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OPERA, drama or comedy set to music. Dramatic texts in opera are sung; singing and stage action are almost always accompanied by instrumental (usually orchestral) accompaniment. Many operas are also characterized by the presence of orchestral interludes (introductions, conclusions, intervals, etc.) and plot breaks filled with ballet scenes.

Opera was born as an aristocratic pastime, but soon became an entertainment for the general public. The first public opera house opened in Venice in 1637, only four decades after the genre itself was born. Then the opera rapidly spread throughout Europe. As a public entertainment, it reached its highest development in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Throughout its history, opera has had a powerful influence on other musical genres. The symphony grew out of an instrumental introduction to Italian operas of the 18th century. The virtuoso passages and cadenzas of the piano concerto are largely the result of an attempt to reflect operatic-vocal virtuosity in the texture of the keyboard instrument. In the 19th century the harmonic and orchestral writing of R. Wagner, created by him for the grandiose "musical drama", determined the further development of a number of musical forms, and even in the 20th century. many musicians considered the release from the influence of Wagner as the mainstream of the movement towards new music.

opera form.

In the so-called. in grand opera, the most widespread form of the opera genre today, the entire text is sung. In comic opera, singing usually alternates with conversational scenes. The name "comic opera" (opéra comique in France, opera buffa in Italy, Singspiel in Germany) is largely conditional, because not all works of this type have a comic content (a characteristic feature of "comic opera" is the presence of spoken dialogues). A kind of light, sentimental comic opera, which became widespread in Paris and Vienna, began to be called an operetta; in America it is called a musical comedy. Plays with music (musicals) that have gained fame on Broadway are usually more serious in content than European operettas.

All these varieties of opera are based on the belief that music, and especially singing, enhance the dramatic expressiveness of the text. True, at times other elements played an equally important role in the opera. Thus, in the French opera of certain periods (and in Russian opera in the 19th century), dance and the spectacular side acquired very significant significance; German authors often considered the orchestral part not as an accompaniment, but as an equivalent vocal part. But throughout the history of opera, singing still played a dominant role.

If the singers are leading in an operatic performance, then the orchestral part forms the frame, the foundation of the action, moves it forward and prepares the audience for future events. The orchestra supports the singers, emphasizes the climaxes, fills in the gaps in the libretto or moments of scene change with its sound, and finally performs at the conclusion of the opera when the curtain falls.

Most operas have instrumental introductions to help set the listener's perception. In the 17th–19th centuries such an introduction was called an overture. Overtures were laconic and independent concert pieces, thematically unrelated to the opera and therefore easily replaced. For example, the overture to the tragedy Aurelian in Palmyra Rossini later turned into a comedy overture barber of seville. But in the second half of the 19th century. composers began to exert a much greater influence on the unity of mood and the thematic connection between the overture and the opera. A form of introduction (Vorspiel) arose, which, for example, in Wagner's later musical dramas, includes the main themes (leitmotifs) of the opera and directly puts into action. The form of the "autonomous" opera overture was in decline, and by the time Longing Puccini (1900) the overture could be replaced by just a few opening chords. In a number of operas of the 20th century. in general, there are no musical preparations for the stage action.

So, the operatic action develops inside the orchestral frame. But since the essence of opera is singing, the highest moments of drama are reflected in the completed forms of the aria, duet and other conventional forms where music comes to the fore. An aria is like a monologue, a duet is like a dialogue; in a trio, the conflicting feelings of one of the characters towards the other two participants are usually embodied. With further complication, various ensemble forms arise - such as a quartet in Rigoletto Verdi or sextet in Lucia de Lammermoor Donizetti. The introduction of such forms usually stops the action in order to make room for the development of one (or several) emotions. Only a group of singers, united in an ensemble, can express several points of view on ongoing events at once. Sometimes the choir acts as a commentator on the actions of opera heroes. In general, the text in opera choirs is pronounced relatively slowly, phrases are often repeated to make the content understandable to the listener.

The arias themselves do not constitute an opera. In the classical type of opera, the main means of conveying the plot to the public and developing the action is recitative: fast melodic recitation in free meter, supported by simple chords and based on natural speech intonations. In comic operas, recitative is often replaced by dialogue. The recitative may seem boring to listeners who do not understand the meaning of the spoken text, but it is often indispensable in the content structure of the opera.

Not in all operas it is possible to draw a clear line between recitative and aria. Wagner, for example, abandoned complete vocal forms, aiming at the continuous development of musical action. This innovation was picked up, with various modifications, by a number of composers. On Russian soil, the idea of a continuous "musical drama" was, independently of Wagner, first tested by A.S. Dargomyzhsky in stone guest and M.P. Mussorgsky in getting married- they called this form "conversational opera", opera dialogue.

Opera as drama.

The dramatic content of the opera is embodied not only in the libretto, but also in the music itself. The creators of the opera genre called their works dramma per musica - "drama expressed in music." Opera is more than a play with interpolated songs and dances. The dramatic play is self-sufficient; opera without music is only part of the dramatic unity. This applies even to operas with spoken scenes. In works of this type, for example, in Manon Lesko J. Massenet - musical numbers still retain a key role.

It is extremely rare for an opera libretto to be staged as a dramatic piece. Although the content of the drama is expressed in words and there are characteristic stage devices, nevertheless, without music, something important is lost - something that can only be expressed by music. For the same reason, only rarely can dramatic plays be used as a libretto, without first reducing the number of characters, simplifying the plot and main characters. It is necessary to leave room for the music to breathe, it must be repeated, form orchestral episodes, change mood and color depending on dramatic situations. And since singing still makes it difficult to understand the meaning of words, the text of the libretto must be so clear that it can be perceived when singing.

In this way, the opera subordinates to itself the lexical richness and polished form of a good dramatic play, but compensates for this damage with the possibilities of its own language, which appeals directly to the feelings of the listeners. Yes, literary source Madama Butterfly Puccini - D. Belasco's play about a geisha and an American naval officer is hopelessly outdated, and the tragedy of love and betrayal expressed in Puccini's music has not faded with time.

When composing operatic music, most composers observed certain conventions. For example, the use of high registers of voices or instruments meant "passion", dissonant harmonies expressed "fear". Such conventions were not arbitrary: people generally raise their voices when they are excited, and the physical sensation of fear is disharmonious. But experienced opera composers used more subtle means to express dramatic content in music. The melodic line had to organically correspond to the words on which it fell; harmonic writing had to reflect the ebb and flow of emotion. It was necessary to create different rhythmic models for impetuous declamatory scenes, solemn ensembles, love duets and arias. The expressive possibilities of the orchestra, including timbres and other characteristics associated with various instruments, were also placed at the service of dramatic goals.

However, dramatic expressiveness is not the only function of music in opera. The opera composer solves two contradictory tasks: to express the content of the drama and to give pleasure to the listeners. According to the first task, music serves the drama; according to the second, music is self-sufficient. Many great opera composers - Gluck, Wagner, Mussorgsky, R. Strauss, Puccini, Debussy, Berg - emphasized the expressive, dramatic beginning in the opera. From other authors, the opera acquired a more poetic, restrained, chamber look. Their art is marked by the subtlety of halftones and is less dependent on changes in public tastes. Lyric composers are loved by singers, because, although an opera singer must be an actor to a certain extent, his main task is purely musical: he must accurately reproduce the musical text, give the sound the necessary coloring, and phrasing beautifully. Lyric authors include the Neapolitans of the 18th century, Handel, Haydn, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Weber, Gounod, Masnet, Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. Few authors have achieved an almost absolute balance of dramatic and lyrical elements, among them Monteverdi, Mozart, Bizet, Verdi, Janacek and Britten.

operatic repertoire.

The traditional operatic repertoire consists mainly of works from the 19th century. and a number of operas of the late 18th and early 20th centuries. Romanticism, with its attraction to lofty deeds and distant lands, contributed to the development of operatic creativity throughout Europe; the growth of the middle class led to the penetration of folk elements into the operatic language and provided the opera with a large and grateful audience.

