Origins and Development of Opera (1550-1800)

In beginning: opera was an art for the court for a relatively limited public

1637- In Venice, 1st public opera house opened; more available to non-artistic people; opera began to free itself from the aristocratic and humanistic world from which it originated.

opus (sing.)- work (opera, pl.)

Flourished across Europe

-opera houses were built across Europe during 1700's

Opera formed in late 16th century with the rise of 2 music and literary devices:

-pastorale (form of poetry)

-monody (form of speech-like song taken from Greeks (meaning "1 voice"))

Florentine Camerata (camerata meaning "circle"):

• united these 2 concepts in an attempt to return to the aesthetic ideals of the Greeks
• group of Italian artists, writers, and musicians who sought to revive Greek drama (to discover the power and expressiveness in Greek music)
• This group met between approximately 1580 and 1600 at a time when the term "camerata" was in style.
• They rebelled against Renaissance ideas, madrigals (fashionable), and polyphony, and developed new ideas
• They couldn't find any Greek music, so they had to reinvent it.
• At most 2 people sung at 1 time (unnatural for more)
• Words- set for audience ot understand and be moved by expressiveness of text and music
• Style-> recitative ("speech-s0ng")
• In 16th century, a dramatic recitative style had developed, known as stile rappresentativo, or "theatrical style" in Italian. The melody moved freely over a foundation of simple chords. This style of music was refined and developed by the Camerata and became known as recitative or "speech-song." QUESTION????
• Camerata group included Giulio Caccini, Jacopo Peri, Giovanni de'Bardi (founder) and Vencernzo Galilei.
• Helped to create recitative, monody, and opera.
• Le nuove musiche ("new music")- musical collection written by Giulio Caccini in 1602; it contained also songs using monody, a style which featured a single voice supported by only simple accompaniment
• Caccini- Italian composer and singer who lived mainly at Medici family's court in Florence, Italy.

Monody- reaction to polyphonic music of Ren. (1450-1600)

Eventually, da capo ario format became popular.

da capo ("from the head")- form of music which is A-B-A: repeat from the beginning until you come to the word fine (end). Singer was expected to add ornamentation in the repeated A section.

Another name: ternary where, again, the music in 3 parts or sections, with the 3rd section being an exact or ear-exact repetition of the 1st part, with the middle section providing the contrast

-became widely used by the Romantic Era

Early Examples of Operas:

The premiere of L'Euridice in 1600 by Jacopo Peri and Giulio Caccin is considered the beginning of modern opera.

First true opera composer: Monteverdi

• his first opera, L'Orfeo, was performed in 1607.
• introduced the concept of a musical line in to his operas, and from this point forward, monody was used to move the plot forward in the form of recitative, or "speech-song."

Composers did not usually write their own librettos (translates to "little book" and is the text of a vocal work.) In Baroque operas, poets and authors most often wrote the words.