Italian opera

Italian opera can be divided into three periods, the Baroque, the Romantic and the modern. The Baroque appeared first, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, and approximately 200 years later, the Romantic. The word opera is a shortened form of the Italian opera in musica (work in music); an English dictionary in 1656 stated, "In Italy it signifies a tragedy, tragi-comedy, or pastoral which is not acted after the vulgar manner, but performed by voices in that way, which the Italians term, 'recitative', being likewise adorned with scenes by perspective, and extraordinary advantage by music."

Baroque Period

Not only the term, but the art of opera, came from Italy. The first opera for which music has survived was performed in 1600 at the wedding of Henry IV of France and Marie de Medici at the Pitti Palace in Florence. The opera, Euridice, from an Italian poem by Ottavio Rinuccini, set to music by Jacopo Peri and Giulio Caccini, recounted the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. The style of singing favored by Peri and Caccini was a heightened form of natural speech, dramatic recitation supported by instrumental string music; a technique developed in Florence in the 1580s known as monody. Recitation thus preceded the development of arias, though it soon became the custom to include separate songs and instrumental interludes during periods when voices were silent. The theme attracted Claudio Monteverdi (1567 - 1643) who wrote his first opera, La Favola d'Orfeo (The Fable of Orpheus), in 1607, which is still performed.

Related Topics:
1600 - Henry IV of France - Marie de Medici - Florence - Ottavio Rinuccini - Jacopo Peri - Giulio Caccini - Monody - Claudio Monteverdi

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Monteverdi gave a new dramatic life to the instrumental music, insisting on a strong relationship between the words and the instrumental music. When it was performed in Mantua, an orchestra of 38 instruments, numerous choruses and recitatives were used to make a lively drama. It was a far more ambitious version than those previously performed — more opulent, more varied in recitatives, more exotic in scenery — with stronger musical climaxes which allowed the full scope for the virtuosity of the singers. Opera had revealed its first stage of maturity in the hands of Monteverdi.

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In 1613, Monteverdi became the maestro da cappela at St. Mark's in Venice. Though he did not write any operas during his tenure, he wrote elaborate madrigals which were the bases for arias.

Related Topics:
1613 - Madrigal

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In 1637, the first public opera house, Teatro San Cassiano, was opened in Venice with an enthusiastic response. The opera flourished along with familiar less sophisticated entertainment, the commedia dell'arte. Monteverdi began to write opera again. Unknown to him, it was close to the end of his life. His two operas, I Ritorno d'Ullise in Patria (The Return of Ullyses, 1637), and L'Incoronazione di Poppaea (The Coronation of Poppaea, 1642) were met with great enthusiasm and survive in today's world. Both operas showed a marked increase in musical flexibility with a mixture of recitatives, solos, duets and ensembles.

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Monteverdi is said to be responsible for the introduction of bel canto and buffa styles. Bel canto is defined as operatic singing stressing ease, purity and eveness of tone production and an agile and precise vocal technique; buffa when used to describe opera signifies comic complications, farcical and burlesque elements, the unusual and the unexpected. His works, which reflected the moods and dramatic vividness of the libretto in his music, became a model for the operatic composers to follow.

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From this time onward, opera became increasingly prominent in musical life. Within forty years, Venice had ten opera houses. By the end of the century more than 350 operas had been produced in the new theaters in Venice and an equal number by Venetian composers elsewhere in Italy. Wealthy families had season tickets; inexpensive tickets brought in others; foreign visitors came to Venice for the music. Opera performances and composition became the medium through which individual artists gained prominence and fortune so that they no longer depended upon court patronage.

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Among the favoured opera composers of the seventeenth century were Domenico Gabrielli (1651-1690) and Giovanni Bononcini (1670-1747). Bononcini enjoyed immense success in Naples. His Il Trionfo di Camilla (1697) made him famous, well beyond the Italian peninsula. His operas were conducted and performed under his leadership in Vienna and London.

Related Topics:
Domenico Gabrielli - Giovanni Bononcini - Vienna - London

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