Tragedia Greca --> Opera Italiana

Speranza Early Opera Forerunners of Opera (see HWM chronology 1570–1640) Drama and music have been intertwined from ancient Greek through Renaissance times. Intermedi, or intermezzi, were pastoral, allegorical, or mythological interludes staged between acts of a play. For important state occasions, intermedi were spectacular, with choruses, soloists, and large instrumental ensembles The intermedi for the 1589 wedding of Grand Duke Ferdinand de' Medici and Christine of Lorraine were the most expensive ever produced (HWM, ex. 9.2). Opening solo madrigal Dalle più alte sfere (From the highest spheres); typical solo song of the period. Four instrumental parts, with the solo vocalist singing an embellished version of the top line. Homophonic texture and cadences at the end of each line of poetry, like a frottola Virtuoso runs and cadenzas in the solo voice, made possible by the virtuosity of trained singers Madrigal cycle (now usually called madrigal comedy) Short-lived dramatic form at the end of the sixteenth century A comic story or a representation of a series of scenes or moods in dialogue Music: usually light, lively, and humorous The most famous: L'Amfiparnaso by Orazio Vecchi, 1597 The pastoral Pastoral poems, about idyllic love, were the predominant genre of Italian poetry in the Renaissance Characters were simple rustic youths and the settings involved nature and imaginary places The Role of Greek Theater Renaissance scholars studied Greek tragedies but disagreed about the role of music In one view, only choruses were sung. Andrea Gabrieli composed homophonic, declamatory choruses for a 1585 production of "Edipo", Teatro Olimpico, Vicenza A second view, promulgated by Florentine scholar, Girolamo Mei (1519–1594), held that ALL the parts of a Greek tragedy were to be sung. Experiments demonstrating this view resulted in early opera The Florentine Camerata Background From the early 1570s onward Count Giovanni Bardi hosted an informal academy of scholars at his palace in Florence The academy discussed literature, science, and the arts Musicians performed new compositions at gatherings Circa 1577 onward, the scholars read letters from Girolamo Mei on Greek music Mei believed the power of Greek music lay in the use of a single melody (solo or unison choir) The melody moved the listener through the natural expressiveness of vocal registers, rises and falls in pitch, and changes of rhythm and tempo Vincenzo Galilei (ca. late 1590s–1591, father of Galileo the astronomer) Used Mei's theories about ancient Greek music to attack Renaissance counterpoint as exemplified in the madrigal Simultaneous melodies contradicted each other, detracting from the meaning of the words. Galilei dismissed portrayals of individual words (word-painting) as childish. He promoted a single melody written to enhance the natural speech inflections of a good orator or actor. He set some verses from Dante's Divine Comedy for solo voice with viols (the manuscripts did not survive) The Earliest Operas Ottavio Rinuccini (1562–621), a poet, and Jacopo Peri (1561–1633), a composer, collaborated on all-sung works "Dafne", produced in Florence in 1598. Only fragments survive L'Euridice was set by Peri and also by Giulio Caccini; both settings were published Emilio de' Cavalieri worked at the Florentine ducal court mounting scenes in the same experimental style. His first opera was Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo, about the rivalry between the soul and body, in 1600 Styles of Monody Monody (from the Greek monos, alone, and aidein, to sing), music for a solo singer accompanied by basso continuo Monody was not new; solo performers had accompanied themselves in the sixteenth century, and single lines of polyphonic madrigals were often supported by instrumental accompaniments (solo madrigals) Monody embraced all the styles of solo singing of the early seventeenth century, from speechlike recitative to strophic arias and solo madrigals. All of these types of singing made the creation of theatrical music possible by allowing music to represent different situations, emotions, and types of speech Monodic writing was quickly taken up by composers of sacred music Giulio Caccini developed a tuneful yet mainly syllabic style of solo song Clear and flexible text declamation He composed embellishments of the melodic line at places that would not disrupt the text and in places where it would enhance the message Le nuove musiche (The New Music, 1602) Collection of his airs and solo madrigals Included the madrigal, Vedrò ‘l mio sol (NAWM 51) Recitative style Peri's style of speech-song was similar to the style scholars thought was used for ancient Greek epic poetry The basso continuo holds steady notes while the voice moves in a speechlike fashion, with harmonic relations determined by speech declamation Words that would be emphasized in speech were given pitches that were consonant with the bass HWM, ex. 9.3 from Peri's Euridice shows Peri's approach to dissonance Vignette by Peri shows how he attempted to combine Greek theory, expression of emotion, and speech inflection into the recitative style Peri's Euridice (NAWM 52) uses all types of monody Prologue (NAWM 52a), was modeled on the strophic aria Each line of verse is sung to a repeated pitch with a cadential formula A ritornello separates the strophes Tirsi's song (NAWM 52b) is a canzonet, or dance-song Rhythmic and tuneful Harmonically strong cadences (mostly dominant–tonic) Framed by a "symphony," an instrumental section Dafne's speech (NAWM 52c