Opera

Opera refers to an European art form consisting of a dramatic stage performance set to music. Comparable art forms from other parts of the world are usually prefaced with an adjective indicating the region; examples include Chinese opera and Beijing opera.

Sociology of opera

All art forms have a social context, and opera likewise cannot exist in a vacuum. A string quartet exists in manuscript and printed score, and a truly musical person, playing one part, or seated at a keyboard, can hear the intent of the music, but the printed score for an opera must be realized in a production, even a slender one, for its impact. Thus there exists a "sociology of opera", which would be as interesting to general social historians (who are unaware of it, on the whole) as it is to opera buffs. Operas have always been written with a specific audience in mind, whether more aristocratic or more popular, expressing their local prejudices and expectations, and even taking account of the vocal character of certain singers' voices. Operas have also been affected behind the scenes, by opera house politics and sometimes government censors. But, the idea that there is a canon of operas, an opera repertory which is reflected in a "List of famous operas," for example, is a late entry in the sociology of opera. Indeed, for most of opera's history, only new works were acceptable to audiences; an opera house that mounted productions of twenty year-old operas (or certainly any older) would with but few exceptions have been equivalent to a modern movie house showing similarly outdated films.

Related Topics:
Opera house - Censors - Canon - List of famous operas

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Development of an opera audience

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Development of the idea of "opera repertory"

During the lifetimes of composers up to Meyerbeer there was no "repertory" of operas. Composers like Bellini and Donizetti were expected to come up with fresh material, season after season, even if they had to cannibalize their own works for material that had not been offered to that city's audience. (Compare pastiche). One common strategy was to imitate the work of other composers, especially when such work had achieved considerable success. The idea of an opera repertory originated with Richard Wagner, in his Festspielhaus in Bayreuth.

Related Topics:
Meyerbeer - Pastiche - Richard Wagner - Festspielhaus - Bayreuth

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Wikipedia's list of famous operas is a good guide to the standard operatic repertory reflected in contemporary productions and recordings.

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