module #7

INTRO TO VOCAL DRAMA

• vocal drama in baroque
  • vocal and instrumental music combo
  • opera, oratorio,and cantata
  • cantata was functional sacred
  • oratorio is recreational sacred
  • opera is recreational secular
  • common musical features
    • common began with an overture
    • opera: chorus
    • oratorio: narrator or voice of morality
  • opera  generally done in italian
  • oratorio generally in latin, or english for G.F. Handel
  • both are usually a collaboration between a composer and librettist (writes a libretto)
    • librettist writes the story(libretto) and composer makes it dramatic
• Baroque opera
  • opera of this time extends the ideas of pop music/song and word painting
  • music began to be used to call upon emotions therefore drama was the next logical step
  • opera is a staged  musical drama told through song & minimal dialogue
  • early opera story lines were based off of greek myth and tragedies
    • earliest written one that is still commonly performed is claudio monteverdi’s “L’orfeo”, from 1607
    • called his opening piece a ‘toccata’ originally, which was a broader term then for an  opening, even though it sounds like a fanfare
• the recitative & aria
  • common song pair in baroque operas and oratorio
  • reserved for important decisive moments in the performance
  • recitatve is short, clear and recited with a bass continuo
  • aria is used to showcase the star with the full orchestra accompaniment
• oratorio
  • unstaged sacred musical drama told by song with no dialogue
  • focuses on biblical stories
  • recitative tends to be short and concise
  • contains a chorus to go over the major theme or lesson of the story
    • famous chorus is done by g.f. handel for ‘messiah’ oratorio, the chorus is called ‘hallelujah’
• origins of opera  and oratorio: florentine camerata
  • centered in florence, italy
  • camerata: group of humanists, musicians, poets, and intellectuals that often came together to discuss trends of the arts
    • wanted to resurrect the ancient greek musical dramatic arts
    • early efforts resulted in ‘monodies’ or ‘one songs’, later evolved into recitative
• features of the opera
  • early opera features
    • overture or prelude to introduce acts
    • original text/libretto
    • recitative & aria song pairs
    • excessive special effects
• sexism and roles in operas and oratorios
  • women weren’t allowed to perform in either during baroque period
    • men with high vocal ranges were used and so star was generally a counter-tenor, sings in soprano and alto vocal range
  • many main parts were done by counter-tenor even if portraying a male character
  • church maintained ban on women for oratorios
  • CASTRATO SOPRANOS
    • often boys that showed promise were castrated, before puberty, and used to perform female roles
    • rarely did the boys reach fame and fortune from this even though it was commonly promised
    • ban on the practice came into effect in the late 1800’s
  • women were allowed on stage later in classical period due to the use of opera as public entertainment
• opera in classical period
  • increased interest in making opera a ‘people’s art’ which led to  more comedic operas being written
  • operas split into opera seria(traditional) or opera buffa(comedic)
  • opera buffa was for the middle class with normal plot lines and concepts
    • recitative style was eliminated for these operas
  • mozart revolutionized opera world with comedic, serious, and combo operas
    • famous comedic operas
      • the magic flute
      • marriage of figaro
      • don giovanni
    • used gender revearsal, women playing young men, as a way to poke fun at baroque practices
    • set up and inspired many later opera composers
  • mozart inspired rossini to write ‘barber of seville’ later as a prequel to ‘marriage of figaro’