| History-Of-Opera | | | | Subcategories of recitative are secco or dry recitative |
| Theater Arts – History of Opera | | | | and Accompagnato or Stromentato in which orchestra |
| In the 1600s Opera started to flourish in Italy.Visit here | | | | accompanies the performance. Opera can be |
| now | | | | further classified as singspiel, operetta, semi-opera and |
| French opera was popular for adding the element of | | | | opera comique. In these types of opera, dialogues are |
| dancing to opera other than the already existing | | | | used on the contrary, instead of recitative. Arioso too |
| elements such as singing and music. In Italian, opera | | | | is replaced by semi-melodic passages. |
| means works and in Latin it means the plural of labor. | | | | Opera started with court performances and then |
| This means that there can be duet, trio, and group | | | | shifted to royal theaters. In 1637 this performance was |
| singing. It also utilizes various aspects of the spoken | | | | open to public when the idea of opera festival in |
| theater, like costume and backdrop. | | | | Venice was brought up by Monteverdi. It was then |
| Greek were the first known theater artists especially | | | | known as Baroque opera which had a mixture of both |
| people from Athens. Their theater plays included all the | | | | the tragic and comic elements along with some |
| elements like acting, dialogues, singing, scene, dancing, | | | | education. This started a reform which was promoted |
| chorus and music. This art was cultivated by different | | | | by Venice's Arcadian Academy. Metastasio was a |
| civilizations having few or all the elements. One of | | | | part of this academy and his libertti became famous till |
| them was the opera. The western classical theater | | | | the end of the eighteenth century in Italian opera. And |
| arts which involves conveyance through singing and | | | | this mixed with baroque opera was known as opera |
| dancing and not through dialogues, is known as Opera. | | | | buffa. |
| Composition by Jacopo Peri, Dafne, was written in | | | | The characteristic of Opera Seria is that it had a high |
| 1597 and was the first known composition specifically | | | | tone along with secco kind of recitative. It was greatly |
| meant for opera although it was inspired by Greek | | | | liked due to it highly stylized form and the singers at |
| theater arts, but it no longer exists. Euridice composition | | | | that time were very popular and Opera Seria was in |
| by Peri written in 1600s was the first recorded | | | | great demand all over Europe except France. The |
| composition which is available till this date. | | | | hero had the castrato voice such as Farinelli and |
| The performances are most of the times | | | | Senesino and the heroines had the soprano's voice |
| accompanied by chorus and instrumental music. | | | | such as Faustina Bordoni. Alessandro Scarlatti, Porpora |
| Libretto is the word in opera and there have been | | | | and Vivaldi were some of the great Opera Seria |
| great composers who have written famous libretti like | | | | composers. |
| Richard Wagner. Handel was the famous German | | | | But Opera Seria had few loopholes. It concentrated |
| composer who wrote for theaters in England. Mozart | | | | more on drama and left music, singing and ballet |
| and Lorenzo da Ponte are famous for the great | | | | behind. It was Francesco Algarotti who brought all |
| musical works which were played during the opera | | | | this elements back with his composition Essay on the |
| performances. | | | | Opera. He was then followed by other great |
| There are two types of singing in opera. The first is | | | | composers such as Niccolo Jommelli, Tommaso |
| recitative in which the story is being narrated in a | | | | Traetta and the most successful, Gluck. He used rich |
| non-melodies style and the second is aria, where the | | | | orchestra and vocal lines and brought a reform in |
| performers were more melodious. Chorus is used as a | | | | Opera Seria. |
| commentator and sometimes as a narrator. | | | | |