First, I want to give you some background information on Opera.
characteristics and several different kinds of Operas. There is the libretto, which can be.
serious or comic. There is the oratorio, which is an opera that is based on a religous.
subject and is performed without key elements such as costumes, scenery, or stage action. .
Then there is just regular opera. If there is dialogue in an opera, it is almost always.
accompanied by music. The music in an opera is always continuous with set pieces such.
as solos, duets, trios, quartets, etc, and choral pieces. The music of an opera is designed.
to dramatize the action and display certain particular vocal skills of the principal singers.
Opera began in 1600 in Florence, Italy. Musical drama had previously existed, but.
it wasn't until then that opera was truly formed. Many of the earlier plots followed the.
myths of Greek Legends. It wasn't until later that they used historical figures as the basis.
of the plot. Perhaps one of the most famous operas, Eurydice is actually the very first.
opera. By the composer Peri, Eurydice is an opera based on the legend of Orpheus and.
Eurydice. It had both lofty and comic strains, which were in time separated into distinct.
genres, the opera seria (serious opera) and the opera buffa (comic opera). The most.
well-known aspect of the play is the fact that it hinges on the expressive power of music.
and solo song. .
Opera continued to grow throughout the 17th century in Rome and Venice, known.
as Baroque Opera. Born in both Rome and Venice, Baroque opera changed the way.
opera would be forever. Stefano Landi, the composer who established Roman opera,.
modified the strict style of the Florentines with formal devices. Landi modified the strict declamatory style of the Florentines with formal devices: the recitative (musical.
declamation for solo voice, used in opera and oratorio for dialogue and for narration,.
considered the reason for the rise of opera during this time) and aria (elaborate and often.