Opera in the 18th Century

Opera Seria: - ‘Serious’ Opera

The most imp. genre in Euopre, besides France. In the 17th cent., Opera changed from a
‘court’ form to a public form in Venice, when they opened Opera houses. The emphasis
moved from the drama and the music that supports it, to the beauty of the music itself.
From the attempt to revive Greek tragedy, it became sort of a new genre that was a
mixture of many.

‫ באיטליה מתוך נסיון להחיות את הטרגדיה‬17-‫האופרה מתפתחת בתחילת המאה ה‬

‫ אלא דרמה פר מוסיקה‬.‫ אופרה זה לא שם המקורי של היצירה‬.‫היוונית‬.
‫במהלך מאה שנה של התפתחות האופרה הגיע הז'אנר לשיאים באופרה בוונציה‬
‫ רוסי לנדי ובפריס לולי עם טרג'די ליריק‬-‫ברומא‬. ‫ צ'סטי‬,‫קוואלי‬, ‫מונטוורדי‬.
‫ התפתחות הז'אנר קשורה לפעילותה של האקדמיה הארקדית‬ACCADEMIA
DEGLI ARCADII
, funded by an exiled Swedish queen. ‫חוג ספרותי אמנותי שהיה פעיל‬
1704-1698 ‫ברומא בין השנים‬.
‫רפורמה של התמליל )הבסיס הדרמטי( של האופרה‬:
- author ‫אפוסטולו ז'נו‬
‫פייטרו מטסטאסיו‬. – Playwright, and poet

They formed the dramatic aesthetic for Opera Seria as a genre.

1) they maintained the purity of the genre as one of tragedy
2) the plot – Greek mythology, historical chronicles from Roman times, and crusader
stories from the medieval times.
3) Characters – Gods, angels, kings, leaders, heroes etc. and their ideal behaviour
was emphasized in the Operas.
4) Singing style – Bel canto , virtuosic, higher registers only with sopranos and
castratos (which was used only in Opera Seria), there were no basses. Usage of
improvisational ornaments.

Dramatic Structure – was permanent, in 3 acts

1) Exposition of the characters and their relationships, the creation of tension
between them
2) The characters start to realize the situation and conflict.
3) An artificial solution to the conflict.

The Opera consists of a series of scena(e) – this is a combination of

 Recitatives that are of 2 types – (1) secco –with basso continuo accompaniment
(2) accompagnato – accompanied by the orchestra
 Arias – the role of the Aria is static. It stops the development of the plot and gives
room for emotional expression. The emotin itself is something static within the
 aria. Aria di sortita(abandon) - Usually, after the Aria, the character leaves the
stage.

Types of Aria:
(1) lamento – a type of lamentation, for instance, a woman abandoned by her love
and wants to die. Slow rhythm, in triple meter, in a minor key (transposed dorian
mode) with a descending ostinato bass.
(2) Di bravura – bravery – the military leader wins the battle , normally in d major,
impressive rhythm, and trumpet motifs.
(3) Amorosa – love – sung by a man or a woman, in lyrical scales, like in E major.
Slow tempo.
(4) Furiosa – rage – fast and dual rhythm, minor scale. Jumps in the vocal range.
(5) Divendetta – revenge
(6) Brillante – high tessitura, fast rhythm and orchestral accompaniement, rich.
(7) Aria simile – uses metaphors of some sort, in which the singer compares his
situation to some natural phenomenon or activity in the world at large.

Sturcutre of the Aria:

Text – 2 verses in meter and rhyme.
- orchestral ritornello
- followed by the first verse
- then, a shortened ritornello
- repeating the first verse with ornamentation
- a full ritornello
- the second verse
- second verse with ornamentation

A–
Rit a (rit) a’ rit
I I-V V V-I I

B
b b’ dacapo al fine
VI-III III-VI

( da capo al fine is like A– the same as the first part, but highly ornamented, giving
the singer a chance to show off his virtuosity)

The full ritornello thus repeats itself 4 times.

Benedetto Marcello – 1686 – 1739, was a public and political figure from Venice
who also wrote music. In 1720, he published Il teatro alla moda, a sharp satire about
the Opera Seria as an empty and unreasonable genre, that played only to the whims
of the singer, by uneducated composers. Virtually every aspect of opera seria and its
social environment is mercilessly criticized by Marcello. He expresses his opinions
about how the music became the goal and not the tool for expression. It is not only
extremely amusing, but is most valuable as a contribution to the history of opera.