The traditional repertoire tends to reduce the entire genre diversity of opera to two very capacious categories - "tragedy" and "comedy". The first is usually presented wider than the second. The basis of the repertoire today is Italian and German operas, especially "tragedies". In the field of "comedy", Italian opera, or at least in Italian (for example, Mozart's operas), predominates. There are few French operas in the traditional repertoire, and they are usually performed in the manner of the Italians. Several Russian and Czech operas occupy their place in the repertoire, almost always performed in translation. In general, major opera troupes adhere to the tradition of performing works in the original language.

The main regulator of the repertoire is popularity and fashion. A certain role is played by the prevalence and cultivation of certain types of voices, although some operas (like Aide Verdi) are often performed without regard to whether the necessary voices are available or not (the latter is more common). In an era when operas with virtuoso coloratura parts and allegorical plots went out of fashion, few people cared about the appropriate style of their production. Handel's operas, for example, were neglected until the famous singer Joan Sutherland and others began to perform them. And the point here is not only in the "new" audience, which discovered the beauty of these operas, but also in the appearance of a large number of singers with a high vocal culture who can cope with sophisticated opera parts. In the same way, the revival of the work of Cherubini and Bellini was inspired by the brilliant performances of their operas and the discovery of the "novelty" of old works. Composers of the early baroque, especially Monteverdi, but also Peri and Scarlatti, were likewise brought out of oblivion.

All such revivals require commentary editions, especially the works of 17th-century authors, on whose instrumentation and dynamic principles we do not have exact information. Endless repetitions in the so-called. da capo arias in the operas of the Neapolitan school and in Handel are quite tedious in our time - the time of digests. The modern listener is hardly able to share the passion of the listeners even of the French Grand Opera of the 19th century. (Rossini, Spontini, Meyerbeer, Halevi) to an entertainment that occupied the whole evening (thus, the full score of the opera Fernando Cortes Spontini sounds for 5 hours, excluding intermissions). It is not uncommon for dark places in the score and its dimensions to tempt the conductor or stage director to cut, rearrange numbers, insert and even insert new pieces, often so clumsily that only a distant relative of the work that appears in the program appears before the public.

Singers.

According to the range of voices, opera singers are usually divided into six types. Three female types of voices, from high to low - soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto (the latter is rare these days); three men's - tenor, baritone, bass. Within each type, there may be several subspecies, depending on the quality of the voice and the style of singing. The lyric-coloratura soprano has a light and extremely mobile voice; such singers can perform virtuoso passages, fast scales, trills and other ornaments. Lyric-dramatic (lirico spinto) soprano - a voice of great brightness and beauty. The timbre of the dramatic soprano is rich and strong. The distinction between lyrical and dramatic voices also applies to tenors. There are two main types of basses: "singing bass" (basso cantante) for "serious" parties and comic (basso buffo).

Gradually, the rules for choosing a singing timbre for a certain role were formed. The parts of the main characters and heroines were usually entrusted to tenors and sopranos. In general, the older and more experienced the character, the lower his voice should be. An innocent young girl - for example, Gilda in Rigoletto Verdi is a lyric soprano, and the treacherous seductress Delilah in the opera Saint-Saens Samson and Delilah- mezzo-soprano. Part of Figaro, the energetic and witty hero of the Mozart Weddings of Figaro and Rossini Barber of Seville written by both composers for the baritone, although as the part of the protagonist, the part of Figaro should have been intended for the first tenor. Parts of peasants, wizards, people of mature age, rulers and old people were usually created for bass-baritones (for example, Don Giovanni in Mozart's opera) or basses (Boris Godunov for Mussorgsky).

Changes in public tastes played a certain role in shaping operatic vocal styles. The technique of sound production, the technique of vibrato (“sobbing”) has changed over the centuries. J. Peri (1561–1633), singer and author of the earliest partially preserved opera ( Daphne) supposedly sang in what is known as a white voice—in a comparatively flat, unchanging style, with little or no vibrato—in keeping with the interpretation of the voice as an instrument that was in vogue until the end of the Renaissance.

During the 18th century the cult of the virtuoso singer developed - first in Naples, then throughout Europe. At that time, the part of the protagonist in the opera was performed by a male soprano - castrato, that is, a timbre, the natural change of which was stopped by castration. Singers-castrati brought the range and mobility of their voices to the limits of what was possible. Opera stars such as the castrato Farinelli (C. Broschi, 1705–1782), whose soprano, according to stories, surpassed the sound of a trumpet in strength, or the mezzo-soprano F. Bordoni, about whom it was said that she could pull the sound longer than all the singers in the world, completely subordinated to their skill those composers whose music they performed. Some of them themselves composed operas and directed opera companies (Farinelli). It was taken for granted that the singers decorate the melodies composed by the composer with their own improvised ornaments, regardless of whether such decorations fit the opera's plot situation or not. The owner of any type of voice must be trained in the performance of fast passages and trills. In Rossini's operas, for example, the tenor must master the coloratura technique as well as the soprano. The revival of such art in the 20th century. allowed to give new life to the diverse operatic work of Rossini.

Only one singing style of the 18th century. almost unchanged to this day - the style of the comic bass, because simple effects and fast chatter leave little room for individual interpretations, musical or stage; perhaps, the areal comedies of D. Pergolesi (1749–1801) are performed today no less than 200 years ago. The talkative, quick-tempered old man is a highly revered figure in the operatic tradition, a favorite role for basses prone to vocal clowning.

The pure, iridescent singing style of bel canto (bel canto), so beloved by Mozart, Rossini and other opera composers of the late 18th and first half of the 19th centuries, in the second half of the 19th century. gradually gave way to a more powerful and dramatic style of singing. The development of modern harmonic and orchestral writing gradually changed the function of the orchestra in opera, from being an accompanist to being a protagonist, and consequently the singers needed to sing louder so that their voices were not drowned out by the instruments. This trend originated in Germany, but has influenced all of European opera, including Italian. The German "heroic tenor" (Heldentenor) is clearly generated by the need for a voice capable of engaging in a duel with the Wagner orchestra. Verdi's later compositions and the operas of his followers require "strong" (di forza) tenors and energetic dramatic (spinto) sopranos. The demands of romantic opera sometimes even lead to interpretations that seem to run counter to the intentions expressed by the composer himself. So, R. Strauss thought of Salome in his opera of the same name as "a 16-year-old girl with the voice of Isolde." However, the instrumentation of the opera is so dense that mature matron singers are needed to perform the main part.

Among the legendary opera stars of the past are E. Caruso (1873–1921, perhaps the most popular singer in history), J. Farrar (1882–1967, who was always followed by a retinue of admirers in New York), F. I. Chaliapin (1873 –1938, powerful bass, master of Russian realism), K. Flagstad (1895–1962, heroic soprano from Norway) and many others. In the next generation, they were replaced by M. Callas (1923–1977), B. Nilson (b. 1918), R. Tebaldi (1922–2004), J. Sutherland (b. 1926), L. Price (b. 1927) ), B. Sills (b. 1929), C. Bartoli (1966), R. Tucker (1913–1975), T. Gobbi (1913–1984), F. Corelli (b. 1921), C. Siepi (b. . 1923), J. Vickers (b. 1926), L. Pavarotti (b. 1935), S. Milnes (b. 1935), P. Domingo (b. 1941), J. Carreras (b. 1946).

Opera theatres.

