Changes

An opera can last for five hours or more ([[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]’s “''Mastersingers of Nuremberg''”) or under ten minutes ([[Darius Milhaud]]’s “''The Deliverance of Theseus''”; have a cast of hundreds ([[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]]’s “''Aida''” – with or without the [[elephant]]s) or just a handful ([[Samuel Barber]]’s “''A Hand of Bridge''”; can be a story from the start of the world (Eugen D'Albert’s “''Cain''”) or its end (Wagner’s “''Götterdämmerung''”); historical ([[Handel]]’s “''Julius Caesar''”) or topical ([[John Adams]]’ “''Nixon in China''”), for children (“''Hansel and Gretel''”) or adults (“''Salome''”); the fantasmagorical ([[Mozart]]’s “''The Magic Flute''”) or of real and grubby life [[Alban Berg]]’s “''Lulu''”).

An opera can last for five hours or more ([[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]’s “''Mastersingers of Nuremberg''”) or under ten minutes ([[Darius Milhaud]]’s “''The Deliverance of Theseus''”; have a cast of hundreds ([[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]]’s “''Aida''” – with or without the [[elephant]]s) or just a handful ([[Samuel Barber]]’s “''A Hand of Bridge''”; can be a story from the start of the world (Eugen D'Albert’s “''Cain''”) or its end (Wagner’s “''Götterdämmerung''”); historical ([[Handel]]’s “''Julius Caesar''”) or topical ([[John Adams]]’ “''Nixon in China''”), for children (“''Hansel and Gretel''”) or adults (“''Salome''”); the fantasmagorical ([[Mozart]]’s “''The Magic Flute''”) or of real and grubby life [[Alban Berg]]’s “''Lulu''”).

Many of the works of the world’s great writers have been adapted for the operatic stage – from [[Shakespeare]] (“''[[Macbeth]]''”, “''[[Hamlet]]''”, “''The Merry Wives of Windsor''”, “''A Midsummer Night’s Dream''” and more.) [[John Bunyan]] (“''The Pilgrim’s Progress''”), Aleksandr Pushkin (“''Eugene Enegin''” “''Boris Godunov''” etc.), [[Tolstoy]] “''War and Peace''”) [[Goethe]] (“''Faust''”) and many more.

Many of the works of the world’s great writers have been adapted for the operatic stage – from [[Shakespeare]] (“''[[Macbeth]]''”, “''[[Hamlet]]''”, “''[[The Merry Wives of Windsor]]''”, “''A Midsummer Night’s Dream''” and more.) [[John Bunyan]] (“''The Pilgrim’s Progress''”), Aleksandr Pushkin (“''Eugene Enegin''” “''Boris Godunov''” etc.), [[Tolstoy]] “''War and Peace''”) [[Goethe]] (“''Faust''”) and many more.

Opera as we know it grew out of court entertainment in [[Renaissance]] [[Italy]]. It was a logical progression from the [[madrigal]], by then at its highest point, as a vehicle for dramatic expression in both solo and ensemble singing accompanied by an “orchestra” – although it would be considered to be a chamber ensemble today.  There were already masques and miracle plays and other stage entertainments with sets and costumes but the year 1600 is generally regarded as the time of opera’s birth. The first opera that is still performed today is [[Claudio Monteverdi]]’s “''L’Orfeo''”, (1607) that age-old favourite tale of Orpheus and Euridice (in this case given a happy ending). It consisted of solo and choral arias (airs or songs) sung to a narrative and with scenery, but performed in a series of tableaux. There was not a lot of walking about.  

Opera as we know it grew out of court entertainment in [[Renaissance]] [[Italy]]. It was a logical progression from the [[madrigal]], by then at its highest point, as a vehicle for dramatic expression in both solo and ensemble singing accompanied by an “orchestra” – although it would be considered to be a chamber ensemble today.  There were already masques and miracle plays and other stage entertainments with sets and costumes but the year 1600 is generally regarded as the time of opera’s birth. The first opera that is still performed today is [[Claudio Monteverdi]]’s “''L’Orfeo''”, (1607) that age-old favourite tale of Orpheus and Euridice (in this case given a happy ending). It consisted of solo and choral arias (airs or songs) sung to a narrative and with scenery, but performed in a series of tableaux. There was not a lot of walking about.  

By the end of the 17th century a definite divergence can be heard between Italian and French “styles”. Italy had settled on a three-movement [[overture]] followed by 3 acts of “action” with recitatives and arias interspersed with duets or choral pieces…all still fairly formal and declamatory. The French, where the leading figure was the court musician and composer, [[Jean-Baptiste Lully]], and financed by the royal court, operas contained extremely extravagant sets, sound effects and costumes, and had 5 acts of mythological or classical stories, frequently adapted to bask the king himself in their glow. However, the greatest opera of the late 1600s, and the one frequently performed today, was the Englishman Henry Purcell’s “''Dido and Aeneas''”.

By the end of the 17th century a definite divergence can be heard between Italian and French “styles”. Italy had settled on a three-movement [[overture]] followed by 3 acts of “action” with recitatives and arias interspersed with duets or choral pieces…all still fairly formal and declamatory. The French, where the leading figure was the court musician and composer, [[Jean-Baptiste Lully]], and financed by the royal court, operas contained extremely extravagant sets, sound effects and costumes, and had 5 acts of mythological or classical stories, frequently adapted to bask the king himself in their glow. However, the greatest opera of the late 1600s, and the one frequently performed today, was the Englishman [[Henry Purcell]]’s “''Dido and Aeneas''”.

