Mozart's most popular Italian operas, The Marriage of Figaro<\/i> (1786), Don Giovanni<\/i> (1787), and Cos\u00ec fan tutte<\/i> (1790).\r\n

Da Ponte \u00a0was \u00a0dismissed from the Imperial Service in 1791 with the death of Da Ponte's patron, \u00a0Austrian Emperor Joseph II in 1790, \u00a0In 1792, not being able to return to Venice, from which he had been banished, he set off for Paris via Prague and Dresden. On the road to Paris, upon learning of the worsening political situation in France and the arrest of the king and queen, Da Ponte headed \u00a0for London, accompanied by his companion Nancy Grahl \u00a0(with whom he eventually had four children).\u00a0After \u00a0a number of jobs including that of grocer and Italian teacher, he became librettist at the King's Theatre, in 1803. He remained based in London undertaking various theatrical and publishing activities until 1805, when debt and bankruptcy caused him to flee to the United States \u00a0with Grahl and their children.<\/p>\r\nIn the United States, Da Ponte settled in New York City first, then Sunbury, Pennsylvania, where he ran a grocery store and gave private Italian lessons. He returned to New York to open a bookstore and gained an unpaid appointment as the first professor of Italian literature at Columbia College. \u00a0In New York he introduced opera and produced in 1825 the first full performance of Don Giovanni<\/i> in the United States. \u00a0He also introduced Gioachino Rossini's music in the U.S., through a concert tour.\r\n

At the age of 79 Lorenzo Da Ponte became a naturalized U.S. citizen. In 1833, at the age of eighty-four, he founded \u00a0the New York Opera Company - \u00a0first opera house in the United States the location of which is \u00a0the predecessor of the New York Academy of Music and of the New York Metropolitan Opera.<\/p>\r\n

Lorenzo Da Ponte died in 1838 in New York. An enormous funeral ceremony was held in New York's old St. Patrick's Cathedral on Mulberry Street.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/div>","rendered":"

\u00a0https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/music-app-rford\/chapter\/italian-opera\/<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Opera seria vs Opera Buffa<\/p>\n

\"Portrait<\/p>\n

Portrait of Italian poet Pietro Metastasio (1698-1782)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Though its opera originated in the\u00a0 court, it was not\u00a0 confined to court audiences for long. In 1637, the idea of a\u00a0 publicly\u00a0 attended\u00a0 “season” (Carnival) supported by ticket sales emerged in Venice. Monteverdi had moved to this\u00a0 city from Mantua and composed his last operas.\u00a0Francesco Cavalli, his most important\u00a0\u00a0follower,\u00a0 helped spread opera throughout Italy.<\/p>\n

Tragedy \u00a0and Comedy in opera<\/strong>\u00a0 In early baroque operas, broad comedy was blended with tragic elements in a mix that jarred some educated sensibilities. Previous to this\u00a0\u00a0libretti \u00a0had featured a separate unfolding comic plot as sort of an “opera-within-an-opera.” \u00a0A reason for this was an attempt to attract members of the growing merchant class to the public opera houses.\u00a0 This\u00a0 newly wealthy population, not as cultured as the nobility was attracted to such a format. However, in time this above described\u00a0 tradition yielded\u00a0\u00a0opera seria <\/strong>(tragedy) –\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>the first of opera’s many reform movements\u00a0 associated with the poet Metastasio<\/span>.<\/strong> whose\u00a0 libretti\u00a0helped crystallize this genre.. Opera seria\u00a0 became the leading form of Italian opera until the end of the eighteenth\u00a0century.<\/span><\/p>\n

However the\u00a0 separate plots Form early opera (opera within an opera)\u00a0 were almost immediately resurrected in a separately developing tradition \u00a0partly derived from the\u00a0 a long-flourishing improvisatory stage tradition of Italy m- commedia dell’arte<\/strong>,. This\u00a0 new comic genre of\u00a0 “intermezzi”, was\u00a0 initially staged during the intermissions of opera seria. <\/strong>They became so popular, that they were soon being offered as separate productions. Hence \u00a0Opera Buffa<\/strong> \u00a0began to emerge as a separate genre in the early 18th century.\u00a0 Thus we have two formats of opera in the 17th and 18th centuries: Opera Seria<\/strong> and Opera Buffa<\/strong> (or comic Opera).<\/p>\n

\"Painting<\/p>\n

Teatro Argentina (Panini, 1747, Mus\u00e9e du Louvre)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Reform: Gluck, the Attack on the Metastasian Ideal, and Mozart<\/h3>\n

https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Christoph_Willibald_Gluck<\/span><\/p>\n

Gluck \u00a0thought both above descriptions of the main Italian operatic genres \u2013 opera buffa<\/strong> and opera seria<\/strong> \u2013 seemed unnatural\u00a0 and had strayed too far from what opera should really be. The singers decorated the vocal lines so floridly that the original melody could no longer be\u00a0 recognized . \u00a0 He wanted to return opera to its origins, focusing on human drama and passions and making words and music of equal importance striving for \u00a0a “beautiful simplicity.<\/span>” This is evident in his first reform opera, Orfeo ed Euridice<\/i>, where his non-virtuosic vocal melodies are supported by simple harmonies and a richer orchestra presence throughout.<\/p>\n

LISTEN: GLUCK<\/h3>\n

Listen to an aria by Gluck from his opera:\u00a0\u00a0Orfeo ed Euridice<\/em> below:\u00a0 Note that this aria is not for a virtuoso yet\u00a0 beautiful, simple and direct.<\/p>\n