Some buildings of opera houses are associated with a certain type of opera, and in some cases, indeed, the architecture of the theater was due to one or another type of opera performance. Thus, the Paris Opera (the name Grand Opera was fixed in Russia) was intended for a bright spectacle long before its current building was built in 1862–1874 (architect Ch. Garnier): the staircase and foyer of the palace were designed as would compete with the scenery of ballets and magnificent processions that took place on the stage. The "House of Solemn Performances" (Festspielhaus) in the Bavarian town of Bayreuth was created by Wagner in 1876 to stage his epic "musical dramas". Its stage, modeled on the scenes of ancient Greek amphitheaters, has great depth, and the orchestra is located in the orchestra pit and hidden from the audience, so that the sound dissipates and the singer does not need to overexert his voice. The original Metropolitan Opera House in New York (1883) was designed as a showcase for the world's finest singers and respectable lodge subscribers. The hall is so deep that its "diamond horseshoe" boxes provide visitors with more opportunities to see each other than a relatively shallow stage.

The appearance of opera houses, like a mirror, reflects the history of opera as a phenomenon of public life. Its origins are in the revival of the ancient Greek theater in aristocratic circles: this period corresponds to the oldest surviving opera house - the Olimpico (1583), built by A. Palladio in Vicenza. Its architecture, a reflection of the microcosm of Baroque society, is based on a characteristic horseshoe-shaped plan, where tiers of boxes fan out from the center - the royal box. A similar plan is preserved in the buildings of the theaters La Scala (1788, Milan), La Fenice (1792, burned down in 1992, Venice), San Carlo (1737, Naples), Covent Garden (1858, London). ). With fewer boxes, but with deeper tiers thanks to steel supports, this plan was used in such American opera houses as the Brooklyn Academy of Music (1908), opera houses in San Francisco (1932) and Chicago (1920). More modern solutions demonstrate the new building of the Metropolitan Opera in New York's Lincoln Center (1966) and the Sydney Opera House (1973, Australia).

The democratic approach is characteristic of Wagner. He demanded maximum concentration from the audience and built a theater where there are no boxes at all, and the seats are arranged in monotonous continuous rows. The austere Bayreuth interior was repeated only in the Munich Principal Theater (1909); even German theaters built after World War II date back to earlier examples. However, the Wagnerian idea seems to have contributed to the movement towards the concept of the arena, i.e. theater without a proscenium, which is proposed by some modern architects (the prototype is the ancient Roman circus): the opera is left to adapt itself to these new conditions. The Roman amphitheater in Verona is well suited for staging such monumental opera performances as Aida Verdi and William Tell Rossini.

opera festivals.

An important element of the Wagnerian concept of opera is the summer pilgrimage to Bayreuth. The idea was picked up: in the 1920s, the Austrian city of Salzburg organized a festival dedicated mainly to Mozart's operas and invited such talented people as director M. Reinhardt and conductor A. Toscanini to implement the project. Since the mid-1930s, Mozart's operatic work has shaped the English Glyndebourne Festival. After the Second World War, a festival appeared in Munich, dedicated mainly to the work of R. Strauss. Florence hosts the "Florence Musical May", where a very wide repertoire is performed, covering both early and modern operas.

STORY

The origins of opera.

The first example of the opera genre that has come down to us is Eurydice J. Peri (1600) is a modest work created in Florence on the occasion of the wedding of the French King Henry IV and Maria Medici. As expected, the young singer and madrigalist, who was close to the court, was ordered music for this solemn event. But Peri presented not the usual madrigal cycle on a pastoral theme, but something completely different. The musician was a member of the Florentine Camerata - a circle of scientists, poets and music lovers. For twenty years the members of the Camerata have been investigating the question of how ancient Greek tragedies were performed. They came to the conclusion that the Greek actors recited the text in a special declamatory manner, which is something between speech and real singing. But the real result of these experiments in the revival of a forgotten art was a new type of solo singing, called "monody": monody was performed in free rhythm with the simplest accompaniment. Therefore, Peri and his librettist O. Rinuccini set out the story of Orpheus and Eurydice in recitative, which was supported by the chords of a small orchestra, rather an ensemble of seven instruments, and presented the play in the Florentine Palazzo Pitti. This was Camerata's second opera; first score, Daphne Peri (1598), not preserved.

Early opera had predecessors. For seven centuries the church has cultivated liturgical dramas such as Game about Daniel where solo singing was accompanied by accompaniment of various instruments. In the 16th century other composers, in particular A. Gabrieli and O. Vecchi, combined secular choirs or madrigals into story cycles. But still, before Peri and Rinuccini, there was no monodic secular musical-dramatic form. Their work did not become a revival of ancient Greek tragedy. It brought something more - a new viable theatrical genre was born.

However, the full disclosure of the possibilities of the dramma per musica genre, put forward by the Florentine camerata, occurred in the work of another musician. Like Peri, C. Monteverdi (1567-1643) was an educated man from a noble family, but unlike Peri, he was a professional musician. A native of Cremona, Monteverdi became famous at the court of Vincenzo Gonzaga in Mantua and directed the choir of the Cathedral of St. Mark in Venice. Seven years after Eurydice Peri, he composed his own version of the legend of Orpheus - The legend of Orpheus. These works differ from each other in the same way that an interesting experiment differs from a masterpiece. Monteverdi increased the composition of the orchestra five times, giving each character his own group of instruments, and prefaced the opera with an overture. His recitative not only sounded the text of A. Strigio, but lived its own artistic life. Monteverdi's harmonic language is full of dramatic contrasts and even today impresses with its boldness and picturesqueness.

Monteverdi's subsequent surviving operas include Duel of Tancred and Clorinda(1624), based on a scene from Liberated Jerusalem Torquato Tasso - an epic poem about the crusaders; Return of Ulysses(1641) on a plot dating back to the ancient Greek legend of Odysseus; Coronation of Poppea(1642), from the time of the Roman Emperor Nero. The last work was created by the composer just a year before his death. This opera was the pinnacle of his work - partly due to the virtuosity of the vocal parts, partly due to the splendor of instrumental writing.

distribution of the opera.

In the era of Monteverdi, the opera rapidly conquered the major cities of Italy. Rome gave the operatic author L. Rossi (1598–1653), who staged his opera in Paris in 1647 Orpheus and Eurydice conquering the French world. F. Cavalli (1602–1676), who sang at Monteverdi's in Venice, created about 30 operas; Together with M.A. Chesti (1623–1669), Cavalli became the founder of the Venetian school, which played a major role in Italian opera in the second half of the 17th century. In the Venetian school, the monodic style, which came from Florence, opened the way for the development of recitative and aria. The arias gradually became longer and more complex, and virtuoso singers, usually castrati, began to dominate the opera stage. The plots of Venetian operas were still based on mythology or romanticized historical episodes, but now embellished with burlesque interludes that had nothing to do with the main action and spectacular episodes in which the singers demonstrated their virtuosity. At the Opera of Honor Golden Apple(1668), one of the most complex of that era, there are 50 actors, as well as 67 scenes and 23 scene changes.

Italian influence even reached England. At the end of the reign of Elizabeth I, composers and librettists began to create the so-called. masks - court performances that combined recitatives, singing, dance and were based on fantastic stories. This new genre occupied a large place in the work of G. Lowes, who in 1643 set to music Comus Milton, and in 1656 created the first real English opera - Siege of Rhodes. After the restoration of the Stuarts, the opera gradually began to gain a foothold on English soil. J. Blow (1649–1708), organist at Westminster Cathedral, composed an opera in 1684 Venus and Adonis, but the composition was still called a mask. The only truly great opera created by an Englishman was Dido and Aeneas G. Purcell (1659–1695), Blow's disciple and successor. First performed at a women's college around 1689, this little opera is noted for its amazing beauty. Purcell owned both French and Italian techniques, but his opera is a typically English work. Libretto Dido, owned by N. Tate, but the composer revived with his music, marked by the mastery of dramatic characteristics, the extraordinary grace and richness of arias and choirs.

Early French opera.

