History of Opera Midterm Review Guide [85 points total] Fall 2017

The exam consists of identification (terms and people), concepts, active listening/analysis, and short
answer. This exam covers all class discussion through Mozart and the specific topics and exercises
suggested on this guide. EVERY ANSWER is more complete with citation of an assigned scholars
commentary, so review adequately all required text reading excerpts, Kerman, Snowman, Lindenberger,
Pratt, Rosen, and Source Reads, assuming you may be able to draw from any or all in strengthening
your responses.

Part ITerms/People Identification and Concepts: Terms draw on discussion regarding operas main
species and sub-species (think traits and defining style elements including form, aesthetics, language/text,
and historical/political/social/economic contexts). People are figures weve met (composers, writers,
philosophers). The Concepts component calls for students to combine and merge certain ideas, and to
associate trends with particular composers. All of Part I will call for short, bullet-point type answers (no
complete sentences) and should include some connection to class and Bb discussions. **For example, if
the term da capo is presented, please get beyond the obvious (I know that YOU know that its a ternary
form, designated ABA, so); instead, link the term to other class threads, like virtuosic singing, A.
Scarlatti and standardization, as detrimental to dramatic continuity, etc. Same goes for a term like
monody: study and review so you can draw relevant connections across course themes. [22 points]

The Word Opera is rare pre 1650, was called Favola pastorale or favola in musica, dramma per musica,
oprea in musica

Music brings power to dramatize text, melodic quality, ground bass tempo articulate dramatic emphases.

Before Opera came ancient greek tragedy and then masque, pastoral drams, liturgical drams,

Ancent Greek Dramas focused on protagonists collision with fate, this is what the Florentine Camerata
sought to emulate

Componentes, dialonge, muslical recitation of text, dance and Chorus (monophonic accompanied
by greek guitar) 5 acts, followed by choral and solo lament

Athens was thougth to be free thinkers because they were free from religion.

Florentine Camerata - Monteverdi, Caccini, Bardi, Peri, V Galilei, staged tragedies, partyl sung, import
moral code.

Part IIListening/Analysis: Instead of listening identification, exam day will present 3 separate active
listening exercises. Ultimately, I am interested in students analytical and descriptive response to selected
excerpts and in students willingness to rely on some amount of scholarly material for support. These
responses call for logical, coherent prose. [23 points]

Excerpt 1: Expect to hear 2 short excerpts, played as a pair, from these required titles (see
appropriate Listening Tables): Purcell Dido and Aeneas and Gluck Orfeo. Be prepared to write 5-
6 sentences that offer some analytical commentary based on the active listening exercise. Basic
comparative points are useful, but the prompt will ask for a response that gets beyond superficial
details and toward context, precedent and influence, style, and function. [7 points]
Dido - French in nature, represent restrain in style, trying to balance,
Ontametion in Gluck, smooth transitons, no dances, Gluck shower dance, still used castrato and
rewrote, 5 acts,
Purcelll - no room for ornamentation, ground bass, restraint, Chorus, dance, 3 acts, shorter,
verismiliture real humans at the center, setting on earth

Excerpt 2: Expect to hear 2 snippets of recit. Without necessarily identifying composer/title, draw
conclusions (in 4-5 sentences) about time period, region, and function by tracking comparative
points across some of the following platforms: words and music (or words vs. music?), texture,
instrumental participation, form, and dramatic effect. [6 points]
Declamation, instrument vs. voice, texture,

early recit is menodic, sparch accompanint, text first, rhigh voice and basso continio, trio sonata,
Italy, montiverdi 1607- court opera

1640- vocal line is more responsible for drama, secunda pratica - going against

1680- French lully, purcelll, declamatory, kerman says bloodless, full lush, poetic,

1690 - literaly reform, remove comic character, facing fate, teriotyped into socoal classes, real
tragdedy requite plot tiwst

Mozart- orchestra helps to provide drive drama in harmonic changes,

Part II(b)Listening/Analysis Mozart: Expect to hear (for Excerpt 3) a portion of

MOZARTs Idomeneo (about 4 minutes worth), taken from the required excerpts per the
Listening Table. The prompt requires a prose response (c. 8 sentences) to the listening that
reflects careful consideration of direct points made by Rosen (and perhaps indirect commentary
provided by Kerman), plus in-class and Blackboard discussion about genre, sub-species,
precedent and influence, form, dramatic effect and style. Consider Mozarts approach to
convention as well. [10 points]
Part IIIProse Short Answer: Come prepared to write about 4 sentences on any of the following
prompts (though not all will show up on the exam). Careful review in the week leading up to the exam
will aid in focusing and narrowing the response to a manageable amount of feedback; think ahead about
just how you would answer any of the following. Every answer is more complete and more credible with
back-up: reference composers and titles, theorists, target scholars (including Source Reads) and reference
the target repertoire. Certainly each students answer will be distinct from another; embrace the rather
wide-open options that come with just HOW to respond to each prompt. [40 points]

