3. •small cast:
–castrati:
•primo uomo—leading man
•secondo uomo
–sopranos: coloratura or lyric
•prima donna--leading lady
•seconda donna
–tenor: father, king, mentor
•da Capo aria
•aria @ end of scene, culminates in singer’s exit
•occasional duet
•few large ensembles
•Alessandro Scarlatti, Handel
•Johann Adolph Hasse
–Italian operas in Germany
–Cleofide
Metastasio (1698-1782)
•libretti set by many composersOpera seria
Hasse
4. Intermezzo
• short comic opera performed between acts
of an opera seria
• 2 acts
• each act 2 or 3 da capo arias & secco
recitatives, concludes with duet
• 2 singing roles
– buffo bass
– soubrette soprano
• 1 or 2 mute characters
• commedia dell’arte was model
• Pergolesi, La Serva Padrona
Pergolesi
Opera Buffa
• full length comic opera
• large cast
• ensemble finale
• influenced by intermezzo
5. commedia dell’arte
• masked Italian street theatre
• regional dialects
Dovelike,
gentle,
Harlequin’s
female
counterpart,
servant,
soubrette
ColumbinePulcinella
hunchback,
large nose,
servant
Harlequin
nimble, witty,
capriccious
heartless
lover, servant,
stupid,
gluttonous
Scaramouche
cowardly
soldier,
conquests in
love & war
Patalone
miserly
old
merchant
Il Dottore
boring, old
lawyer, lengthy
speeches
6. • Jomelli:
– Italian
– operas in Italy and Germany
• J.C. Bach:
– German
– operas in London
• Traetta
– Italian
– operas in Russia
Italian Opera Popular throughout Europe
7. Christoph Willibald Gluck
•Opera Reform
–unified theatrical production
•ballet, chorus integrated with action
–music expresses drama
•fewer da capo arias
•levels of recitative (secco to
accompagnato) lead into aria
•simplicity—no superfluous ornamentation
•overture leads into 1st scene
•Sturm und Drang: “Storm and Stress”
–German literary & dramatic movement
–goal is to frighten, shock, overcome with
emotion
•in opera, emphasized by music, costumes,
staging
– Orfeo ed Euridice, “Furies scene”