Like early Italian opera, French opera of the mid-16th century proceeded from the desire to revive the ancient Greek theatrical aesthetics. The difference was that the Italian opera emphasized singing, while the French one grew out of ballet, a favorite theatrical genre at the French court of that time. A capable and ambitious dancer who came from Italy, J. B. Lully (1632-1687) became the founder of French opera. He received a musical education, including studying the basics of composing technique, at the court of Louis XIV and then was appointed court composer. He had an excellent understanding of the stage, which was evident in his music for a number of Molière's comedies, especially for Tradesman in the nobility(1670). Impressed by the success of the opera companies that came to France, Lully decided to create his own troupe. Lully's operas, which he called "lyrical tragedies" (tragédies lyriques) , demonstrate a specifically French musical and theatrical style. The plots are taken from ancient mythology or from Italian poems, and the libretto, with their solemn verses in strictly defined sizes, is guided by the style of the great contemporary of Lully, the playwright J. Racine. Lully intersperses the development of the plot with long discussions about love and fame, and he inserts divertissements into the prologues and other points of the plot - scenes with dances, choirs and magnificent scenery. The true scale of the composer's work becomes clear today, when the productions of his operas are resumed - Alceste (1674), Atisa(1676) and Armides (1686).

"Czech Opera" is a conventional term that refers to two contrasting artistic trends: pro-Russian in Slovakia and pro-German in the Czech Republic. A recognized figure in Czech music is Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904), although only one of his operas is imbued with deep pathos. Mermaid- established itself in the world repertoire. In Prague, the capital of Czech culture, the main figure in the operatic world was Bedřich Smetana (1824–1884), whose The Bartered Bride(1866) quickly entered the repertoire, usually translated into German. The comic and uncomplicated plot made this work the most accessible in the legacy of Smetana, although he is the author of two more fiery patriotic operas - a dynamic "opera of salvation" Dalibor(1868) and picture-epic Libusha(1872, staged in 1881), which depicts the unification of the Czech people under the rule of a wise queen.

The unofficial center of the Slovak school was the city of Brno, where Leos Janacek (1854–1928), another ardent supporter of the reproduction of natural recitative intonations in music, in the spirit of Mussorgsky and Debussy, lived and worked. Janacek's diaries contain many notes of speech and natural sound rhythms. After several early and unsuccessful experiences in the operatic genre, Janáček first turned to a stunning tragedy from the life of the Moravian peasants in opera. Enufa(1904, the composer's most popular opera). In subsequent operas, he developed different plots: the drama of a young woman who, out of protest against family oppression, enters into an illegal love affair ( Katya Kabanova, 1921), life of nature ( Cunning Chanterelle, 1924), a supernatural incident ( Makropulos remedy, 1926) and Dostoevsky's account of the years he spent in hard labor ( Notes from the House of the Dead, 1930).

Janacek dreamed of success in Prague, but his "enlightened" colleagues treated his operas with disdain - both during the composer's lifetime and after his death. Like Rimsky-Korsakov, who edited Mussorgsky, Janáček's colleagues thought they knew better than the author how his scores should sound. Janáček's international recognition came later as a result of the restoration efforts of John Tyrrell and the Australian conductor Charles Mackeras.

Operas of the 20th century

The First World War put an end to the romantic era: the sublimity of feelings inherent in romanticism could not survive the upheavals of the war years. The established opera forms were also in decline, it was a time of uncertainty and experimentation. The craving for the Middle Ages, expressed with particular force in parsifal And Pelléas, gave the last flashes in such works as Three kings love(1913) Italo Montemezzi (1875–1952), Knights of Ekebu(1925) Riccardo Zandonai (1883–1944), Semirama(1910) and Flame(1934) Ottorino Respighi (1879–1936). Austrian post-romanticism in the person of Franz Schrekker (1878–1933; distant sound, 1912; stigmatized, 1918), Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871–1942; Florentine tragedy;Dwarf– 1922) and Erik Wolfgang Korngold (1897–1957; Dead city, 1920; Miracle of Heliana, 1927) used medieval motifs for artistic exploration of spiritualistic ideas or pathological psychic phenomena.

The Wagner heritage, picked up by Richard Strauss, then passed to the so-called. new Viennese school, in particular to A. Schoenberg (1874–1951) and A. Berg (1885–1935), whose operas are a kind of anti-romantic reaction: this is expressed both in a conscious departure from the traditional musical language, especially harmonic, and in the choice "violent" scenes. Berg's first opera Wozzeck(1925) - the story of an unfortunate, oppressed soldier - is a grippingly powerful drama, despite its extraordinarily complex, highly intellectual form; composer's second opera, Lulu(1937, completed after the death of the author F. Tserhoy), is a no less expressive musical drama about a dissolute woman. After a series of small acutely psychological operas, among which the most famous is Expectation(1909), Schoenberg spent his whole life working on the plot Moses and Aaron(1954, the opera remained unfinished) - based on the biblical story about the conflict between the tongue-tied prophet Moses and the eloquent Aaron, who tempted the Israelis to bow to the golden calf. Scenes of orgy, destruction and human sacrifice, which are able to outrage any theatrical censorship, as well as the extreme complexity of the composition, hinder its popularity in the opera house.

Composers from different national schools began to emerge from the influence of Wagner. Thus, the symbolism of Debussy served as an impetus for the Hungarian composer B. Bartok (1881–1945) to create his psychological parable Duke Bluebeard's castle(1918); another Hungarian author, Z. Kodály, in the opera Hari Janos(1926) turned to folklore sources. In Berlin, F. Busoni rethought the old plots in operas Harlequin(1917) and Doctor Faust(1928, remained unfinished). In all the works mentioned, the all-pervading symphonism of Wagner and his followers gives way to a much more concise style, to the point of monody predominating. However, the operatic heritage of this generation of composers is relatively small, and this circumstance, together with the list of unfinished works, testifies to the difficulties that the opera genre experienced in the era of expressionism and impending fascism.

At the same time, new currents began to emerge in war-ravaged Europe. The Italian comic opera gave its last escape in a small masterpiece by G. Puccini Gianni Schicchi(1918). But in Paris, M. Ravel raised the fading torch and created his own wonderful Spanish hour(1911) and then child and magic(1925, to libretto by Collet). Opera appeared in Spain - short life(1913) and Maestro Pedro booth(1923) Manuel de Falla.

In England, the opera experienced a real revival - for the first time in several centuries. The earliest specimens immortal hour(1914) Rutland Baughton (1878–1960) on a subject from Celtic mythology, Traitors(1906) and boatswain's wife(1916) Ethel Smith (1858–1944). The first is a bucolic love story, while the second is about pirates who make their home in a poor English coastal village. Smith's operas enjoyed some popularity in Europe as well, as did the operas of Frederic Delius (1862–1934), especially Romeo and Juliet Village(1907). Delius, however, was by nature incapable of embodying conflict dramaturgy (both in text and in music), and therefore his static musical dramas rarely appear on stage.

The burning problem for English composers was the search for a competitive plot. Savitri Gustav Holst was written based on one of the episodes of the Indian epic Mahabharata(1916) and Hugh the Drover R. Vaughan-Williams (1924) is a pastoral richly equipped with folk songs; the same is true in Vaughan Williams' opera Sir John in love according to Shakespeare Falstaff.

B. Britten (1913–1976) succeeded in raising English opera to new heights; his first opera turned out to be a success Peter Grimes(1945) - a drama that takes place on the seashore, where the central character is a fisherman rejected by people, who is in the grip of mystical experiences. Source of comedy-satire Albert Herring(1947) became a short story by Maupassant, and in Billy Budde Melville's allegorical story is used, which treats of good and evil (the historical background is the era of the Napoleonic wars). This opera is usually recognized as Britten's masterpiece, although he later successfully worked in the genre of "grand opera" - examples are Gloriana(1951), which tells about the turbulent events of the reign of Elizabeth I, and A dream in a summer night(1960; Shakespeare's libretto was created by the composer's closest friend and collaborator, singer P. Pierce). In the 1960s, Britten paid much attention to parable operas ( woodcock river – 1964, Cave action – 1966, prodigal son- 1968); he also created a television opera Owen Wingrave(1971) and chamber operas screw turn And Desecration of Lucretia. The absolute pinnacle of the composer's operatic work was his last work in this genre - Death in Venice(1973), where extraordinary ingenuity is combined with great sincerity.

