Verdi and the Opera (Romantic Period)
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Opera is a drama set to music that includes elements like poetry, scenery, costumes, acting, and dancing in addition to singing and music. The document defines key components of opera like the libretto, overture, recitative, aria, ensembles, chorus, orchestra, ballet, and acts/scenes. It also provides biographical information about Giuseppe Verdi, noting he was Italy's foremost opera composer who wrote 27 operas between 1840-1893, including famous works like Rigoletto, La Traviata, Aida, Otello, and Falstaff.
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Verdi and the Opera (Romantic Period)
- 2. OPERA Opera is a drama set to music. It includes poetry, scenery, costumes, acting and dancing on addition to vocal and instrumental music.
- 3. COMPONENTS OF THE OPERA Libretto - the text of an opera
- 4. Overture - instrumental composition which serves as an introduction to the opera.
- 5. Recitative - a sung dialogue; a vocal part that is declaimed following the pattern of speech rather than melody.
- 6. Aria - a song which poetically and musically reflects dramatic feeling
- 7. Duo, trio and other small ensembles -a group of musicians, actors, or dancers who perform together.
- 8. Chorus -Broadly speaking, a chorus is any substantial group who act more or less as one. They can give the history to an event so the opera does not have to elaborate by showing the event. They are usually set as a group - examples being - Beethoven's Fidelio as the prisoners, Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana as the villagers, Bizet's Carmen as the factory girls etc.
- 9. Orchestra -An orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, wood wind, and percussion instruments. -. A smaller-sized orchestra for this time period (of about fifty musicians or fewer) is called a chamber orchestra. A full-size orchestra (about 100 musicians) may sometimes be called a "symphony orchestra" or "philharmonic orchestra"
- 10. The Jalisco Philarmonic Orchestra is an example of a musical ensemble. (Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico)
- 11. Ballet - dance of formal and stylized nature Acts and scenes - sections of an opera
- 12. GUI SEPPE VERDI ( 181 3 - 1901 ) Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (Italian: October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian Romantic composer primarily known for his operas. Verdi dominated the Italian opera scene after the eras of Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini.
- 13. Guiseppe Verdi was known as the greatest composer of Italian opera who composed 27 operas . His operas are, perhaps, among the most frequently performed operas around the world. No matter what nationality you are, his music, his libretto s, penetrate the soul and profoundly affect the human psyche. Operas were not written to be marveled for their technical prowess or how well they stuck to the rules (though it certainly helps if the opera posses such qualities). They were written to express feelings and human emotion. Verdi's operas did just that. Below is a listing of operas by Verdi.
- 14. CHRONOLOGY AND BRIEF SYNOPSES OF THE VERDI OPERAS: Period I: The Rossini Influence 1840: Un giorno di regno, ossia il finto Stanislao (A One-Day Reign, or the False Stanislaus) This was the first and only Verdi opera to be hailed as “comedy” until his final work, Falstaff. Verdi composed this opera in the midst of losing his two children and his wife and, as a result, it was a total flop when it premiered at La Scala on September 5, 1840. The opera’s story takes place in Poland, and involves of a tangle of romances in the midst of war. The only real battle here is the battle of wits that takes place as catty women seek to snag the men of their dreams.
- 15. 1847: Macbeth Verdi’s rendering of the Shakespearean favorite was premiered at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence on March 14, 1847. The storyline involves the corrupt Macbeth and his desire to become King, which eventually leads to his downfall at the hands of supernatural forces and his equally corrupt wife.
- 16. Period II: An Emphasis on Character Development 1851: Rigoletto Rigoletto became an immediate sensation when it was first performed at La Fenice Theatre in Venice on March 11, 1851. It tells the story of the court jester, Rigoletto, who seeks vengeance on his lord, the Duke of Mantua for seducing his daughter. Justice is not served, as the jester’s daughter dies and Duke lives on.
- 17. 1853: La Traviata (The Woman Who Strayed) In a long list of Verdi operas, La Traviata is often at the forefront of peoples’ minds. It was first performed in Venice at the Teatro La Fenice on March 6, 1853 and involves the courtesan, Violetta, sacrificing her love for Alfredo to help preserve his family’s good name.
- 18. Period III: The Meyerbeer Grand Opera/Italianate Amalgem 1871: Aida The first (and undeniably atmospheric) performance of Aida was given on Christmas Eve, 1871 at the Khedivial Opera House in Cairo, Egypt. Aida follows the tale of the Egyptian commander Radames and his clandestine love for Aida, an Ethiopian slave girl.
- 19. Aida is called as an grand opera because it is sung. The famous march played during graduation rites is the Grand March from the opera “Aida”.
- 20. Period IV: Verdi Coming Into His Own 1887: Otello Verdi turned once again to Shakespeare for the inspiration behind this work which premiered at La Scala on February 5, 1887. In the tale, the villainous character Iago spreads vicious rumors about Otello’s wife, Desdemona, which inflames his jealousy and results in tragic consequences.
- 21. 1893: Falstaff Ironically, Falstaff, Verdi’s final opera, was in a genre he had never really experimented with beyond his failed second opera. Far from failing, Falstaff was hailed as a work of genius after its La Scala debut on February 9, 1893. It weaves a Shakespearean tale in which the rotund Sir John Falstaff is taught an important lesson after attempting to romance two women simultaneously..