Week 35: Opera in the Classic Period

1. Stuff done this week

Did some research on Classic opera.

Practiced "Fiddler's Dream" on mandolin, a tune in the key of G.

2. Listening done these weeks

Watched this well known performance of "Il barbiero di Siviglia" by composer Gioachino Rossini ( 1792 - 1868) 

The 2 act opera "Die Zauberflöte" by  Mozart is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue.

3. What I have learned

Opera flourished during the classical period (ca 1750 - ca 1827), with different types of opera written for different audiences ranging from commoners to aristocrats. Subject matter was varied, some based on Ancient Greek or Roman themes and others based on ideologies prevalent at the time, such as the ideas of the enlightenment.

As part of my research for the OCA course Music Foundation, I researched the different types of opera in the Classical period. Below I present my notes:

Types of opera in the Classic Period

Opera Buffa

The terms used in 18th century Italy for comic opera included opera buffa (comic opera), dramma giocoso (jesting drama), dramma comico (comic drama) and commedia per musica (comedy in music).

Originating from Naples, it is a full length work with six or more characters and it was sung throughout (unlike for instance the French Opéra Comique).

The plot often involved characters from low life and served a moral purpose by caricaturing flaws of aristocrats and commoners, such as deceitful husbands and wives, miserly old men, awkward and clever servants, vain ladies and pompous military commanders. Features of the genre are rapid-firing recitativo secco accompanied by continuo, often keyboard alone. The arias in comic opera are typically in galant style, made of short tuneful phrases, often repeated or varied, organized into periods, and accompanied by simple harmonies and figuration. The opera typically ends in a multi-sectional concerted finale with dramatic surprises.

Purely comic but all-sung intermezzos were played between acts of an opera seria ("serious opera"), for example: "La Serva Padrona" by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736).

Italian comic opera changed considerably during the 18th century. The Italian dramatist Carlo Goldoni (1707-1793) introduced "high" characters, especially a high minded heroin, and more serious or sentimental episodes in the mid 18th century dramma giocoso.

Examples of this later development are: "La nozze di Figaro" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791), "Il barbiero di Siviglia" by Gioachino Rossini (1792 - 1868) and "Don Pasquale" by Gaetano Donizetti (1797 - 1848). 

Opéra Comique

A native French version of opera with spoken dialogue, which begun around 1710 as a popular entertainment at suburban fairs. The French term "comique" does not refer to the English word "comic" or the Italian word "buffa", but more to the Ancient Greeks' dramatic category of "komoidia" (comedy).

The French understood different things by it according to the date of its use. During the 18th century it referred to farces and satires featuring spoken dialogue with well-known airs (known as vaudevilles). These would later develop into sentimental comedie mêlée dáriettes, for instance: "Le Devin du village" (1752) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 – 1778).

In the 19th century it drew closer to serious opera handling serious plots, some based on social issues that agitated France before and during the years of the Revolution. Examples are "La Dame blanche" by Francois-Adrien Boieldieu (1775 – 1834), "Fra Diavolo" by Daniel Auber (1782 – 1871), "Faust" by Charles Gounod (1818 – 1893) and "Carmen" by Georges Bizet (1838 – 1875).

The opéra comique did not conform to the traditional French opera proper (5 acts, all sung).

The spoken dialogue remained a distinctive characteristic.

Ballad Opera

In England, this was the popular form of opera in vernacular. Like the early opéra comique, the ballad opera consisted of spoken dialogue interspersed with songs that set new words to borrowed tunes, including folk songs and dances, popular songs, and well-known airs and arias from other works for the stag. The genre was spawned by the tremendous succdes of "The Beggar's Opera" by librettist John Gay (1685 - 1732) and musical arrangement probably by Johann Christoph Pepusch (1667 - 1752).

Opera Seria

This refers to serious opera, the grandest form of opera from the late 17th century to the early 19th. It was generally termed "dramma per musica" and it was intended for royal and aristocratic audiences. Subject matter drew from Greek or Roman history. The opera seria was organized in three acts, consisting almost without exception of alternating secco recitatives and formal arias. The prima donna (the heroin) and primo uomo (the hero, usually a castrato) each had at least one large-scale display aria in every act, followed by an exit. Tenor and bass soloists, if present, were generally gods, father figures or villains. It featured mostly solos, occasional duets, very few ensembles, and rare simple choruses. Except in the overture, the orchestra served mainly to accompany the singers. As the form developed, the role of the orchestra became increasingly important.

Important composers of the genre are:

• Allessandro Scarlatti (1660 –1725, considered a Baroque composer) ("Griseld")
• Handel ("Giulio", "Cesare", "Rodelinda", "Alcina", "Serse")
• Gluck ("Alceste")
• Mozart ("Idomeneo", "La clemenza di Tito")
• Rossini ("Otello", "Semiramide")

A sub-genre of opera seria was the "festa teatrale", which was often written for a royal occasion. Unlike the dramma per musica, it included dancing and choral singing. Gluck's "Orfeo ed Euridice" as an example.

Opera Semiseria

The opera semiseria (half-serious opera) is a sub-genre of Italian opera from the early 19th century. It is an opera buffa with an unusually serious plot. The principal bass became a genuine villain. It featured a solemn storyline, but ended happily. Examples are "La gazza ladra" (1817) by Rossini, "Linda di Chamounix" (1842) by Donizetti and Mozart's "Don Giovanni".

Singspiel

In Germany this was a popular opera form that included spoken dialogue, musical numbers and usually a comic plot. In northern Germany the singspiel eventually merged with early 19th century native opera. In the south, particularly in Vienna, farcical subjects and treatment became fashionable, with lively music in a popular vein influenced by Italian comic opera.

4. Sources

BURKHOLDER, J, GROUT, D. and PALISCA, C. (2014) A history of western music, 9th edition, New York: W.W. Norton.

LATHAM, A. (2003) The Oxford Companion to Music, Oxford: Oxford University Press.