The Development of the Italian Opera in the 19th Century - Essay Example

The Development of the Italian Opera in the 19th Century Abstract Opera is an Italian word meaning "work". True to its definition Opera integrates all forms of art works from music and stage decoration to fashion and architecture in a marvelous blend providing a visual and audible treat to the audience. Opera reached its peak in the 19th Century. Italy - the art capital of Europe became the headquarters for this development. Several experimentations and revolutions were done in the art form during the 19th century. This essay will explore the development of the 19th century Italian Opera in a detailed way. Introduction Originally designed to be performed in the courts before kings, Opera contained stories insisting good morals and sacrifice based themes. Opera's origin is said to have been the celebrations which combined enormous fireworks, beautiful stage decorations, music, singing and dancing.1 These occasions occurring frequently in royal weddings and during festivities started to work themselves around specific themes by the beginning of the 16th century. Jacapo Peri, Monteverde, Francesco Cavalli and many other doyens appeared during this period. Francesco Cavalli's works were the first to be termed under the name 'Opera'. Carissimi, Scarlatti and Handel took Cavalli's name forward. By the end of the 18th century symphony and orchestra giving prominent importance to music grew enormously, pushing back the popularity of the Opera. Rossini - the retriever of the Opera sprung to action to bring back this dwindling art from to its previous glory in the 19th century. He was followed by Donizetti, Bellini, Puccini and the ever famous Verdi who is hailed as the major mastermind of the contemporary Opera. The Golden Age of the Italian Opera Voice was the ruler of any orchestra in the Opera’s during the early 19th century. Polyphonic writings started to lose their grip during this time. Voice clarity and simple language expressing direct views started to matter. Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini were the three stars of the arias. Flawless phrases and singers with highly toned voices capable of singing in very high notes started to emerge. Cabaletta or rapid precision singing started gaining popularity. The operas of the early 18th century had two main sections the Bel Canto and the Cabaletta.2 Highly prerogative stories insisting patriotism or pious life style started to give way to modern day realistic stories and romantic stories. Humor started to gain major attention in the opera stages. The first half of the 19th century saw the peak of the Bel Canto style. Developed and made famous by Rossini, this style was epitomized by Donizetti and Bellini during their period. The ‘golden age’ of the Italian opera started at mid 19th century. The Five starts of the Golden age Gioacchino Rossini, Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti, Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini are together known as the five stars who ruled the golden age of the Italian opera.3 There were other significant composers like Pietro Mascagni, Amilcare Poncheilli and Ruggero Leoncavallo who were highly successful during this era. But, as Weaver (1980) describes only the first mentioned five composers are known as "Kings of Italian Opera". Weaver dismisses the others by simply mentioning them as "nonentities".4 Rossini Gioachino Rossini (1972 - 1868) was the most popular Opera composer who lived in the earlier part of the 19th century. He set a new trend in the opera blending together buffa and opera series. He also created the Bel Canto, a lighter version of the arias without much rules and regulations. This enabled even young singers and masses to hum their favorite songs. This was created a revolution in those days and it paved way for the creation of several bands throughout Italy.5 The Italians who lacked the finance to enter the grand opera halls started to form bands on their own which recreated the same operas in their locality. A survey conducted in 1872 showed there were nearly 1600 bands in Italy with over 43000 musicians all playing to their hearts fill in bars, inns and commoners marriages as well as church functions.6 He also created the patter arias with fast beat songs which enthralled several audiences throughout the country. In his opera The Barber of Sivelle, he used both the bel canto and the patter aria to show the various contrasts in the protagonist’s character. Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri (The Italian Girl in Algiers, 1813) and Il Barbiere di Siviglia (1816) are both moving plots told created with the aim of kindling the hidden emotions in the audience.7 These brilliant arias are analyzed by music students all around the world till date. Donizetti Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848) is claimed as one of the most creative writers of his time. Donizetti wrote two main comic operas on his part L'Elisir d'Amore (1832) and Don Pasquale (1843) following Rossini's footsteps. Donizetti also wrote various tragedies like Lucia di Lammermoor.8 These operas dealt with love, fidelity, valor, politics and various other subjects. Bellini Bellini a child prodigy could sing Valentino Fioravanti's aria when he was just 18 months old. Bellini composed Norma and I Puritani. He composed various famous works in his lifetime starting from his most famous work Adelson e Salvini created in 1825 to his last work I Puritani. As a composer who died young, Bellini is a genius compared to his long living co-workers. Verdi Popularly known as quasidramatic plots, Verdi was the father and introducer of this style which was quickly adopted by others. This style spread to France and Germany too quite quickly.9 Verdi’s melodies emphasized general virtuosity as the most important aspect of human existence than valor and love. He was the first one to compose music with perfect balance of voice and instruments. Even then, on- stage orchestration played a key role in the 19th music operas. “Verdi captured character, feeling, and situation in memorable melodies. He also had strict training in harmony and counterpoint, knowledge of past music, and an ear for colorful orchestration.” 10 Puccini Giacomo Puccini is known as the successor of the Verdi. As a person who inherited Verdi's talent Puccini worked on created several melodies11. His works were so melodramatic often depicting the terrible fates of his docile heroines. Some of his famous works were Manon Lescaut (1893), La Bohème (1896), Tosco (1900) and Madama Butterfly (1904). La Fanciulla and Turandot (1926). Comparison Between the works of the Three stars Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti all three used the Bel Canto style significantly in their works. Rossini considered as the pioneer of using patter arias and Bel Canto style travelled easily between comedies and serious operas. Rossini wrote all his works in the period starting from 1813 to 1829. His works were strictly classical. He actually quit writing in Italy at the age of 39 because he could not change his style to the latest Romantic trend that easily. Rossini's patter arias were based on the motto stat soft and get loud as you go, popularly known as the crescendo. Most of his comedies followed this rule. His operas gave immense importance to balance and symmetry. You will be able to notice a distinct chaos created by the chorus to create a buzzing town effect in his crescendo. For example, the famous "Slander" Aria in the opera "The Barber of Seville" represents this style perfectly. To this date this opera is held as an exemplary piece of opere buffe. The swift overtures used in the crescendo gained a prominent place in many orchestras after this opera. Rossini required severe vocal agility from his singers like Isabella Colbran and Giuditta Pasta.12 Absolutely ornate melodies combined with the smooth voice of these extraordinarily trained ladies created a distinct standard for opera. Donizetti – The Predecessor of Verdi Donizetti who invaded the stages by 1830's with his great works like "Anne Boleyn" also followed his master’s path of writing classical acts mixed with comedy. But, his distinct style proved he was the predecessor of Verdi. He easily transcended between serious and comic subjects just like Rossini. He used the same florid melodies and elaborate bel canto vocal lines. But, his libretto's soon changed path trying to bring in realism into this work. Lovingly known by the critics as the 'tune-smith' of the Italian opera, he started writing quirky melodies which were rather short. Each of it had great rhyming. The audience could memorize it quite quickly. These short melodies were instrumental in creating free flowing emotions and kindling several strong emotions between the public. He gave importance to words and lyrics. All his short melodies were quite meaningful. He did not allow music to overshadow their meaning. One example for his quirky melodies style comes in 'The Elixir of Love' where Nemorino rejoices in knowing Adina loves him. He proudly proclaims "M'ama, si, m'ama, lo vdeo!" meaning "yes she loves me. I see it". These simple words are given excellent tuning to represent the greatest joy of a lover clearly and intently. 13This was the style Verdi adapter later in his works, using simple day to day sentences as lyrics instead of using classical words which were seldom used in the day to day life. Donizetti also revolutionized music to represent easy to sing folk tunes, embedding normal day to day sounds in them rather than very lavish tunes for the melodies which could be sung only by trained artists, again a revolution during those days. Donizetti was highly criticized for his experiments during his time. Several claimed his works lack class and style and the writer was not capable of producing great works like that of Bellini and Rossini. Donizetti was accused for letting down the standard of the opera and his works were branded cheap by many. But, they received great applause and recognition from the middle class men. Unlike Victorian era, everybody who had money was allowed to enter these halls without restriction during Donizetti’s period. This paved way for massive improvement in the art form. Once, the middle class started to become frequent visitors of the stage, huge auditoriums and theaters started to emerge with artistic decorations. This led to a revolution in architecture. 