Britten's operatic heritage is so significant that few of the English authors of the next generation were able to emerge from its shadow, although the famous success of Peter Maxwell Davies' opera (b. 1934) is worth mentioning. taverner(1972) and operas by Harrison Birtwhistle (b. 1934) gavan(1991). As for the composers of other countries, we can note such works as Aniara(1951) by Swede Karl-Birger Blomdahl (1916–1968), where the action takes place on an interplanetary ship and uses electronic sounds, or an operatic cycle Let there be light(1978–1979) by the German Karlheinz Stockhausen (the cycle is subtitled Seven Days of Creation and is expected to be completed within a week). But, of course, such innovations are fleeting. The operas of the German composer Carl Orff (1895-1982) are more significant - for example, Antigone(1949), which is built on the model of an ancient Greek tragedy using rhythmic recitation against the background of ascetic accompaniment (mainly percussion instruments). The brilliant French composer F. Poulenc (1899–1963) began with a humorous opera Tiresia's breasts(1947), and then turned to aesthetics, which puts natural speech intonation and rhythm at the forefront. Two of his best operas were written in this vein: the mono-opera human voice after Jean Cocteau (1959; libretto built like a telephone conversation of the heroine) and an opera Dialogues of the Carmelites, which describes the suffering of the nuns of a Catholic order during the French Revolution. Poulenc's harmonies are deceptively simple and at the same time emotionally expressive. The international popularity of Poulenc's works was also facilitated by the composer's demand that his operas be performed whenever possible in local languages.

Juggling like a magician with different styles, I.F. Stravinsky (1882-1971) created an impressive number of operas; among them - written for Diaghilev's entreprise romantic Nightingale based on the fairy tale by H.H. Andersen (1914), Mozartian The Rake's Adventures based on engravings by Hogarth (1951), as well as a static, reminiscent of antique friezes Oedipus rex(1927), which is intended equally for the theater and for the concert stage. During the German Weimar Republic, K. Weil (1900–1950) and B. Brecht (1898–1950), who remade Beggar's opera John Gay into an even more popular Threepenny Opera(1928), composed a now forgotten opera on a sharply satirical plot The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny(1930). The rise of the Nazis put an end to this fruitful cooperation, and Vail, who emigrated to America, began working in the American musical genre.

The Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera (1916–1983) was in great vogue in the 1960s and 1970s when his expressionistic and overtly erotic operas appeared. Don Rodrigo (1964), Bomarzo(1967) and Beatrice Cenci(1971). The German Hans Werner Henze (b. 1926) rose to prominence in 1951 when his opera Boulevard Loneliness to a libretto by Greta Weill based on the story of Manon Lescaut; the musical language of the work combines jazz, blues and 12-tone technique. Henze's subsequent operas include: Elegy for young lovers(1961; the action takes place in the snowy Alps; the score is dominated by the sounds of xylophone, vibraphone, harp and celesta), young lord, shot through with black humor (1965), bassaridae(1966; by bacchae Euripides, English libretto by C. Cullman and W. H. Auden), anti-militarist We will come to the river(1976), children's fairy tale opera pollicino And Betrayed Sea(1990). In the UK, Michael Tippett (1905–1998) worked in the operatic genre. ) : Wedding on Midsummer Night(1955), garden labyrinth (1970), The ice has broken(1977) and science fiction opera New Year(1989) - all to the composer's libretto. The avant-garde English composer Peter Maxwell Davies is the author of the aforementioned opera. taverner(1972; plot from the life of the 16th century composer John Taverner) and Resurrection (1987).

Notable opera singers

Björling, Jussi (Johan Jonathan)(Björling, Jussi) (1911–1960), Swedish singer (tenor). He studied at the Stockholm Royal Opera School and made his debut there in 1930 in a small role in Manon Lesko. A month later, Ottavio sang in Don Juan. From 1938 to 1960, with the exception of the war years, he sang at the Metropolitan Opera and enjoyed particular success in the Italian and French repertoire.
Galli-Curci Amelita .
Gobbi, Tito(Gobbi, Tito) (1915-1984), Italian singer (baritone). He studied in Rome and made his debut there as Germont in La Traviate. He performed a lot in London and after 1950 in New York, Chicago and San Francisco - especially in Verdi's operas; continued to sing in major theaters in Italy. Gobbi is considered the best performer of the part of Scarpia, which he sang about 500 times. He has acted in opera films many times.
Domingo, Placido .
Callas, Mary .
Caruso, Enrico .
Corelli, Franco- (Corelli, Franco) (b. 1921–2003), Italian singer (tenor). At the age of 23 he studied for some time at the Pesaro Conservatory. In 1952, he took part in the vocal competition of the Florentine Musical May festival, where the director of the Rome Opera invited him to pass a test at the Spoletto Experimental Theatre. Soon he performed in this theater in the role of Don José in Carmen. At the opening of the La Scala season in 1954, he sang with Maria Callas in Vestal Spontini. In 1961 he made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Manrico in Troubadour. Among his most famous parties is Cavaradossi in Tosca.
London, George(London, George) (1920-1985), Canadian singer (bass-baritone), real name George Bernstein. He studied in Los Angeles and made his Hollywood debut in 1942. In 1949 he was invited to the Vienna Opera, where he made his debut as Amonasro in Aide. He sang at the Metropolitan Opera (1951-1966), and also performed in Bayreuth from 1951 to 1959 as Amfortas and the Flying Dutchman. He superbly performed the parts of Don Giovanni, Scarpia and Boris Godunov.
Milnes, Cheryl .
Nilson, Birgit(Nilsson, Birgit) (1918–2005), Swedish singer (soprano). She studied in Stockholm and made her debut there as Agatha in freestyle shooter Weber. Her international fame dates back to 1951 when she sang Elektra in Idomeneo Mozart at the Glyndebourne Festival. In the 1954/1955 season she sang Brunnhilde and Salome at the Munich Opera. She made her debut as Brunnhilde at London's Covent Garden (1957) and as Isolde at the Metropolitan Opera (1959). She also succeeded in other roles, especially Turandot, Tosca and Aida. Died December 25, 2005 in Stockholm.
Pavarotti, Luciano .
Patti, Adeline(Patti, Adelina) (1843-1919), Italian singer (coloratura soprano). She made her debut in New York in 1859 as Lucia di Lammermoor, in London in 1861 (as Amina in Sleepwalker). She sang at Covent Garden for 23 years. With a great voice and brilliant technique, Patti was one of the last representatives of the true bel canto style, but as a musician and as an actress she was much weaker.
Price, Leontina .
Sutherland, Joan .
Skipa, Tito(Schipa, Tito) (1888-1965), Italian singer (tenor). He studied in Milan and made his debut in Vercelli in 1911 as Alfred ( La Traviata). Constantly performed in Milan and Rome. In 1920–1932 he had an engagement at the Chicago Opera, and sang constantly in San Francisco from 1925 and at the Metropolitan Opera (1932–1935 and 1940–1941). He superbly performed the parts of Don Ottavio, Almaviva, Nemorino, Werther and Wilhelm Meister in Mignone.
Scotto, Renata(Scotto, Renata) (b. 1935), Italian singer (soprano). She made her debut in 1954 at the New Theater of Naples as Violetta ( La Traviata), in the same year she sang for the first time at La Scala. She specialized in bel canto repertoire: Gilda, Amina, Norina, Linda de Chamouni, Lucia di Lammermoor, Gilda and Violetta. Her American debut as Mimi from bohemia took place at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1960, first performed at the Metropolitan Opera as Cio-Cio-San in 1965. Her repertoire also includes the roles of Norma, Gioconda, Tosca, Manon Lescaut and Francesca da Rimini.
Siepi, Cesare(Siepi, Cesare) (b. 1923), Italian singer (bass). He made his debut in 1941 in Venice as Sparafucillo in Rigoletto. After the war, he began performing at La Scala and other Italian opera houses. From 1950 to 1973 he was the lead bass player at the Metropolitan Opera, where he sang, among others, Don Giovanni, Figaro, Boris, Gurnemanz and Philipp in Don Carlos.
Tebaldi, Renata(Tebaldi, Renata) (b. 1922), Italian singer (soprano). She studied in Parma and made her debut in 1944 in Rovigo as Elena ( Mephistopheles). Toscanini chose Tebaldi to perform at the post-war opening of La Scala (1946). In 1950 and 1955 she performed in London, in 1955 she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Desdemona and sang in this theater until her retirement in 1975. Among her best roles are Tosca, Adriana Lecouvreur, Violetta, Leonora, Aida and other dramatic roles from operas by Verdi.
Farrar, Geraldine .
Chaliapin, Fedor Ivanovich .
Schwarzkopf, Elizabeth(Schwarzkopf, Elisabeth) (b. 1915), German singer (soprano). She studied with in Berlin and made her debut at the Berlin Opera in 1938 as one of the Flower Maidens in parsifal Wagner. After several performances at the Vienna Opera, she was invited to play leading roles. Later she also sang at Covent Garden and La Scala. In 1951 in Venice at the premiere of Stravinsky's opera The Rake's Adventures sang the part of Anna, in 1953 at La Scala she participated in the premiere of Orff's stage cantata Triumph of Aphrodite. In 1964 she performed for the first time at the Metropolitan Opera. She left the opera stage in 1973.

