Romantic Opera 17 th Century Italy Camerata group

Romantic Opera 17 th Century: Italy

• Camerata- group of composers; rejected Renaissance style of singing because they felt the words had lost their meaning & their emotional impact. Opera starts with the Baroque period. • Composers insisted the words must be sung clearly. • Music was secondary to words • Original operas were Greek dramas set to music. • Operas were usually written in Italian (with some exceptions)

• • Libretto: text Librettist: writer Recitative: singing speech – Songs further the action of the opera – 1800’s: Paris → opera capital Europe • 3 types of Opera: – Grand Opera (aka Opera Seria) • • • Ballets Choruses Spectacular productions Elaborate scenery Crowd scenes

– Opera Comique (Opera Buffa) • • • Small production Simple plots Spoken dramatic parts & singing (not much more on recitative) – Lyric Opera (late 19 th Century) • • Combo of Grand Opera & Opera Comique Elaborate scenery & costumes Lightness of Opera Comique Romantic – reflects the ideas of romanticism

• Naturalism: (late 19 th century 1870→) • Truth • Writers rebelling against escapism which had become a romantic tradition. • Main characters of operas are from the peasant class & are controlled by their own feelings & social forces that are beyond their control. • Put emphasis on individual feelings

Georges Bizet 1838 -1875

Georges Bizet (1838 -1875) --Born & raised in Paris – Musical talent at an early age – Awarded Prix de Rome (writing operas) • Conservatory – a place where you go to study music • Georges Bizet wasn’t popular with the mass of people. – He believed in bold use of realism (too realistic. )

– Emotional content of the characters – Ahead of his time – He was noted for his orchestration & musical structure • Most controversial opera: Carmen – Based on a novel by Prosper Merimée – Takes place in Seville, Spain, but the libretto is in French. – Cast of characters: • • Carmen Don José Escamillo Micaella

• Carmen→ mezzo soprano; • The reason she was mezzo soprano; he wanted her to sound sultry & sexual; (gypsy- she likes the rambling life. ) • Femme fatale- a woman who uses her gift of beauty to manipulate men to get what she wants. • Carmen works in a cigar factory & hangs out with the guys at a local tavern. • She is also part of their smuggling gang; they deal in stolen goods. • Haban era → Spanish folk song. Carmen’s arias are based on this rhythm.

• Don José→ (tenor) works as a corporal for the local police department – He is in love with Micaella. – Wishy washy… not very assertive; submissive • Escamillo→ (baritone) --A toreador (bullfighter) --Manly man • Micaella→ (soprano) --Thoroughly in love with Don José. --Sees that Don José is bad when he’s with Carmen.

• Synopsis of the story: – Carmen works in the cigar factory. Carmen and another woman get into a fight. – Carmen goes to jail where she meets Don José & she uses her charm to manipulate him to get him to release her. – Carmen & Don José flee Seville & join up with her band of smugglers. – Carmen tells Don José that he must prove himself if he wants to stay with her. → armed robbery. – Meanwhile, Carmen meets & falls in love with Escamillo – LUST→ Carmen ditches Don José & takes off with Escamillo.

Day of the Big Bullfight. – Carmen is supposed to leave with Escamillo after the big fight. – Outside the arena, Don José confronts Carmen while Escamillo is fighting the bull inside. – Carmen & Don Jose argue: he wants her to return to him & she thinks he’s not man enough. – Don José becomes enraged & stabs Carmen in the heart at the same moment that Escamillo is stabbing the bull. – Carmen is dead.

• Critics Reaction – Hated it! Audience hated it. – It was performed in front of the wrong type of audience. – The realism was too shocking. They thought it went against Victorian morals. – Bizet was so upset by the criticism, he died not long after the production. – 5 years after his death, Carmen is brought back to the stage & the crowds love it.

• Giuseppi Verdi (1813 – 1901) – Italian – Born in a poor family; recognized musical talent at an early age. – Studied at the Milan Conservatory – Majority of his works were successful. – First opera… “Oberto” huge success. – 3 rd: “ Nabucco” > huge success – 2 nd opera→ failure • Wife and 2 kids died while working on the opera. • Babylonian Captivity of the Jews – His wife loved the story – Writes “Nabucco” as a tribute to her. Wildly successful

• Nabucco – Italian word for Nebucadnezzer “King of Babylon” – Invades Israel & the Jews become the Babylonian’s slaves. – While in Babylon, Jews remain faithful to their religion & yearned for their homeland. – Jews win converts among the Babylonians. • “Va pensiero”→ one of the most controversial arias. (“Our thoughts go on wings of songs”) – Song about the “homeland” – Hebrews - Israel

