Opera: Then and Now
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While opera began as entertainment for Italian royalty
in the 1500's and 1600's, it has since blossomed into an
extravagant, world-wide musical and theatrical phenomenon.
Before, performers presented their work to the royalty in their
honor. Now, opera performers are seen as royalty, as the
artform has developed into a high-intensity, athletic craft
that truly tests both the physical limits and the expressive
dedication of highly skilled singers.
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Opera in Thomas Edison's Time
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In the 1800's, music shifted into what we now call the
Romantic period. Composers of this time were focused on
telling lush, elaborate stories through their music that explored
human qualities like love, sorrow, carelessness, complete joy,
and all human emotion surrounding death. This artistic period,
some say, is still active today. While many other movements
have happened since the 1800's, our current "artistic" ideas
seem to rely heavily on the ideals of Romanticism.
While Thomas Edison was alive, opera had branched primarily into three different categories, largely due to the Romantic trend of nationalistic pride ("Opera," 2012). Italy, France and Germany had each developed their own style of opera, each having their own stylistic and theatrical differences.
Anna Netrebko, operatic soprano
Three European Romantic Styles
French Opéra Comique
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Coming from the spectacular, dramatic traditions of French Grand Opera, Opéra Comique retained the drama while incorporating spoken dialogue. Georges Bizet's Carmen (1875)
originally incorporated speech, but it has since been removed in most performances.
"L'amour est un oiseau rebelle," commonly known as "Habanera" from Bizet's Carmen. Follow the singer and the chorus in this animated video!
German Romantic Opera
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Throughout the 1800's, German composers mostly conformed to the Italian opera tradition while adding new, heroic and philosophical subject matter. However, one composer, Richard Wagner, transformed opera by breaking musical and theatrical expectations to be as expressive as possible.
This scene from Richard Wagner's Parsifal truly shows the power and drama behind this style. This musical writing mimics expressive dialogue more than creating a tune.
Italian Romantic Opera
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While other parts of Europe were developing different styles of opera, Italian composers worked to develop the existing Italian tradition. Giuseppe Verdi's operas display the extravagant lyrical writing of
the Romantic period while staying within the traditional boundaries of opera composition.
Diana Damrau singing a section of Verdi's "Sempre Libera" from La Traviata. This video shows the style's clear appreciation for virtuosic singing.
Opera in the 21st Century
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Beginning with the invention of audio recording, the technology age has certainly positively affected the legacy of opera. Lovers of operatic music can now listen to selections or full performances of their favorite operas at any time through services like YouTube and Spotify. Additionally, online forums and blogs have created an easy outlet for opera lovers from all over the world to discuss their favorite shows and favorite singers.
Opera is now also brought to life in new ways in the modern age. While plenty of staged opera performances happen every day all around the world, their are other methods of delivering opera to the public that are being explored. Below are just a few of the modern innovations in opera performance.
Film Adaptations of Opera
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Just as books and plays have become feature films, operas have moved to the big screen, too. This scene is from a 2006 film production of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), translated into English.
Street Opera
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A full opera performance can be quite expensive, so opera lovers have adopted the "flash mob" craze to bring opera to a wider audience for free. This clip is from a celebration of Italian art and features a selection from Verdi's La Traviata.
Cross-Culture Collaboration
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Operas are being translated into many different languages for both film and live performance. Sometimes, other elements of different culture are also added to create a more realistic story. In this film version of Bizet's Carmen, called "U-Carmen," the text has been translated into the Xhosa language and the film includes elements of traditional South African singing. The setting of the opera is also changed to provide a specific commentary.
Modern Opera Composition
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New operas are still being written and released today, some sticking to the Italian traditions and many branching out into different musical sounds. This video explores a modern opera, El Niño, written by composer John Adams. The opera tells the story of Christ's birth, including spiritual Spanish poetry and some unique musical sounds.
Sources:
“Opera” (2012) The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Columbia University Press.