Evolution of the Opera in Europe

The masterful innovation of 19th century German composer Richard Wagner in his orchestration for his different compositions became a big influence in shaping the classical music of the 19th century. a. When did it start? Opera started in the late 1600s through a group of scholars, known as the camerata instigated a performance with the aim of promoting monodic musical declamations. Although musical stage play was already existent as early as the 12th century like The Play of Daniel, it was Jacopo Peri’s and Ottavio Rinuccini’s Euridice, that was considered as the first Opera in the 1600.

However, Jacopo Peri’s first composition Dafne was argued by other scholars as the first true Opera, though little of its text can be found now. Monodic musical declamations are recitals with free rhythm accompanied by a subtle music, and usually about Ancient Greek Drama and mythology. Just like the first Opera Euridice that was taken from the Greek mythology about Orpheus and his beloved Euridice. b. Where did it start? 1. Baroque (Italian) Opera originally came from Italy, wherein it was known as Baroque Opera or Italian Opera.

The first English Opera was The Siege of Rhodes by poet Sir William D’Avenant in 1656 and music by Lawes, Matthew Locke, Henry Cooke, Charles Coleman and George Hudson. John Blow wrote Venus and Adonis in 1684 but was not properly accredited as an Opera for some critics still call it a masque, but in 1689, Blow’s pupil Henry Purcell wrote the greatest English Opera of the 17th century entitled Dido and Aeneas. This Opera completely absorbed Italian influence and brought death to England’s masque.

However, the most famous English composer was not really English, but rather a German born composer who completely immersed himself in Neapolitan Italian style. He was George Frideric Handel, composer of the widely acclaimed Messiah. He composed Rinaldo, his first Opera in England in 1711 where he immediately attained success and followed it with Giulio Cesare in 1724, Rodelinda in 1725 and Alcina in 1735. Handel synthesized the castrati that attained popularity and was the thing to do at that time.

German composer George Phillip Telemann had based his Pimpione, a comic opera with only two characters on Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona, in 1725. Another composer, Johann Christian Standfuss created Der Teufel ist Lost or The Devil to Pay, in 1752, in an attempt to resurrect singspiel. However, it was only the arrival of famous German composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart that German Opera reached its peak. Mozart’s Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail or The Abduction from Seraglio in 1782 introduced singspiel internationally and made Vienna a music capital.

Mozart continued to place Vienna in front of the international music scene through his compositions, Le Nozze di Figaro or The Marriage of Figaro in 1786; Don Giovanni in 1787; and Cosi fan tutte or Women are Like That in 1790. However, these works were very controversial during those times that it upset moralists and the contributed to the revolutionary sentiments in France; that it was neglected until the early 20th century when it was revived and made Mozart the greatest composer of all. c. Who are the singers? Opera singers are classified according to their gender and range of their voices.

The original Italian composers called their works as dramma per musica and this tradition can be traced back from religious plays that also utilize music to relay their accounts. In a musical play, although complete by itself already, cannot be all together called an operatic drama unless it employs music that helps heighten the emotion. In writing dramatic operas, composers usually make use of situations that involves sadness and eludes a distressing sentiment, at the same time applying higher registers of voice (soprano) to indicate passion or cacophonous mixtures to depict fear.

Although there are points in which voices do occasionally rise from excitement and anger, the skilled composer would turn the music to become identical with the feelings arose by the character. b. Romantic The beginning of the 19th century inspired an artistic movement called romanticism and became widespread in literature, art and music. It spells imagination, creative freedom and subjectivity of interpretation. During this period artistry became luxuriant and flamboyant, employing large scale orchestras, higher notes, enormous choruses and more passionate solos.

VI. Conclusion Opera nowadays is still being played by various theater houses all over the world, not just Europe anymore. Opera became widespread and more and more contemporary composers deep their hand into producing operas and making it available for public. However, it seems that Opera had come back to its previous state of being patronized only by elites and socialites way back in Italy in the late 1600s.

Opera had become unreachable and in the present situation of the world right now, it is hard to depict thepoverty, theterrorismand the hunger that occupies the humankind presently. Opera can not be flexible and it would be absurd to see artists dancing and singing in an attempt to depict hunger in Africa. Unlike other stage shows wherein they could properly address this issue and show the reality that they want to portray. Opera can never be mainstream, it enjoys a position at the top of the musical industry and it shall stay there forever.