and HWM, ex. 9.3) Recitative style Basso continuo plays chords with no rhythmic or formal structure Voice part imitates inflections and rhythms of speech Monteverdi's L'Orfeo (1607) The librettist, Alessandro Striggio, expanded the Rinuccini play into a five-act drama Monteverdi's style Recitatives are songful at key moments, with careful tonal organization Contrasting sections in a variety of styles: solo airs, duets, and dances Scenes defined with the use of choruses and instrumental ritornellos Proportions expanded from Peri's Euridice NAWM 54 a, b, c correspond roughly to NAWM 52 a, b, c Prologue, NAWM 54a Patterned on sixteenth-century improvised techniques for singing poetry Each strophe written out, with the same harmony and different melodies Strophes separated by a ritornello Strophic canzonet, Vi ricorda, o baschi ombrosi (Do you recall, O shady woods), NAWM 54b Hemiola techniques reminiscent of the frottola Root-position chords favored Strophes separated by a contrapuntal ritornello In un fiorito prato (In a flowered meadow), NAWM 54c Dramatic dialogue in the most "modern" style of the day Recitative style as developed by Peri, but with more harmonic variety In Orfeo's lament, Tu se' morta, each phrase of text builds on the previous one. Monteverdi uses harmony to reflect the emotion of the text, with unprepared chord changes and DISSONANCES between the voice and the accompaniment. Monteverdi's use of the orchestra The orchestra for Orfeo consisted of forty instruments, including strings, flutes, cornetts, trumpets, sackbuts, and continuo instruments Monteverdi often specified which instruments were to play Brief orchestral interludes, including an introductory fanfare ("toccata") and several ritornellos Francesca Caccini (1587–ca. 1640) Background Daughter of Giulio Caccini Sang as a soloist and with her sister and stepmother, singing both sacred and secular music Worked for the Duke of Florence, whose court preferred ballets, masques, and intermedi to opera; became his highest-paid musician Composed many works for the duke, including La liberazione di Ruggiero dall'isola d'Alcina (The Freeing of Ruggiero from the Island of Alcina) in 1625 Composed for the visit of the Prince of Poland Performed in the courtyard of the duchess's villa Combined ballet and intermedi-style scenes but included the trappings of opera, including an opening sinfonia, prologue, recitatives, arias, choruses, instrumental ritornellos Choruses were either homophonic or madrigal-style (e.g., HWM ex. 9.2) Opera in Rome Wealthy prelates vied with each other in offering lavish entertainment, and in the 1620s the pope's nephews began sponsoring operas Roman opera libretto stories came from the lives of the saints, mythology, or epic poems Recitative and aria become more distinct in style Recitative style was more speechlike than that of Peri and Monteverdi Arias became more melodious, usually with strophic settings Domenico Mazzocchi (1592–1665) developed half-arias, mezz'arie, short tuneful interludes in the midst of recitative Two-part preludes became the accepted pattern for the overture Luigi Rossi (1597–1653) Composed Orfeo in 1647, on a libretto by Francesco Buti The libretto for this version adds incidents, characters, special effects, and comic episodes The integrity of the drama began to be less important Beautiful arias and ensembles Opera in Venice Venice was an ideal place for opera because its Carnival season (between Christmas and Lent) attracted people from all over Europe who were interested in entertainment The first opera produced in Venice was Benedetto Ferrari (ca. 1603–1681) and Francesco Manelli's (after 1594–1667) Andromeda, brought from Rome in 1637 to a public theater, the Teatro San Cassiano By 1678 there were nine opera theaters in Venice, and over 150 operas had been produced there All performances were ticketed Topics of operas included mythological subjects at first; epic tales and historical war tales became popular mid-century Striking stage effects portrayed clouds with choruses of singers, magical transformations, etc Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea (NAWM 55), 1642, was composed for Venice Monteverdi continued to blend speechlike recitative with more lyrical monody Scene flows between recitative and aria, with sections in measured arioso The content of the libretto rather than its poetic forms dictates the style of the setting Pier Francesco Cavalli (1602–1676), a student of Monteverdi, became a leading Venetian opera composer, and composed forty-one operas in which recitatives alternate with soloistic arias Antonio Cesti (1623–1669) His most famous opera was Il pomo d'oro (The Golden Apple), composed in 1667 to celebrate a royal wedding, with a large orchestra, many choruses, and elaborate machinery for special effects His Orontea (NAWM 56), ca. 1649, was more typical of mid-seventeenth century Venetian opera, and was performed frequently outside of Venice NAWM 56, Intorno all'idol mio Orontea's aria confessing her love to the sleeping Alidoro Two violins playing throughout, not just in ritornellos Large-scale form, with adjustments to the strophic form Bel canto style: smooth, mainly diatonic melodies with easy rhythms Mid-seventeenth century Italian (i.e., Venetian) opera had the main features it would maintain for the next two hundred years: Concentration on solo singing Separation of recitative and aria Distinctive aria types Reversal of the Florentine ideal of the text as master of the music; instead, the libretto became only a support for the musical structure