In preparation to see the opera on Monday night, we discussed the history and different aspects of an opera in seminar class. Professor Kahan explained that the opera was originally conceived during the 1600s in Italy in order to combine music and drama. After its conception, the opera really caught on and became a sought after art form. Besides having entertainment value for the audience, there was a strong competition between the opera singers to hit the highest note they could and hold it for the longest time.
Professor explained that some of the best opera composers (in her opinion) were Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, Puccini and Bizet. In seminar, we the music of three of these great composers: Mozart, Puccini and Bizet. First, we listened to Don Giovanni by Beethoven Mozart. Using this opera, we learned that there are two main parts of the opera: an aria and a recitativo. An aria is a long piece sang to express one emotion or thought. Singers often use this piece to show off their vocal abilities to others. A recitativo, on the other hand, is a minor part in the opera that is used for dialogue and narration. This is the closest to ordinary speech that you will hear during the opera.
The second opera that we listened to was The Barber of Seville by Rossini. The portion that we listened to was the character Figgero singing about the different tasks and business deals he performs on behalf of his patrons. Here, we examined an example of a pattersong. A pattersong requires the singer to sing a lot of words in a very short period of time. It is very often used to convey comedy and levity.
Finally, we looked at the opera we are going to see on Wednesday, Turandot by Puccini. This VERY popular aria has been sung by many, many, tenors over the years, but none compares to the musical brilliance of Pavarotti. As a class, we watched clips from 1980, 1998 and 2006. It is quite peculiar how Pavarotti’s sing abilities got better as he aged. It was absolutely astounding to see a 71-year-old man sing this beautiful yet difficult aria perfectly! There are no words that describe Pavoritti’s amazing talent.
