Romantic

Opera
Lesson 2
WHAT IS OPERA?

-An art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic

work combining text (libretto) and musical score.

-Usually in a theatrical setting.

-Incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting,

scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance.
ROMANTIC OPERA
● Romantische Oper (German for "romantic
opera")
● a genre of early nineteenth-century German
opera, developed not from the German
Singspiel of the eighteenth-century but from the
opéras comiques of the French Revolution.
 DIFFERENT SINGING STYLES WERE
DEVELOPED FOR THE FOLLOWING SUCH AS:

A RECITATIVE
Imitating the pattern and
rhythm of the speech.

B ARIA
When a character expresses
feelings through a flowing
melody
The opera fostered different national styles in
three of Europe’s leading musical countries-
France, Germany and Italy. Most operas are
written in French, German, and Italian.
GENRES OF OPERA
COMIC OPERA
A OPERA D CORNIQUE

SERIOUS GRAND
B OPERA E OPERA

OPERA OPERA
C SEMISERIA F VERISMO
 COMIC OPERA

-also called Light Opera

-musical plays with light subject matter and happy
endings
-dialogue is usually spoken, rather than sung.
 TYPES OF COMIC OPERA

Italian German English

Opera Singspiel Ballad Spanish
Buffa Opera Tonadilla and
Zarzuela
 SERIOUS OPERA

- styleof Italian opera dominant in 18th-century Europe.

- it emerged in the late 17th century (notably in the work
of Alessandro Scarlatti and other composers working in
Naples, frequently called Neapolitan opera.)
- primary musical emphasis of opera seria: solo voice and
on bel canto, the florid vocal style of the period.
 OPERA SEMISERIA

- Opera Semiseria is a type of opera that was popular in the early and
middle 19th century.
- Similar to Opera seria, it is "serious" in the way that is heavily based on
the appeal to emotion, otherwise known as pathos.
- However, it contains some elements of comedy akin to Opera buffa, the
popular rival of Opera seria.
- It is most distinguished by the presence of basso buffo, and generally
features a wider variety of characters and vocal types than opera buffo.
 OPERA CORNIQUE

- Is a type of French opera wherein instead

of singing, the lines are spoken. In its early
form, it was satirical but would, later on,
have serious storylines such as Carmen by
Georges Bizet.
 GRAND OPERA

- Refers to the type of opera which emerged in

Paris during the 19th century. It's an opera of a
larger scale, from the flamboyant costumes to
the choruses; it also includes ballet. An example
of this type is Robert le Diable by Giacomo
Meyerbeer.
 OPERA VERMISO

- Verismo is Italian for "realism;"

- it's a type of opera that emerged during the later part of the
19th century.
- characters were often based on everyday people you may
meet in real life, and the plot is often melodramatic.
- an example is Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo.
Composers of
Romantic Opera
 Jacopo Peri

- Euridice by Jacopo Peri is

known as the earliest opera that's
been preserved
 Francesco Cavalli

Another famous opera composer

was Francesco Cavalli
especially noted for his opera
Giasone (Jason) which
premiered in 1649.
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