“A leitmotiv- guiding, or leading, motive- is a musical motive associated with some person, thing, idea, or symbol in the drama.” What purpose does a leitmotiv serve concerning the human mind? Does it make it easier to foreshadow an event due to the musical association to characters or ideas? (270)
What caused the shift from serious opera to comic opera? Was there a turning point in history that fueled this shift in art form?
Is there a certain time when recitative is more appropriate than aria?
“A leitmotiv- guiding, or leading, motive- is a musical motive associated with some person, thing, idea, or symbol in the drama.” To put it in simpler terms, is a leitmotiv basically music acting as a symbol for some kind of emotion? Would the ominous music in a movie be a leitmotiv to warn us that something bad will happen? Later on in the reading, it says that even after Wagner, leitmotivs were “employed in most operas, in form or another; its dramatic power was acknowledged by both audiences and composers alike.” We mentioned in class that even though the Opera is in a different language, we can still understand the storyline. Do leitmotivs play a role in this?
Why is religion so closely tied to music concerning vocal pieces of the Baroque era?
I found it interesting that back when Opera’s were at the peak of their popularity the audiences decided to pay attention only when their singers came on to perform. Is it ironic that at the height of its popularity the audiences sought to appreciate only a particular part of the performance and now when Operas are seen as visiting old art forms the audiences are more captivated by the performances? It just seems as the interest should be reversed, but then again maybe it is just that people appreciate things less when they do not know how things will be in the future. Could this be applied to films nowadays and how people go to see their favorite actors?
Okay, wow, I barely understood any of that. The reading contained a lot of technical terms that really didn’t translate to a non-Music major like myself. There’s a lot that apparently is invested into crafting the music for an opera so I’m wondering if this applies to any particular form of music. How much work and study does it take to attain this level of being able to hear, interpret, understand and manipulate music in such a scientific way? Is it relegated to only the opera or does all music require this amount of in-depth understanding and thought? If yes, how and where can I learn this, cause now I feel like such a musical dunce. Also, as someone who just enjoys banging on his bass guitar pointlessly once in a while, I have to wonder if music becomes more of a chore than creative expression when it appears to be so formulaic. At a professional level, can a musician or composer lose their zeal for the art?
If the castrati were so prized and given top biilling, why would most of them be relegated to just singing in churches? Did so many people submit to this practice that there could have even been too many?
I found the part about the castrati very disturbing. Isn’t what they’re doing defeating the purpose of opera and theatre? Actors usually connect to the audience based on real-life experiences and difficulties that they’ve faced/overcome. But these are people who have willingly gone through terrible pain just so that they could have high-pitched voices. It seems wrong, and not at all genuine.