– Italian nationalists see this as a call for a unified Italy “Italian Unification” – Verdi runs across some political problems with Austro-Hungarian Empire – Victor – Emanuel – Re – D’ – Italy – (King of Italy) – Italian Unification under Victor Emanuel, head of the house of Savoy. – Early works→ escapist in nature (what the audience wanted)

• Plots = not very sophisticated, melodramatic – Each opera gets better & better; best operas written as he got older. – He raised the standards of the opera mainly by emphasizing the voice. – He had lots of scenes with lots of people (crowd scenes) • Best known works: – Rigoletto (1851) – Il Travatore – La Traviata – Aida (1872) – Otello (1893) – Falstaff (1893)

• La Traviata (The Fallen Woman) – Premiered on 6 March 1853 – La Dame aux Camellia by: Alexander Dumas, fils. – Libretto: written by Francisco Marie Piavé – 1 st performance > not successful (no talented singers) – Re-write was a success – Most widely appreciated & widely known of Verdi’s operas.

• Characters – Violetta Valery : (soprano) beautiful courtesan (female “escort” with an upper class clientele. ) – Alfredo Germont : (tenor) her admirer (male lead) – Georgio Germont : father • Gaston : Alfredo’s friend • Flora Bervoix : Violetta’s friend • Annin a : maid/confidante • Baron Duphol : rival of Alfredo

• Plot Structure: – Act 1: party where the lovers meet; love at 1 st sight – Act 2: lovers living happily together; his father visits & encourages the woman to break-up – Act 3: They break-up & she acts as though she has moved on. She is dying of TB; her lover returns & promises they will be together. She dies in his arms.

• Giacomo Puccini (1858 – 1924) – Musical talent → (5 generations) – Wasn’t interested in music growing up. (mother was a great influence) – Wrote operas – Decided to study at the Milan Conservatory. – Puccini learns a lot from Verdi – Entered an opera competition at the Milan Conservatory • Lost the competition but his opera was produced anyway

• 1 st major triumph was Manon Lescaut but it was La Boheme that brought him world wide fame. • Puccini’s Best Operas – Tosca – Turandot – La Boheme – Madame Butterfly

• Madame Butterfly – Huge success outside Italy; – Least favorite in Italy – Puccini’s personal favorite→ named after his yacht after the main character (Cio-San. ) • Turnadot – left unfinished at the time of his death – Later finished by a student. • Puccini died in 1924 of a heart attack.

• Tosca (Italy) – She is a prima donna (soprano) opera singer who is widely known. – Scarpia, chief of police, falls in love with (obsessed) Tosca. – He has Tosca’s boyfriend Cavaradossi, arrested – Says that he will spare her bf’s life if she gives in to him. – Tosca says that she will do it, – But 1 st she asks for a letter of release for Cavaradossi & Scarpia writes the letter for her.

– As he tries to claim his prize, she stabs & kills him. – Tosca leaves his office & goes to the jail to get Cavaradossi, but he has already been killed. – Tosca is devastated and is now a fugitive on the run. – She reaches the battlements of the city walls with the cops closing in on her; she realizes all is lost & jumps to her death.

• Turandot (China) – Turandot is a Chinese princess, cold & icyhearted. – Men who wish to marry her must answer 3 riddles. If they answer wrong, they are killed. – Prince Calaf answers the 3 riddles correctly. – He wins the princess who falls in love with him & they marry.

• La Boheme – Based on the book : – Scènes de la Vie de Boheme by Henry Murger – Set in Paris – Mimi – seamstress, – Rodolfo - painter – They fall in love – Mimi dies in Rodolfo’s arms of Tuberculosis. – Bohemians were people of the working class who tended to wander around from one place to another.

• Madame Butterfly→ Puccini’s favorite – Set in Nagasaki, Japan (tragedy) – Cio- San (Madame Butterfly) – Lt. Pinkerton (USN) – They meet and contract a traditional Japanese marriage under Japanese conditions. – She is married, but he is not obligated. – She gets pregnant & he goes back to the U. S. & remarries – While he’s gone, Butterfly remains faithful to him.

– Pinkerton returns to Japan – BUT he is not alone (with his new wife) – He goes to see Butterfly & the child and to introduce the new wife. – While Pinkerton is visiting with the child, Butterfly stabs herself.