The first half of the 18th century, the “high [[baroque]] period, saw a golden age of opera. [[Handel|G.F. Handel]] alone staged nearly 50 operas, quite a few of which are performed today; [[Vivaldi]], well ''over'' 50. [[Jean Philippe Rameau]] was writing operas with ballet scenes and orchestral interludes of “pure” music that looked forward to the great music dramas of the next century and have been taken out of their context to be heard today in concerts and on record as stand-alone pieces or [[suite]]s.  (The music of this period, whether it be opera, orchestral, song, or sacred, is the earliest to generally sound “normal” to the modern untrained listener, even if it is played on authentic instruments in its original style.)

The first half of the 18th century, the “high [[baroque]] period, saw a golden age of opera. [[Handel|G.F. Handel]] alone staged nearly 50 operas, quite a few of which are performed today; [[Vivaldi]], well ''over'' 50. [[Jean Philippe Rameau]] was writing operas with ballet scenes and orchestral interludes of “pure” music that looked forward to the great music dramas of the next century and have been taken out of their context to be heard today in concerts and on record as stand-alone pieces or [[suite]]s.  (The music of this period, whether it be opera, orchestral, song, or sacred, is the earliest to generally sound “normal” to the modern untrained listener, even if it is played on authentic instruments in its original style.)

Gluck’s innovations were continued by the great W. A. [[Mozart]]. There are half a dozen or so operas by this giant that at or near the top of the operatic pile. Somewhere in the world today a major opera house is preparing for, or performing, one of these works written within the ten years from 1781, starting with “I''domeneo''” and finishing with the fantastical, lyrical and wondrously entertaining “''The Magic Flute''”. “''Don Giovanni''” is generally considered his best, and is the earliest opera to have remained constantly in the repertoire unchanged from its inception (1787).

Gluck’s innovations were continued by the great W. A. [[Mozart]]. There are half a dozen or so operas by this giant that at or near the top of the operatic pile. Somewhere in the world today a major opera house is preparing for, or performing, one of these works written within the ten years from 1781, starting with “I''domeneo''” and finishing with the fantastical, lyrical and wondrously entertaining “''The Magic Flute''”. “''Don Giovanni''” is generally considered his best, and is the earliest opera to have remained constantly in the repertoire unchanged from its inception (1787).

The first half of the 19th century saw [[Beethoven]]’s only opera, “''Fidelio''”, the rise of “bel canto” (literally “beautiful singing”, exemplified by the prodigious [[Gioachino Rossini]], and his more serious Italian compatriots Bellini and Donizetti), and the advent of the [[Romantic period (music)| romantic]] era, generally held to be introduced by [[Carl Maria von Weber]]’s “''Der Freishütz''” in 1821. French opera was fortunate to be served by a series of first rate works – still regularly performed – by Meyerbeer (German born, but all his major works written and performed in Paris); [[Hector Berlioz]] and Daniel Auber. A younger generation kept the tricolour flying: [[Georges Bizet]] wrote what is possibly the most popular opera of all time, “''Carmen''” and possibly the most popular duet (”''In the Depths of the Temple''” from “''The Pearlfishers''”). Russian opera made its international debut with  [[Glinka]]’s “''A Life for the Tsar''” followed by the still extremely popular “''Russlan and Ludmila''” .  A later generation of Russian nationalists (Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov) and the [[Bohemian]]s [[Bedrich Smetana]] and [[Antonin Dvorak]] wrote operas reflecting the life, history or traditions of their regions in a tradition that would continue into the 20th century with [[Leos Janacek]].  

The first half of the 19th century saw [[Beethoven]]’s only opera, “''Fidelio''”, the rise of “bel canto” (literally “beautiful singing”, exemplified by the prodigious [[Gioacchino Rossini]], and his more serious Italian compatriots Bellini and Donizetti), and the advent of the [[Romantic period (music)| romantic]] era, generally held to be introduced by [[Carl Maria von Weber]]’s “''Der Freishütz''” in 1821. French opera was fortunate to be served by a series of first rate works – still regularly performed – by Meyerbeer (German born, but all his major works written and performed in Paris); [[Hector Berlioz]] and Daniel Auber. A younger generation kept the tricolour flying: [[Georges Bizet]] wrote what is possibly the most popular opera of all time, “''Carmen''” and possibly the most popular duet (”''In the Depths of the Temple''” from “''The Pearlfishers''”). Russian opera made its international debut with  [[Glinka]]’s “''A Life for the Tsar''” followed by the still extremely popular “''Russlan and Ludmila''” .  A later generation of Russian nationalists (Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov) and the [[Bohemia]]ns [[Bedrich Smetana]] and [[Antonin Dvorak]] wrote operas reflecting the life, history or traditions of their regions in a tradition that would continue into the 20th century with [[Leos Janacek]].  

During the 19th century a lighter form of opera appeared, variously called  “opera buffo”, “opera comique”, operetta, depending on the time and place. [[Jacques Offenbach]] is generally considered the “inventor" of this genre, but it appeared under many guises: the Viennese operettas of the [[Johann Strauss|Strauss]] family and others, the operettas of [[Gilbert and Sullivan]], the Spanish and Latin American “zarzuela”, finally popping up in America with the productions of Victor Herbert, Sigmund Romberg and the like, before transforming into the form known to all as, just,” the musical”  

During the 19th century a lighter form of opera appeared, variously called  “opera buffo”, “opera comique”, operetta, depending on the time and place. [[Jacques Offenbach]] is generally considered the “inventor" of this genre, but it appeared under many guises: the Viennese operettas of the [[Johann Strauss|Strauss]] family and others, the operettas of [[Gilbert and Sullivan]], the Spanish and Latin American “zarzuela”, finally popping up in America with the productions of Victor Herbert, Sigmund Romberg and the like, before transforming into the form known to all as, just,” the musical”