Literature:

Makhrova E.V. The Opera House in German Culture in the Second Half of the 20th Century. St. Petersburg, 1998
Simon G.W. One hundred great operas and their plots. M., 1998

Varieties of opera

The opera begins its history at the turn of the 16th-17th centuries in the circle of Italian philosophers, poets and musicians - "Camerata". The first work in this genre appeared in 1600, the creators took the famous the story of Orpheus and Eurydice . Many centuries have passed since then, but composers continue to compose operas with enviable regularity. Throughout its history, this genre has undergone many changes, ranging from themes, musical forms and ending with its structure. What are the varieties of operas, when did they appear and what are their features - let's figure it out.

Opera types:

Serious opera(opera seria, opera seria) is an opera genre that was born in Italy at the turn of the 17th - 18th centuries. Such works were composed on historical-heroic, legendary or mythological subjects. A distinctive feature of this type of opera was excessive pomposity in absolutely everything - the main role was assigned to virtuoso singers, the simplest feelings and emotions were presented in long arias, lush scenery prevailed on the stage. Costumed concerts - that's what the seria operas were called.

comic opera originates in 18th century Italy. It was called opera-buffa and was created as an alternative to the "boring" opera seria. Hence the small scale of the genre, a small number of actors, comic techniques in singing, for example, tongue twisters, and an increase in the number of ensembles - a kind of revenge for the "long" virtuoso arias. In different countries, the comic opera had its own names - in England it is a ballad opera, France defined it as a comic opera, in Germany it was called a singspiel, and in Spain it was called a tonadilla.

semi-serious opera(opera semiseria) - a border genre between serious and comic opera, whose homeland is Italy. This type of opera appeared at the end of the 18th century, the plot was based on serious and sometimes tragic stories, but with a happy ending.

Grand opera(grand opera) - originated in France at the end of the 1st third of the 19th century. This genre is characterized by a large scale (5 acts instead of the usual 4), the obligatory presence of a dance act, and an abundance of scenery. They were created mainly on historical themes.

Romantic opera - originated in 19th century Germany. This type of opera includes all musical dramas created on the basis of romantic plots.

opera ballet originates in France at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries. The second name of this genre is the French court ballet. Such works were created for masquerades, pastorals and other festivities held at royal and eminent courts. Such performances were distinguished by their brightness, beautiful scenery, but the performances in them were not connected by plot to each other.

Operetta- “little opera”, appeared in France in the 2nd half of the 19th century. A distinctive feature of this genre is a comic unpretentious plot, a modest scale, simple forms, and "light", easily memorized music.

composition - a musical theatrical performance based on the synthesis of words, stage action and music. Originated in Italy at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

OPERA

ital. opera - composition), a genre of theatrical art, a musical and dramatic performance based on the synthesis of words, stage action and music. Representatives of many professions participate in the creation of an opera performance: composer, director, writer, composing dramatic dialogues and lines, as well as writing the libretto (summary); an artist who decorates the stage with scenery and composes the costumes of the characters; illuminators and many others. But the decisive role in the opera is played by music, which expresses the feelings of the characters.

The musical "statements" of the characters in the opera are aria, arioso, cavatina, recitative, choirs, orchestral numbers, etc. The part of each character is written for a specific voice - high or low. The highest female voice is soprano, the middle one is mezzo-soprano, and the lowest one is contralto. For male singers, these are respectively tenor, baritone and bass. Sometimes opera performances include ballet scenes. There are historical-legendary, heroic-epic, folk-fabulous, lyrical-everyday, and other operas.

Opera originated in Italy at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. Music for operas was written by W. A. Mozart, L. van Beethoven, G. Rossini, V. Bellini, G. Donizetti, G. Verdi, R. Wagner, C. Gounod, J. Bizet, B. Smetana, A. Dvorak , G. Puccini, K. Debussy, R. Strauss and many other major composers. The first Russian operas were created in the second half. 18th century In the 19th century Russian opera experienced a bright flowering in the work of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, M. I. Glinka, M. P. Mussorgsky, P. I. Tchaikovsky, in the 20th century. – S. S. Prokofiev, D. D. Shostakovich, T. N. Khrennikov, R. K. Shchedrin, A. P. Petrov and others.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

Target:

concept of genre.
essence of opera
diverse embodiment of various forms of music

Tasks:

Tutorial:
consolidate the concept of genre: opera.
Developing:
the main thing in the opera is human characters, feelings and passions, clashes and conflicts that can be revealed by music.
Develop the ability to reflect on the music and works of composers of different eras.
Educational: to awaken students' interest in the genre - opera, the desire to listen to it not only in the classroom, but also outside it.

During the classes

1. Music sounds. J.B. Pergolesi.”Stabat Mater dolorosa”

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Among countless wonders,
What is given to us by nature itself,
There is one, incomparable with anything,
Unfading through any years -

He gives a quivering delight of love
And warms the soul in the rain and cold,
We return sweet days,
When every breath was full of hope.

Before him, both the beggar and the king are equal -
The fate of the singer is to give himself up, to burn out.
He was sent by God to do good -
Death has no power over beauty!
Ilya Korop

“The 18th century was the century of beauty, the 19th century was the century of feeling, and the finale of the 20th century was the century of pure drive. And the viewer comes to the theater not for a concept, not for ideas, but to feed on energy, he needs a shock. Therefore, such a demand for pop culture - there is more energy than in academic culture. Cecilia Bartoli told me that she sings opera like rock music, and I understood the mystery of the fantastic energy of this great singer. Opera has always been a folk art form, in Italy it developed almost like a sport - a competition of singers. And it has to be popular.” Valery Kichin

In literature, music and other arts, various types of works have developed during their existence. In literature, this is, for example, a novel, a story, a story; in poetry - a poem, a sonnet, a ballad; in fine arts - landscape, portrait, still life; in music - opera, symphony ... The type of works within one kind of art is called the French word genre (genre).

