| Opera is a form of theatre in which the drama is | | | | semi-melodic passages occurring in the midst of, or |
| conveyed wholly or predominantly through music and | | | | instead of, recitative, are also referred to as arioso. |
| singing. Opera emerged in Italy around the year 1600 | | | | During the Baroque and Classical periods, recitative |
| and is generally associated with the Western classical | | | | could appear in two basic forms: secco (dry) recitative, |
| music tradition. Opera uses many of the elements of | | | | accompanied only by "continuo", which was often no |
| spoken theatre such as scenery, costumes, and acting. | | | | more than a harpsichord; or accompagnato (also |
| Generally, however, opera is distinguished from other | | | | known as "stromentato") in which the orchestra |
| dramatic forms by the importance of song. The | | | | provided accompaniment. By the 19th century, |
| singers are accompanied by a musical ensemble | | | | accompagnato had gained the upper hand, the |
| ranging from a small instrumental ensemble to a full | | | | orchestra played a much bigger role, and Richard |
| symphonic orchestra. Opera may also incorporate | | | | Wagner revolutionised opera by abolishing almost all |
| dance; this was especially true of French opera for | | | | distinction between aria and recitative in his quest for |
| much of its history. | | | | what he termed "endless melody". Subsequent |
| Comparable art forms from various other parts of the | | | | composers have tended to follow Wagner's example, |
| world, many of them ancient in origin, exist and are | | | | though some, such as Stravinsky in his The Rake's |
| also sometimes called "opera" by analogy, usually | | | | Progress have bucked the trend. The terminology of |
| prefaced with an adjective indicating the region (for | | | | the various kinds of operatic voices is described in |
| example, Chinese opera). These independent traditions | | | | Section 3 below. |
| are not derivative of Western opera, but are rather | | | | The word opera means "works" in Italian (from the |
| distinct forms of musical theatre. Opera is also not the | | | | plural of Latin opus meaning "work" or "labour") |
| only type of Western musical theatre: in the ancient | | | | suggesting that it combines the arts of solo and choral |
| world, Greek drama featured singing and instrumental | | | | singing, declamation, acting and dancing in a staged |
| accompaniment; and in modern times, other forms | | | | spectacle. Dafne by Jacopo Peri was the earliest |
| such as the musical have appeared. | | | | composition considered opera, as understood today. It |
| The words of an opera are known as the libretto | | | | was written around 1597, largely under the inspiration |
| (literally "little book"). Some composers, notably Richard | | | | of an elite circle of literate Florentine humanists who |
| Wagner, have written their own libretti; others have | | | | gathered as the "Camerata". Significantly, Dafne was |
| worked in close collaboration with their librettists, e.g. | | | | an attempt to revive the classical Greek drama, part |
| Mozart with Lorenzo da Ponte. Traditional opera | | | | of the wider revival of antiquity characteristic of the |
| consists of two modes of singing: recitative, the | | | | Renaissance. The members of the Camerata |
| plot-driving passages often sung in a non-melodic style | | | | considered that the "chorus" parts of Greek dramas |
| characteristic of opera, and aria (an "air" or formal | | | | were originally sung, and possibly even the entire text |
| song) in which the characters express their emotions | | | | of all roles; opera was thus conceived as a way of |
| in a more structured melodic style. Duets, trios and | | | | "restoring" this situation. Dafne is unfortunately lost. A |
| other ensembles often occur, and choruses are used | | | | later work by Peri, Euridice, dating from 1600, is the first |
| to comment on the action. In some forms of opera, | | | | opera score to have survived to the present day. The |
| such as Singspiel, opéra | | | | honour of being the first opera still to be regularly |
| comique, operetta, and semi-opera, the recitative is | | | | performed, however, goes to Claudio Monteverdi's |
| mostly replaced by spoken dialogue. Melodic or | | | | Orfeo, composed for the court of Mantua in 1607. |