14Sound resonating auditoriums, maximum usage of minimum space to seat everybody all started to emerge. The style and the standard of the opera also were changed to match the pace of the changing audience’s taste. Donizetti was the first one to create such form of works and was enormously successful in doing so with ease. Donizetti used his brilliance to match the common man's taste. One best example for his musical excellence is the hard to sing aria from La fille du regiment. The aria has 9 high C's in a row which is considered as one of the toughest piece to sing even today.15 Donizetti presented the music of the future too early to his audience. This earned him several criticisms but did much good to the industry he belonged and served as an inspiration for the future composers like Verdi, Wagner and many others. His style quickly spread throughout the central Europe in a very short period. The Serious Bellini Bellini took forward the legacy of Rossini, retaining only the seriousness in his works, throughout his career. Undoubtedly one of the most dramatic opera creators of the century, Bellini’s word swung between classicism and romanticism. Whatever his work might represent he maintained his distance from comedy. He gave importance to immensely long melodies which can be sung forever. Wagner is said to have been influenced by these extraordinarily long melodies more than others. The composer never compromised his work to match the taste of his audience. His works were much acclaimed by all the critics together. In fact Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti represent the changing times in various ways. One set the standard for the opera and the other two followed his path, eliminating what they thought was unnecessary in the standard. One appealed to the masses and the other to the intellectuals. Both the styles contributed enormously to the growth and evolution of the opera. 16 Bellini is often said to have little talent compared to Donizetti. While Donizetti opened the road for realism, Bellini opened the gates for romanticism in the operas. His often long melodies created a sad, melancholic feeling, a sensation hard to explain. Critics often refer to it as something similar to homesickness. Melodies starting with such subtle sad feelings will continue to grow endlessly and end in a shattering climax with the singer bursting out in high pitch. The emotions overflowed the opera halls often leaving the audience speechless and mesmerized. Starting from "I Puritani" to "Casta Diva" in Norma, the very long melodies were often quite emotional though they lacked perfect orchestration and harmony in many places. Fellice Romani was his favorite librettists. Bellini's style remains unchanged in all his famous operas like La Sonnambula or The Sleepwalker, Norma and I Puritani.17 Most of his works are tragedies and a very few have happy endings. Bellini's extraordinarily serious operas are hard to follow even these days with all the technical improvements. Hence, he failed to leave an impression on his followers unlike Donizetti. But, his works are still held in high esteem amongst the other opera composers. The Modern Era of Verdi and Puccini Giuseppe Verdi, is rightly given the mantle of the 19th century opera. Spanning a 60 year career with 28 opera's Verdi is considered as the most influential artist Italy has seen since the days of the renaissance. He removed Bel canto style used in the opera and paved way for realism. He did not make the singers follow the standard rules by trying hard. He rather chose singers whose voices suited the character. He was the first one to bring in realism into the opera. He created works based on the uprising which resulted in the formation of the Republic of Italy. He patronized revolutionaries through his work, criticized high censorship and enthralled audience with his many gimmicks. When his hero fell from a high tower shouting "Viva Italia", the audience felt as if they themselves were revolting against the government.18 Initially he began writing operas following the same rules as that of Rossini. But, he soon started breaking every standard set. He merged the various elements like recitatives, aria and ensemble together to create pieces which voiced the concerns of the oppressed man. It is often said that Verdi was the only one who used comic opera in the best way to represent his feelings. Falstaff, his prominent work is looked upon as a quite engaging and entertaining one till date. Reminiscence motives were used colossally by Verdi in all his works to differentiate his arias from others. 19Verdi has composed several great operas in his time. Amongst them Otello was one of the last works which gained immense prominence among his creations with Boito. He took nearly ten years to analyze Shakespeare before creating Otello and Fasltaff. Verdi was the first to introduce the sonata form in its traditional "potpourri" approach. The sonata will run parallel to the entire opera. The conclusion will be the highlight of the drama which continues for a long time without pause. There are many contrasting themes presented in the lyrics by Boito. The long arias are shortly interpreted by short dialogues which add more clarity to the flow of the entire play. Otello is credited as the first opera to show dramatic continuity between scenes starting from the very first one till the last ending scene. The