5. Singers. During the 18th century the cult of the virtuoso singer developed - first in Naples, then throughout Europe. At that time, the part of the protagonist in the opera was performed by a male soprano - castrato, that is, a timbre, the natural change of which was stopped by castration. Singers-castrati brought the range and mobility of their voices to the limits of what was possible. Opera stars such as the castrato Farinelli (C. Broschi, 1705–1782), whose soprano, according to stories, surpassed the sound of a trumpet in strength, or the mezzo-soprano F. Bordoni, about whom it was said that she could pull the sound longer than all the singers in the world, completely subordinated to their skill those composers whose music they performed. Some of them themselves composed operas and directed opera companies (Farinelli). It was taken for granted that the singers decorate the melodies composed by the composer with their own improvised ornaments, regardless of whether such decorations fit the opera's plot situation or not. The owner of any type of voice must be trained in the performance of fast passages and trills. In Rossini's operas, for example, the tenor must master the coloratura technique as well as the soprano. The revival of such art in the 20th century. allowed to give new life to the diverse operatic work of Rossini.

The timbre of the dramatic soprano is rich and strong. The distinction between lyrical and dramatic voices also applies to tenors. There are two main types of basses: “singing bass” (basso cantante) for “serious” parties and comic (basso buffo).

Assignment for students. Determine what type of voice performs:

Santa Claus part - bass
Spring part – mezzo-soprano
Snow Maiden part - soprano
Lel part - mezzo-soprano or contralto
Mizgir part - baritone

The chorus in the opera is interpreted in different ways. It may be a background unrelated to the main storyline; sometimes a kind of commentator of what is happening; its artistic possibilities make it possible to show monumental pictures of folk life, to reveal the relationship between the hero and the masses (for example, the role of the choir in MP Mussorgsky's folk musical dramas "Boris Godunov" and "Khovanshchina").

Let's listen:

Prologue. Picture one. M. P. Mussorgsky “Boris Godunov”
Picture two. M. P. Mussorgsky “Boris Godunov”

Assignment for students. Determine who is the hero and who is the mass.

The hero here is Boris Godunov. The mass is the people. The idea to write an opera based on the plot of Pushkin's historical tragedy Boris Godunov (1825) was suggested to Mussorgsky by his friend, a prominent historian, Professor VV Nikolsky. Mussorgsky was extremely fascinated by the opportunity to translate the topic of the relationship between the tsar and the people, which was acutely relevant for his time, to bring the people as the main character in the opera. “I understand the people as a great personality, animated by a single idea,” he wrote. “This is my task. I tried to solve it in the opera.”

6. Orchestra. In the musical dramaturgy of the opera, a large role is assigned to the orchestra, symphonic means of expression serve to more fully reveal the images. The opera also includes independent orchestral episodes - overture, intermission (introduction to individual acts). Another component of the opera performance is ballet, choreographic scenes, where plastic images are combined with musical ones. If the singers are leading in an operatic performance, then the orchestral part forms the frame, the foundation of the action, moves it forward and prepares the audience for future events. The orchestra supports the singers, emphasizes the climaxes, fills in the gaps in the libretto or moments of scene change with its sound, and finally performs at the conclusion of the opera when the curtain falls. Let's listen to Rossini's overture to the comedy "The Barber of Seville" . The form of the “autonomous” operatic overture was in decline, and by the time of the appearance of “Tosca” Puccini (1900) the overture could be replaced by just a few opening chords. In a number of operas of the 20th century. in general, there are no musical preparations for the stage action. But since the essence of opera is singing, the highest moments of drama are reflected in the completed forms of the aria, duet and other conventional forms where music comes to the fore. An aria is like a monologue, a duet is like a dialogue; in a trio, the conflicting feelings of one of the characters towards the other two participants are usually embodied. With further complication, different ensemble forms arise.

Let's listen:

Gilda's aria "Rigoletto" by Verdi. Action 1st. Left alone, the girl repeats the name of the mysterious admirer ("Caro nome che il mio cor"; "The heart is full of joy").
Duet of Gilda and Rigoletto "Rigoletto" by Verdi. Action 1st. (“Pari siamo! Io la lingua, egli ha il pugnale”; “We are equal with him: I own the word, and he the dagger”).
Quartet in Verdi's Rigoletto. Action 3. (Quartet "Bella figlia dell" amore "; "O young beauty").
Sextet in Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti

The introduction of such forms usually stops the action in order to make room for the development of one (or several) emotions. Only a group of singers, united in an ensemble, can express several points of view on ongoing events at once. Sometimes the choir acts as a commentator on the actions of opera heroes. In general, the text in opera choirs is pronounced relatively slowly, phrases are often repeated to make the content understandable to the listener.

Not in all operas it is possible to draw a clear line between recitative and aria. Wagner, for example, abandoned complete vocal forms, aiming at the continuous development of musical action. This innovation was picked up, with various modifications, by a number of composers. On Russian soil, the idea of a continuous “musical drama” was, independently of Wagner, first tested by A.S. Dargomyzhsky in “The Stone Guest” and M.P. Mussorgsky in “The Marriage” – they called this form “conversational opera”, opera dialogue.

7. Opera houses.

the Parisian “Opera” (the name “Grand Opera” was fixed in Russia) was intended for a bright spectacle (Fig. 2).
The Festspielhaus in the Bavarian town of Bayreuth was created by Wagner in 1876 to stage his epic musical dramas.
The Metropolitan Opera House building in New York (1883) was conceived as a showcase for the best singers in the world and for respectable subscribers of lodges.
"Olympico" (1583), built by A. Palladio in Vicenza. Its architecture, a reflection of the microcosm of Baroque society, is based on a characteristic horseshoe-shaped plan, where tiers of boxes fan out from the center - the royal box.
theater “La Scala” (1788, Milan)
"San Carlo" (1737, Naples)
"Covent Garden" (1858, London)
Brooklyn Academy of Music (1908) America
opera house in San Francisco (1932)
opera house in Chicago (1920)
new building of the Metropolitan Opera in New York's Lincoln Center (1966)
Sydney Opera House (1973, Australia).

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Thus, the opera dominated the whole world.

In the era of Monteverdi, the opera rapidly conquered the major cities of Italy.

Romantic opera in Italy

Italian influence even reached England.

Like early Italian opera, French opera of the mid-16th century proceeded from the desire to revive the ancient Greek theatrical aesthetics.

If in France the spectacle was at the forefront, then in the rest of Europe it was the aria. Naples became the center of opera activity at this stage.

Another type of opera originates from Naples - the opera - buffa (opera - buffa), which arose as a natural reaction to the opera - seria. Passion for this type of opera quickly swept the cities of Europe - Vienna, Paris, London. Romantic opera in France.

The ballad opera influenced the development of the German comic opera, the Singspiel. Romantic opera in Germany.

Russian opera of the era of romanticism.

“Czech Opera” is a conventional term that refers to two contrasting artistic trends: pro-Russian in Slovakia and pro-German in the Czech Republic.

Homework for students. Each student is given the task to get acquainted with the work of the composer (of his choice), where the opera flourished. Namely: J. Peri, C. Monteverdi, F. Cavalli, G. Purcell, J. B. Lully, J. F. Rameau, A. Scarlatti, G. F. Handel, J. B. Pergolesi, J. Paisiello , K.V. Gluck, W.A. Mozart, G. Rossini, V. Bellini, G. Donizetti, G. Verdi, R. Leoncavallo, G. Puccini, R. Wagner, K. M. Weber, L. Van Beethoven, R. Strauss, J. Meyerbeer, G. Berlioz, J. Bizet, Ch. Gounod, J. Offenbach, C. Saint-Saens, L. Delibes, J. Massenet, C. Debussy, M. P. Mussorgsky, M.P. Glinka, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, A.P. Borodin, P.I. , Carl Orff, F. Poulenc, I.F. Stravinsky

8. Famous opera singers.

Gobbi, Tito, Domingo, Placido
Callas, Mary (Fig. 3) .
Caruso, Enrico, Corelli, Franco
Pavarotti, Luciano, Patti, Adeline
Scotto, Renata, Tebaldi, Renata
Chaliapin, Fedor Ivanovich, Schwarzkopf, Elisabeth

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9. Demand and modernity of opera.

