CHAPTER 41

Music in the Age of

Enlightenment: Opera

• Enlightenment: a philosophical, scientific, and political movement that dominated 18th-century thought – and ultimately brought about the transition to a

more democratic society.

• Also called the Age of Reason, the Enlightenment was characterized by:

– scientific pursuit of truth and discovery of natural laws.

– the extension of natural laws to the political realm, including the notion that all persons are born free.

– faith in human reason rather than divine providence.

– the rise of Deism, a natural religion postulating that a Creator had made the world, put it in motion, but left it alone thereafter.

• Les philosophes: a group of French freethinkers who espoused the principles of – social justice – equality– religious tolerance– freedom of speech.

• Among them were Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

• Between 1751 and 1772, les philosophes compiled the 28 -volume Encyclopédie– the most comprehensive work of its kind to date.

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau: a leading Enlightenment philosopher, he was also a composer and writer on music.

• As well as providing the entries on music in the Encyclopédie and compiling a Dictionnaire de musique, – Rousseau composed several works, including comic opera.

• Galant style: music of the 18th century that emphasized grace, lightness in texture, and, symmetrical melodic structures.

• The galant ideal goes hand in hand with the Enlightenment values of naturalness, clarity, and simplicity.

• The opera house in Dresden, built in 1719, became one of the most important operatic centers in 18th-century Europe.

• This opera house hired some of the most successful singers and composers in the continent. – Among them, opera composer Johann Hasse.

• Pietro Metastasio: principal librettist of 18th-century opera seria.

• Although he often collaborated with Hasse, his libretti were set nearly 400 times by other 18th-century composers– including Handel, Gluck, and Mozart.

• When compared to its Baroque counterpart, Enlightenment opera seria featured a reduced number of characters and a simplified libretto. Among its characteristics:

– a disguised allegorical praise of the ruler.

– a lieto fine, or happy ending.

– elaborate scenery, sometimes including animals on stage.

– castrati sing the roles of young romantic leads• while tenors and basses sing those of authoritative

male figures.

– the music consists exclusively of simple recitative and florid da capo arias which provided a display case for virtuoso sopranos and castrati.

Opera seria

Coloratura: a florid figuration assigned to the soprano voice. The singers of such passage work are called coloratura sopranos.

• Comic opera: a simpler, more direct type of musical theater that – made use of comic characters– dealt with everyday social issues– emphasized middle class values more than opera

seria.

• Rather than only in Italian, comic opera was sung in the local tongue.

• Arising in several countries in Europe, comic opera went by various names:

– Ballad opera in England

– Opera buffa in Italy

– Opéra comique in France

Comic Opera

The Beggar's Opera

• Ballad: a traditional, usually strophic, English song that tells a story.

• Ballad opera: a comic opera that makes use of re-texted ballads (or other popular songs) and spoken dialogue rather than recitative. John Gay's seminal The Beggar's Opera, produced in London in 1728, was the first important ballad opera.

• Opera buffa: Italian comic opera, it featured a wide spectrum of social classes, from peasants to noblemen.

• Developed first as separate comic scenes between the acts of an opera seria.

• Unlike in an English ballad opera, the dialogue is delivered in simple recitative.

• Intermezzo: a musical diversion between acts of an opera or play.

• Giovanni Battista Pergolesi: composer of the famous two-act opera, La serva padrona– the best known opera buffa of the first half of the 18th

century.

• War of the Buffoons: a war of words sparked by the Parisian performance of Pergolesi's La serva padrona in 1752.

• Social critics on either side of the argument debated on what sort of opera was appropriate for the French stage: – The traditional French court opera (tragédie

lyrique) or– the newer, lighter Italian opera buffa?

• Opéra comique: similar to the Italian opera buffa, it features characters from everyday life. – While the dialogue is sometimes spoken and other

times sung in simple recitative, the lyrical portions consist of simple airs or popular melodies called vaudevilles.

• Chistoph Willibald Gluck: a native of the Czech Republic, he worked in most major cities in Europe until 1752, when he settled in Vienna.

• There he directed the French opera and dance company at the court of Empress Maria Theresa.

• In 1762 Gluck and librettist Ranieri Calzabigi teamed up to create a new type of opera called "reform opera."

• The first such "reform opera" was Orfeo et Euridice, based on the ever popular myth of Orpheus.

• Reform opera: Gluck's new type of opera that aimed at combining the best features of the Italian and the French operatic traditions. Among its characteristics:

– Reduced importance of elaborated, coloratura singing.

– Elimination of da capo arias in favor of strophic forms.

– Extensive use of obbligato recitative (also called accompanied recitative).

– Less distinction between recitatives and arias.

– Fewer characters and simplified plot.

– Increased importance of the chorus.

– Dance assumes a dramatic role.

– Increased importance of the orchestra.