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Baroque Opera

A major development of the Baroque era was the opera

An opera is a drama or play that is sung to musical accompaniment

It is a fusion of music, poetry, acting, dance, scenery, and costumes It is a theatrical experience offering overwhelming

excitement and emotion. It remains a powerful form of musical theater today.

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Baroque Opera

The creation of an opera involves a joint effort between a composer and a dramatist

The libretto, or text of the opera is usually written by the dramatist or librettist

A good opera plot cannot be sensible because people

do not sing when they are feeling sensible

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Baroque Opera

In opera, the characters are overwhelmed by love, lust, hatred, and revenge

They wear fantastic disguises and commit extraordinary acts of violence

Yet the music makes them human and real

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The Aria (in Operas)

The main attraction for an opera fan is the ariaAn aria is a song for solo voice with orchestral

accompanimentIt is an outpouring of melody that expresses an

emotional stateIt usually lasts for several minutes and is meant

also to show off the soloist’s singing abilities.

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More than you wanted to know about opera:

Composers usually lead into an aria with a vocal line that imitates the rhythms and pitch fluctuations of speech

This spoken line is called the recitative The words are sung quickly and clearly, often in

repeated tones.

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More than you wanted to know about opera:

Besides arias, the soloist in an opera will sing compositions for two or more singers: duets (for two singers), trios (for three), quartets (for four), quintets (for five), sextets (for six).

When three or more singers are involved it is called an ensemble In a duet or ensemble, the performers either face the audience or move

through action that develops the plot Each character expresses his or her own feelings Conflicting emotions like grief, happiness, or anger can be projected

simultaneously when different melodies are combined

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More than you wanted to know about opera:

The nerve center of an opera in performance is the orchestra pit- a sunken area directly in front of the stage

An opera orchestra uses the same instruments as a symphony orchestra, but with a smaller string section

The orchestra not only supports the singers, but depicts mood and atmosphere

During the performance the conductor shapes the entire work, sets tempos, cues singers, and indicates dynamic changes

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Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)

One of the most important composers of the early baroque era

He created the opera Orfeo (Orpheus, 1607) He Became music director at St. Marks cathedral in

Venice, the most important church position in ItalyMonteverdi wrote music for church services and also

for the public

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Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)

He wanted to create music with emotional intensityTo achieve this intensity, he used dissonances with

unprecedented freedom and daringHe pioneered new orchestral effects to evoke angry

or warlike feelings in his music These effects include: pizzicato and tremolo

Eventhough only 3 of his 12 works were preserved, Monteverdi is considered the first composer of operatic masterpieces

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Orfeo (Orpheus 1687) Monteverdi’s first opera

It is about Orpheus, the son of the god Apollo He is very happy after marrying Eurydice, but his joy is shattered

when she is killed by a poisonous snake Orpheus goes down to hades (the underworld) hoping to bring

her back to life Because of his beautiful music, he is granted the privilege-on the

condition he not look back at Eurydice while leading her out of hades

During a moment of anxiety, however, Orpheus does look back, and Eurydice vanishes. There is however a happy ending of sorts, Apollo pities Orpheus and brings him up to heaven, where he can gaze eternally at Eurydice’s radiance in the sun and stars.

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Orfeo (Orpheus 1687) Monteverdi’s first opera

Act II Recitative: Tu se’ morta (you are dead)

Monteverdi shows his mastery of the then new technique of the recitative

After Orpheus is told of the death of Eurydice he resolved to bring her back from hades

He bids an anguished farewell to the earth, sky and sun

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Orfeo (Orpheus 1687)

Listen to:Act II Recitative: Tu se’ morta (you are dead)His vocal line is accompanied by only a basso

continuo played by a small organ and bass lute

The texture is homophonic

The accompaniment gives simple harmonic support to the voice

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Orfeo (Orpheus 1687)

Monteverdi frequently uses word painting to get his message across Words like stelle (stars) and sole (sun) are sung to

climactic high notes, whereas abissi (abysses) and morte (death) are sung to somber low tones

Using these techniques, Monteverdi makes Orpheus’s passion come alive

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Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

Is called the greatest English ComposerHe mastered all the musical forms of his day

He wrote church music, secular choral music, and music for the stage

His only true opera was Dido and Aneneas (1869) which many consider the finest opera ever written to an English text

Few composers have equaled Purcell’s handling of the English language. Some of Purcell’s finest songs use a variation of the form found in many baroque works: a ground bass.

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Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

Often in baroque works a musical idea in the bass is repeated over and over while the melodies above it change

The repeated musical idea is called a ground bass or basso ostinato

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Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

Dido and Aeneas (1689) Act III Dido’s Lament

A melodic recitative accompanied by only the basso continuo sets the sorrowful mood for Dido’s Lament, the climax of the opera The aria is built on a chromatically descending ground

bass that is stated 11 times Dido’s melody moves freely above this repeated bass

creating touching dissonances with it

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Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)

Was one of the most prolific composers ever

He wrote 50 operas, 40 pieces for chorus and orchestra, and 100 works for orchestra alone

He also wrote over 500 concertos for solo instruments

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Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)

After he left the Priesthood his next job was at the Ospedale della Pieta (Mercy Hospital)

It was actually a school for illegitimate girls He was their music teacher and composer Whenever he had a student with talent, he

would compose a concerto for herAll of Vivaldi’s concertos have 3 movements

They are: FAST-SLOW-FAST

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La Primavera (Spring), Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra, Op. 8, No. 1, from The Four SeasonsOne of his most famous piece is The Four

Seasons

It is a set of four concertos for violin and orchestra

Each concerto is meant to evoke a feeling for each of the four seasons

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La Primavera (Spring), Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra, Op. 8, No. 1, from The Four Seasons

Spring is full of bird songs, a quick thunderstorm with lightning, a sleeping goatherd complete with barking dog, dancing shepherds, and nymphs

Spring was as popular in Vivaldi’s time as it is today

Like most of Vivaldi’s concertos, Spring has 3 movements

1. Fast, 2. Slow, 3. Fast

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La Primavera (Spring), Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra, Op. 8, No. 1, from The Four Seasons

Listen to:First Movement: Allegro

Opens with an energetic orchestra ritornello depicting the arrival of spring.

Each of the ritornello’s two phrases is played loudly and then repeated softly

After the ritornello, the movement alternates between extended solo sections containing musical tone painting and brief tutti sections presenting part of the ritornello theme

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La Primavera (Spring), Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra, Op. 8, No. 1, from The Four Seasons

Listen to:Second Movement: Largo e pianissimo

sempre (very slow and soft throughout) It uses only the solo violin and the orchestral violins and

violas, omitting the cellos, basses, and harpsichord A tender, expansive melody for the solo violin depicts the

goatherd’s slumber, while a soft, rocking figure in the violins suggest a rustling of leaves

The violas imitate the barking of the goatherd’s “faithful dog” with a repeated-note figure in short-long rhythm

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La Primavera (Spring), Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra, Op. 8, No. 1, from The Four Seasons

Listen to:Third Movement: Danza pastorale

(Pastoral Dance) Like the first movement, the concluding Danza pastorale,

in E major, alternates between tutti and solo sections The playful ritornello theme, with it’s dotted rhythms,

suggest nymphs and shepherds dancing in the fields The sections for solo violin contain brilliant passages with

many melodic sequences, which are typical of the baroque style.