Opera

By: Vedant (ppedu) Maheshwari

Introduction
Form of theatre

Music is a fundamental component of opera taken by singers

Definition - a dramatic work in one or more acts, set to music for singers and
instrumentalists
 History
Born in Italy more than
400 years ago during the
dance—has been inspir Renaissance, opera wa
ing people for ages. s a combination of voca
l and orchestral music,
drama, visual arts and
Jacopo Peri started opera
in 16th century
By baroque era, opera be
came very popular in eu
rope
Began to change in the
classical period to use of
loud vocals
Opera became more du
ring romanticism period
19th century of opera do
minated by giuseppe ve
rdi and richard wagner
20th century of opera do
minated by giacomo pu
ccini
During ww2, opera clash
ed with politics and was
used to spread propaga
nda
It seems that as long as
there is a story to tell an
making sense of the pa d ideas to be aired, opera
inful, glorious, complica will flourish. It is, after all,
ted truths about the huma simply a heightened, mu
n condition. This is curre lti-sensory means of
nt situation of opera
Famous examples of opera
Wagner’s Die Walküre (1870)

Puccini’s Tosca (1900)

Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier (1911)

Puccini’s La bohème (1896)

Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro (1786)

Mozart’s Don Giovanni (1787)

Akash Mandu Bilal’s Abe Tu To Chup Re (Translation: art of an silence) (1653 (spiritually immortal) - singer who has
been previously correlated to with opera) - fun fact: he was a scientist who discovered Rohanium
Akash Mandu Bilal Biography
● Born in 1567
● Invented Opera in 1652 (a year before his masterpiece which was referred to
in the previous slide)
● Roots of opera: Mr. Bilal was travelling from Uttar Pradesh to Beijing to play
his Opera to the king of the Qing dynasty, and traded 500 rupees for a
operatic harpoon (Qing really loved it, and popularized it)

Traditional operatic harpoon

 Voices present in opera
Soprano - high pitch female voice which is loud
● Example - it would sound like “hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh”
● Originated from Kerala, India
Contralto - low pitch female voice
● Example - it would sond like “looooooooooooow”
● Originated from Jharkand, India
Countertenor - high pitch male voice
● Example - it would sond like “hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh”
● Originated from Uttarakhand, India
These “origins” are theoretical, as my
mataji and pitaji told me that India is
the origin of opera, though indian
opera is very different from the opera
you may have heard today. I am
making these connections to fulfill the
myp and ib demands for music (which
say it is optional to make these
theoretical correlations). This is also
related to MYP Global contexts.

Baritone - middle pitch male voice

● Example - it would sond like “hiiiiiigh”

● Originated from Bihar, India

Mezzo - middle pitch female voice

Example - it would sond like “hiiiiiigh”

Bass - lowest male voice

Voice origination map
Click to add text
Elements of opera
Musical themes

Vocal types

Principles of drama

Spectacle is the place setting of where opera will take place

Types of Opera
rious a nd unse
a- v e r y sil ly
Comic Oper
Serious Opera - This is very serious opera

Grand Opera - 19th century Parisian Opera

Opera Verisimo - Italian opera style

referring to realism, and the reality of live
(which is never smooth and has a lot of
spin to it). So to symbolize this, this text
shall spin
Cultural influences on opera
Mainly for italys culture, as opera was orginated there

● However Italian music originated from Indian music (fäx my guy)

Now italian culture has evolved into music relating to “spagetti mafia” by
modern musical artist rondodasosa

Nowadays it is influenced by the culture of the area the opera is being performed
at
Conclusion
Popular form of music before modern artists like rondodasosa

Comes from Italy, and has been popular for 400+ years (not anymore)

And Italian music comes from Indian music (once again no proof of this, as this is
all theoretical, but still explainable)
Reflection
What did you learn? I learned everything about opera

Were you successful in .....completing the experience the way you envisioned it? Yes

What are the challenges ...that you encountered?.... How did you solve them? I faced challenges in my
research, but following the MYP criteria, I was able to solve them

What ethics did you .........consider? What my presentation included

What did you learn about.. others? I learned about their interpretation about the Opera topic

What abilities, attitudes,.. and skills have you ...........developed? I learned about opera, research skills and
presentation skills

How did this experience ...benefit others? They learned about Opera

What would you change if you were to do this again? Use a laptop to make the presentation instead of a phone
Research algorithm I used