Opera is a rather conservative genre by its nature. This is due to the fact that there is a centuries-old tradition, due to the technical capabilities of performance. This genre owes its longevity to the great effect it has on the listener through the synthesis of several arts capable of producing an impression in themselves. On the other hand, opera is an extremely resource-intensive genre, and it is not for nothing that the word “opera” in Latin means “work”: of all musical genres, it has the longest duration, it requires high-quality scenery for staging, maximum skill of singers for performance and a high level the complexity of the composition. Thus, opera is the limit to which the art strives in order to make the maximum impression on the audience using all available resources. However, due to the conservatism of the genre, this set of resources is difficult to expand: it cannot be said that over the past decades the composition of the symphony orchestra has not changed at all, but the whole foundation has remained the same. The vocal technique, connected with the need for great power when performing the opera on stage, also changes little. Music is limited in its movement by these resources.

Stage performance in this sense is more dynamic: you can stage a classical opera in an avant-garde style without changing a single note in the score. It is usually believed that the main thing in the opera is music, and therefore the original scenography cannot ruin a masterpiece. However, this usually doesn't work out. Opera is a synthetic art and scenography is important. A production that does not correspond to the spirit of the music and the plot is perceived as an inclusion alien to the work. Thus, classical opera often does not meet the needs of directors who want to express modern sentiments on the stage of musical theater, and something new is required.

The first solution to this problem is a musical.

The second option is modern opera.

There are three degrees of artistic content of music.

Entertainment . This variant is of no interest, since for its implementation it is enough to use ready-made rules, especially since it does not meet the requirements for modern opera.
Interest. In this case, the work brings pleasure to the listener thanks to the ingenuity of the composer, who found an original and most effective way to solve the artistic problem.
Depth. Music can express high feelings that give the listener inner harmony. Here we are faced with the fact that modern opera should not harm the mental state. This is very important, because, despite the high artistic merit, music can contain features that imperceptibly subjugate the will of the listener. Thus, it is widely known that Sibelius contributes to depression and suicide, and Wagner - internal aggression.

The significance of modern opera lies precisely in the combination of modern technology and fresh sound with the high artistic merit characteristic of opera in general. This is one way to reconcile the desire to express modern sentiments in art with the need to maintain the purity of the classics.

The ideal vocal, based on cultural roots, refracts in its individuality the folk school of singing, and can serve as the basis for the unique sound of modern operas written for specific performers.

You can write a masterpiece that does not fit into the framework of any theory, but sounds great. But for this it still must satisfy the requirements of perception. These rules, like any other, can be broken.

Homework for students. Mastering the characteristic features of the composer's style of works by Russian composers, Western European and contemporary composers. Analysis of musical works (on the example of an opera).

Used Books:

Malinina E.M. Vocal education of children. - M., 1967.
Kabalevsky D.B. Music program in a secondary school. - M., 1982.
Right R. Series "Lives of Great Composers". LLP ”POMATUR”. M., 1996.
Makhrova E.V. Opera theater in the culture of Germany in the second half of the 20th century. St. Petersburg, 1998.
Simon G.W. One hundred great operas and their plots. M., 1998.
Yaroslavtseva L.K. Opera. Singers. Vocal schools in Italy, France, Germany in the 17th - 20th centuries. – “Publishing House “Golden Fleece”, 2004
Dmitriev L.B. Soloists of the theater "La Scala" about vocal art: Dialogues about the technique of singing. - M., 2002.

Before considering the genre of opera and how to work with it in a music lesson, I would like to define what opera is.

“Opera, and it is only opera, brings you closer to people, makes your music related to the real audience, makes you the property of not only individual circles, but, under favorable conditions, of the whole people.” These words belong to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the great Russian composer.

This is a musical-dramatic work (often with the inclusion of ballet scenes), intended for stage performance, the text of which is fully or partially sung, usually accompanied by an orchestra. An opera is written for a specific literary text. The impact of the dramatic work and the performance of the actors in the opera is infinitely increased by the expressive power of music. And vice versa: music acquires extraordinary concreteness and figurativeness in the opera.

The desire to enhance the impact of a theatrical work with the help of music arose already in very distant times, at the dawn of the existence of dramatic art. In the open air, at the foot of the mountain, the slopes of which, processed in the form of steps, served as places for spectators, festive performances took place in Ancient Greece. Actors in masks, in special shoes that increased their height, reciting in a singsong voice, performed tragedies that glorified the strength of the human spirit. The tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, created in these distant times, have not lost their artistic significance even today. Theatrical works with music were also known in the Middle Ages. But all these "ancestors" of modern opera differed from it in that in them singing alternated with ordinary colloquial speech, while the hallmark of the opera is that the text in it is sung from beginning to end.

Opera in our modern sense of the word originated at the turn of the 16th and 18th centuries in Italy. The creators of this new genre were poets and musicians who worshiped ancient art and sought to revive ancient Greek tragedy. But although they used plots from ancient Greek mythology in their musical and stage experiments, they did not revive tragedy, but created a completely new kind of art - opera.

The opera quickly gained popularity and spread to all countries. In each country, it acquired a special national character - this was also reflected in the choice of plots (often from the history of a particular country, from its legends and legends), and in the nature of the music. The opera rapidly conquered the major cities of Italy (Rome, Paris, Venice, Florence).

Opera and its components

What means does music have in opera to enhance the artistic impact of drama? In order to answer this question, let's get acquainted with the main elements that make up the opera.

One of the main parts of the opera is the aria. The meanings of the word are close to "song", "chant". Indeed, the arias from the first operas in their form (mostly couplet), in the nature of the melody were close to the songs, and in the classical opera we will find many arias-songs (Vanya's song in Ivan Susanin, Martha's song in Khovanshchina ).

But usually the aria is more complex in form than the song, and this is determined by its very purpose in the opera. An aria, like a monologue in a drama, serves as a characteristic of one or another hero. This characteristic can be generalizing - a kind of "musical portrait" of the hero - or associated with certain, specific circumstances of the action of the work.

But the action of an opera cannot be conveyed only by the alternation of completed arias, just as the action of a drama cannot consist of monologues alone. In those moments of the opera where the characters actually act - in live communication with each other, in conversation, dispute, collision - such completeness of form is not needed, which is quite appropriate in an aria. It would hinder the development of actions. Such moments usually do not have a complete musical composition, individual phrases of the characters alternate with exclamations of the choir with orchestral episodes.

Recitative, that is, declamatory singing, is widely used.

Much attention was paid to recitative by many Russian composers, especially A.S. Dargomyzhsky and M.P. Mussorgsky. Striving for realism in music, for the greatest truthfulness of musical characteristics, they saw the main means to achieve this goal in the musical implementation of speech intonations that are most characteristic of a given character.

Opera ensembles are also an integral part. Ensembles can be very different in quantitative composition: from two voices to ten. In this case, the voices of the range and timbre are usually combined in the ensemble. It conveys one feeling through the ensemble, embracing several heroes, in which case the individual parts of the ensemble are not opposed, but, as it were, complementing each other, and often have a similar melodic pattern. But often the ensemble combines the musical characteristics of the characters, whose feelings are different and opposite.

The symphony orchestra is an integral part of the opera performance. He not only accompanies vocal and choral parts, not only “draws” musical portraits or landscapes. Using his own means of expression, he participates in the construction of the elements of the staging "in the beginning" of actions, the waves of its development, climax and denouement. It also denotes the sides of a dramatic conflict. The possibilities of the orchestra are realized in the opera performance exclusively through the figure of the conductor. In addition to coordinating the musical ensemble and participating, together with the singer-actors, in creating characters, the conductor controls the entire stage action, since the tempo-rhythm of the performance is in his hands.

Thus, all the constituent parts of the opera are combined into one. The conductor is working on it, the soloists of the choir are learning their parts, the director is staging, the artists are painting the scenery. Only as a result of the common work of all these people does an opera performance arise.