Discuss Possente spirto from Monteverdis Orfeoon any particular platform you choose.
o Monodic in text first
o ritonrelli between strophs
o brass represents underodl,
o harmony and bass constant, varied vocal line
o hefty vocal embellishment thoughtou
o framed by sinfonia and ritornello (between strophs)
Opera, c. 1607 vs. Opera, c. 1640

o fewer chruses, liminted instrumental solo lines so solo singing virtuosi could rule
o recit deemed unceccessary, annoying and boring
o turned to lyric numbers
o recit more organized, gives way to metrical stropic aria
o comedy and serious intermingle
o more indept characterization
o 1607- monody camerata, greeek, all about greek mythology, underworld,
o 1640 - verismo, real people, singer virtsimiltude, 1607 happy ending,
Literary reform and the impact on operas evolution
o remove comic elements
o reduce number of characters
charactesrs were only nove/heroic
sterotyped into social classes
facing fate is big
tradgedy required flawed heros
plot twists
restore to purity
return to heroic
metastasio and libretto on being works of artistic poetry in themselves.
Relative merits and drawbacks of opera seria
o rosen calls it an unfortunate genre
o Glcuks reform is what brought the best standars of opera seria
o recit aira formula is a problem and hard to advnce the plot
o long intoducitons to arias
o public didnt really like tragedy
o too abrupt, love doesnt happen in 7 minues, 100 pages vs a duet.
o demand for the next opera meant no standard reperatory or fixing old operas
The emergence of public opera (think Why Venice?)
o chaos in politics, opera was a diverisoin to military conflict, snowman
o subject matter became applicable
o Joseph II hated opera seria
 o formed the national zingspeil company because he wanted Germany to have opera
o Mozart moved to
Positives and negatives of operas diaspora
o positive - private to public, Vienna, new employment, advanced stage craft,
o negative - compormsed integrity of form, public incharge, more demaind, making starts
famous instead of making the art, not as much money cause public, composers for
singers,
Why France seemed slow to embrace opera
o langue was hard to set, tradition of spoken theater like England, hated virtuosity, catrati
were werid, tradgedie on music to fit with court tradition
Why England seemed slow to rely on all singing, all the time opera
o tradition of spoken theatre, not realistic, shakspeare, then plays were banned and added
music, focused on actors who sang, only the crazy people would sing all the time,
mentally disturmed were the ones who did sing, snowman, turuskin, opera is controlled
by Louis 14th, social construct, French opera is a procut of its culture,
The role/function of chorus in the hands of Purcell vs. Lully
o Purcell
Not always linked to an emotion, detatched commentary, less focus on
continuous line
can interacti with solo, Kerman sailors put words in Aeneass mouth
can view evens with objectivity
can interact with soloist or back out so solist doesnt hear at all
group illuminated and defintes didos tragedy
realistinc
o Lully
chours always tied itno emotional pathos of the moment
characers cant withdraw and commne tas outlsides
chorus as a spectacle,
emotional,
The notion of FREE and how to become so
o Free is away from religion, social heirchary or submission to authority that was just
inhereited
o knowledge gives man freedom
o travel and exhancge of ideas across cultures and classes
o submit to boral law
o questioned ones place
o reason beyond whats given
o question and debate everything
Tracking Glucks legacy
o Glucks neoclasisits
composed with a thesis (like a social commentary)
music theory was ignored on purpose
timing is important,
shorten da capo structured and end aria without room for applause
reduce vocal display
increase ensleme participation
reduce into instuemtnal numbers
ORCHESTRA INTRAGRAL TO DRAMA
recuce minor characters, focus more on main instead
 gluck
A. Scarlatti and standardization
o naples, 60 oeras, la grizelda, fast slow fast overature, italian, recit and aria musical
sequence,
Composer/librettist collaboration
o Mozart and the aside in aria, scholar?
o da ponte reflet the new composer libretto partnershiep
o Mozart ddi it, collaborative
o Kerman- libretto is inspiration and also limitation
o Mozart worked with to add comic
o
Mozart within convention
o continuity, Glucks avoidance of exit convetion exists in Mozart. Seamlyless coneect
overature to recit to aria to ensemble
o repetats text
o number oprea
Mozart resisting convention
o crazy leaps, trys to leave da capo, rosen polarized dramatic action and orchstra,
What happens to a play when it becomes a libretto
o omitted detail, poetic text, recit vs aria, text selected for dramatic intent and respect to
prosody, translated. book becomes a movie
Recitative vs. recitative
o French, declamatory, natural flexible, didio, basso conituo , sparche
o dry or accompanied, basso - varitaoin in texture
o
Examples (relevant to discussions so far) of the orchestra having dramatic significance
o Elettras aria from Idomendo, disjointed orchestra, blaring horns, soaring flutes,
syncopation of rhythm, queen of the night
Rosens take on the Figaro sextet being in sonata form
o more so for the drama and small incipt repetition
o stability, balance and symmetry
o stable, tension, resoled
o no development, Mozart resiting convention?
Lindenberger and the social experience of opera

Monody is modeled on what the camerata knew about tragedy, homophonic, not restirc to the stage. Solo
song to deliver text CLEARLY
Two types
Recit - Flxible meter, from neutral consonance aand slow changing harmonies to more dissonance,
harmonic changes and fewer cadences

Aria
metrical, lyrical, strophic. framed by sinfonia and ritornello

Rosen numbers aria -

Gluck and Clazabigi

Mozart and daponte, varesco, metastasio