![]() ![]() It is hardly surprising that Wagner was dissatisfied with certain aspects of the Ring cycle’s execution at the first Bayreuth Festival. The result was arguably the single most ambitious artwork of the 19th century. Wagner aimed to immerse the audience in a ‘total work of art’ which fully integrated text, music, scenography and performance. ![]() The Ring circles around the conflicting impulses of power and love as it takes us from the birth of the world to its ending – and the possibility of a new beginning. Wagner himself described his works as ‘music drama’ but, like the first composers of opera, he found inspiration in myth (Norse-Germanic in his case), and, like them, he repurposed ideas about ancient Greek theatre. The Ring cycle – three operas, plus a ‘preliminary evening’ – was first performed over five days in August 1876 at the theatre Wagner had built specifically for the purpose in the small Bavarian town of Bayreuth. The Milanese audiences soon warmed up however, and by the end of the century, Norma had been performed in 35 countries in 16 different languages.ġ876: Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner A cycle of operas Unfortunately, it only received a lukewarm reception on the first night at La Scala. When the time was up, Pasta decided that none were required. Apparently she was none too keen on it at first, so Bellini made her a deal: if, after she’d practiced it every day for a week, she still had doubts, he would rewrite the number to suit her better. Its most famous number is ‘Casta diva’ (‘Chaste goddess’) sung by the opera’s heroine. Norma is a classical tragedy set in Gaul during the Roman occupation. He was one of the finest purveyors of the ‘bel canto’ (literally, beautiful singing) tradition. Much less fortunate than the previous one, but destined to have a much longer and deeper impact on the evolution of the European musical theater is the alternative model by Richard Wagner.Īfter the mid-twentieth century, the production of new operas was significantly reduced, also due to theĮmergence of new forms of entertainment such as cinematography, radio broadcasting and television.1831: Norma by Vincenzo Bellini Bel CantoĪlong with Rossini, Donizetti and, a little later, Verdi, Bellini helped establish the tradition of Italian Romantic opera that, for many people, goes to the heart of what opera is all about. ![]() The French model also has a decisive impact on the Italian operatic production of the seventies and eighties With the second half of the century, however, an intermediate genre was imposed, the opéra-lyrique, to which Charles Gounod, Georges Bizet and Jules Massenet, among others, are dedicated. Meanwhile, the French opera develops the opposing genres of the grand opéra (with sumptuous performances and dances) and of the opéra-comique (with spoken dialogues). In their wake, but with a greater attention to the representation of the historical reality of contemporary Italy is the figure of Giuseppe Verdi, author of some of the most famous and executed operas of all time, such as Rigoletto, La traviata, Aida and Otello. Rossini, who moved to Paris, inaugurated with “Guillaume Tell” the genre of the grand opéra, destined to a huge fortune in the following decades.Ī turn towards a French or English-style romanticism comes from the theater of Giovanni Pacini, Saverio Mercadante and Gaetano Donizetti. The years from 1810 to 1830 are dominated in Italy by the figure of Gioachino Rossini who completes the experience of the comic opera (opera buffa). Its historical roots go back to the medieval theater and to artists like Guido d'Arezzo, while the original idea has deep roots in the ancient theater and in particular in the classical tragedy. The origins of the Opera date back to the passage between the 16th and 17th centuries, when a group of Florentine intellectuals, known as Camerata de' Bardi, decided to formalize the new genre. ![]() Even if other nations have undeniably important and valuable operatic traditions, the genre was born and developed in Italy, a country that possesses, not surprisingly, the greatest number of opera houses in the world. The word “opera” is used in almost all the languages of the world. The name “opera” actually is the conventional abbreviation of the original definition “opera in musica”. “Opera” is the Italian term of international use to refer to a theatrical and musical genre in which the scenic action is combined with music, ballet and singing. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |