Opera

From ArticleWorld


Opera is a dramatic art form that developed in Europe. It consists of a powerful emotional message that is transmitted to an audience by music and lyrics. Although it has been compared to another performing art, the musical theatre, Opera is different because in it, music is as important as words. In addition, it is inspired from several other arts containing many features from them. This gives it the complexity it is known for. Nowadays, several types of operas can be analyzed. All of them have characteristics and variations. Opera is a very complex dramatic art.

The beginning

If you translate the word “Opera” from Latin, you will find out that it means “Words”. A thorough linguistic research will also show that the term is actually referring to a combination of dancing, solo and group singing. All of these are usually performed on a stage and in front of an audience. The first work that is considered an opera dates back to 1597. That is when Jacobo Peri wrote “Dafne”. This opera is now lost and the first one that was written and survived until know was Peri’s “Euridice”, dating back from 1600. A new type of composing was developing. Italian songwriters started using new techniques and eventually, especially in the last years of the 17th century, they created operas for royalty. In the same time, these performances were beginning to be held for paying audiences as well. This is how they were introduced to people and their success was much more than expected. Opera developed in Europe and gained different features. This was because of the traditional influence of each composer. We know can find different types of opera:

  • Baroque Opera
  • Bel Canto and Italian Nationalism influenced Opera
  • French Opera
  • German-language Opera
  • Modern Opera
  • Contemporary Opera

Turning point

Wagner was one composer that changed the face of opera. He developed a new style. After his death, there has been a constant decay in original writing. Composers thought that they had to compare themselves with Wagner and wrote under a visible influence. Because of this, at the beginning of the 20th century operas started to be divided in two:

  1. verismo operas
  2. modernism operas

Nowadays an increase in popularity is noticeable. People are attending opera performances and they are highly demanding. The only real problem that appears comes from the composition aspects. There have not been many operas written in the 20th and 21st centuries that have been included in the list of worldwide-accepted operas.