opera is a visual treat rather than an exhilarating audible experience. Verdi truly took Italian opera to its pinnacle through his countless reforms. Puccini – the world’s Beloved Opera Composer Puccini is the world’s most beloved composer who followed Verdi in the opera world, never touched politics much. His plays always the resembled exoticness and explored the secrets in the mind of the females. Hailed as the best composer to use "Verismo" style perfectly, he tried different themes with Asian backgrounds to America's Wild West. Tosca is often held as the best work. He established a distinct composition style from his very first opera. Once you hear Puccini's tune, it will linger in your ears forever. Just like Donizetti he gave the music of the future to his audience much earlier than its right time. His works also were highly criticized to the level of being known as the "Puccini Paradox". But, they claimed great fame in the modern era. The "Verismo" style got widely accepted by everyone only through Puccini's work.20 He created elaborate tragedies. But, they were much different from that of Shakespeare or Bellini. They dealt with several new themes like suicide, unrequited love and betrayal. He was the first composer to touch the dark side of the women's heart boldly and stay away from all the virtuous rambles often shown in the operas. Puccini travelled all over the world, took advantage of the various technological advances during his time and created alluring operas which provided a visual treat as well an audible feast. His tunes became the basis of several modern day dramas and albums making him a composer who lives forever. Puccini and the “verismo” style combined so well several other contemporary opera composers followed his path.21 If Verdi took Italian Opera to its pinnacle with his patriotic operas, Puccini took it to the global stage with his versatile themes. Both the composers took the Italian Opera to the next stage within a very short period of time. 22 Conclusion The Italian opera was in its golden days during the 19th century. This highly artistic entertainment has morphed into various digital structures and is still enthralling the world integrating various modern technologies. The 19th century developments in the field can rightly be given the attributes for the modern day development. The opera started revolutionizing itself through the work of great doyens. It underwent severe changes every two decades and attained its height of fame in the late 19th century. The golden age of the Italian opera influenced by the five stars of the era continued to enthrall the audience all over the world till the early 20th century. Even today, this art form is hailed as one of the greatest in music history. References 1. Andre, A. N. Voicing Gender: Castrati, Travesti, and the Second Woman in Early-nineteenth Centruy Italian Opera. Indiana University Press, 2006. p - 15 2. Béhar, P & Watanabe-O'Kelly, H. Spectaculum Europaeum: Theatre and Spectacle in Europe (1580–1750). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1999. 3. Baragwanath, Nicholas. The Italian traditions & Puccini compositional theory and practice in nineteenth-century opera. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2011. p - 6 4. Bucciarelli, Melania. Italian opera in Central Europe. Berlin: BWV, Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, 2006. P- 255 5. Forman, Denis. A night at the opera: an irreverent guide to the plots, the singers, the composers, the recordings. New York: Random House, 1995. 6. Fisher, Burton D. A history of opera milestones and metamorphoses. Miami, Fla.: Opera Journeys Pub., 2005. Pp – 128 – 132. 7. Greenberg, R. How to Listen to and Understand Opera: Parts III, IV. Chantilly, VA: The Teaching Company, 1997. 8. Harwood, Gregory W.Giuseppe Verdi: a guide to research. New York: Garland, 1998. p -160 9. Mallach, Alan. The autumn of Italian opera from verismo to modernism, 1890-1915. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2007.  p - 135 10. Marvin, Roberta Montemorra. Fashions and legacies of nineteenth-century Italian opera. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010. P - 4 11. Parker, Roger. The Oxford illustrated history of opera. England: Oxford University Press, 1994. 12. Pistone, Danie. Nineteenth-century Italian opera from Rossini to Puccini. Portland: Amadeus Press, 1995.  13. Plotkin, Fred. Opera 101: a complete guide to learning and loving opera. New York: Hyperion, 1994. 14. Rosselli, John. Singers of Italian opera: the history of a profession. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. P -200 15. Sadie, Stanley. History of opera. New York: W.W. Norton, 1990. Print. 16. Sorabella, J. (2000). “The Opera”. In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Retrieved 24th April 2014 from 17. Steib, Murray. Reader's Guide to Music History, Theory and Criticism.Hoboken: Taylor and Francis, 2013. P -514 18. Www.Discoverclassicalmusic.co.uk. “The World’s greatest operas”. Lulu.com. p - 6 Retrieved 24th April 2014 from 19. Weaver, William. The golden century of Italian opera from Rossini to Puccini. London: Thames and Hudson, 1980. P - 514 20. Warrack, John, and Ewan West. The Oxford dictionary of opera. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. Read More