Monday’s class was all about opera.  This seemed appropriate considering that in a couple of days we’d be going to see what, for most of us, was our first opera.  Something that professor Kahan had said that I found to be particularly interesting was that opera singers were like athletes.  I listened to the explanation about how both need to practice a lot and take care of themselves in order to keep up and perform well, and being an athlete myself, I instantly understood and began to have more admiration and respect for opera singers. Another thing about opera that I found interesting was its history.  The fact that women were once not allowed to be on stage and some men had to make the sacrifice/decision to take their roles seems ludicrous.

As the class progressed, we took an even closer look at opera.  First, we discussed how all of Mozart’s works have a consistent theme of overcoming depression, which was actually news to me.  Then, we looked at the structure of opera.  We discussed how at certain times, the plot would simply get moved along and notes would be used mainly to get the speech out.  On the other hand, there is an aria, which is the main part of music.  It is when the singer expresses an emotion or thought.  It is usually sung twice and the second time with improvisation in order to show off the singer’s voice.   Women’s voice types were also a major part of our discussion on Monday.  There is mezzo soprano, dramatic soprano, lyric soprano, spinto soprano, and light lyric soprano, just to name a few.

To truly understand the different styles and components of opera, we listened to a few examples. Nessun Dorma by Pavarotti was so touching and the talent that the vocalist had was incredible.  Madamina was also an enjoyable performance, but for a different reason.  It was a comedy about rape, which shows what was expected of men with power, sexually.

On Monday’s class, Professor Kahan explained to us the different types of singing in an opera. The three types of male voices, from lowest to highest, that we discussed in class were bass, baritone, and tenor. For a male to be able to sing in tenor is extremely difficult because it is very high pitched. One example of a male singing in tenor was when Luciano Pavarotti sang “Nessun Dorma.” Luciano Pavarotti had become extremely famous for singing this song from the opera Turandot because he hits the line “vincerò” at a perfect tenor pitch. Since Luciano Pavarotti is one of the most respected opera singers in the twenty first century, we watched his performances of “Nessun Dorma” three times each during different time frames. Even though Pavarotti was a different age each time he sang this song, it sounded amazing all three times. He also sounded the same all three times. However, he had a more matured voice in his later years. It truly amazes me how he could sing so beautifully and powerfully at the age of seventy and at an unhealthy state.

Another video that we watched to give an example of a type of male opera voice was the song “Largo al Factotum” from the opera The Barber of Seville. This song was shown to give an example of a baritone male voice. I have seen the this opera before and this was my absolute favorite song. It is probably one of the most famous baritone songs in an opera. It is a difficult song to sing because it is very upbeat and the performer singing it must be moving around the stage the whole time, since the role of Figaro is very exuberant.     “Largo al Factotum” is also a great example of a patter song. A patter song  is a song in which the words are sung extremely fast. Both of these songs, “Nessun Dorma” and “Largo al Factotum” are two songs that i fully enjoy and I am so happy that Professor Kahan chose them to exemplify some of the types of male opera voices.

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.

In today’s seminar, I learned a lot about something I honestly never thought I would understand: Opera. Not to sound immature or uneducated, but the thought of people yelling long words at each other in different languages wasn’t anything I thought I could understand. However, today’s class really shined a light on to what the art of opera is really about and what it consists of.

We began the class by speaking about the different ranges of voice for men. The lowest range for a man is bass, but a long time ago, young men would castrate themselves (ouch) for the sake of being able to sing higher. These young men literally devoted their entire lives to singing opera, and I find this dedication, although somewhat psychotic, to be respectable nevertheless. Next, we learned the two types of opera singing: Recitativo and Aria. Recitativo is moderately paced dialogue, usually used to explain part of the story or keep it rolling along. Aria, however, is when the singer is able to have his or her “time to shine” and show off what they can really do with their voice. I was especially impressed by opera singing after I was able to understand Aria. Most people, including myself, would hear opera singing and immediately just think of a man in a fluffy costume yelling FIGAROOOOOOOO for as long as he could. After learning the emotional passion that is contained in the aria, as well as the incredible strain the singers must put on their voices to maintain high notes with no amplification, I was definitely able to appreciate the opera much more.

Opera, like any other type of music, can also be about anything. Giovanni’s Catalog Aria tells a very lighthearted and humorous story about a promiscuous man who’s had relations with practically everyone in town. So, contrary to my previous beliefs, opera really isn’t just people in fluffy costumes singing gibberish in angry languages. The emotional element, as well as the physical demand, have definitely changed my opinion about opera.