OPERA 



4380 



OPERA 



P'ERA, in common with picture gal- 

 leries and public statues, is an important factor 

 in developing an appreciation of the beautiful 

 in art. It is a dramatic composition set to 

 music and sung on the stage, accompanied by 

 an orchestra and enriched by dancing and the 

 usual stage accessories of scenery and costumes. 

 A great many varieties and forms of opera have 

 come into existence, of which the chief classes 

 are grand opera, or opera seria, constructed 

 upon rather serious themes, sometimes tragic 

 and sometimes comic; opera comique, or opera 

 bouffe, a lighter, more fanciful form; and ro- 

 mantic opera, or opera dramatica, of the Ital- 

 ians, combining elements of the grave and the 

 comic. Modern opera is usually introduced by 

 an instrumental overture, and one of the acts 

 generally contains a ballet or pantomimic dance. 

 Although the Greek dramas were operatic in 

 character, the opera proper is of modern date 

 and of Italian origin. The first opera, Dajnc, 

 was produced in l.~>[) 1. with words by Rinuccini, 

 a poet, and the music by Peri, one of the most 

 celebrated musicians of his time. The orches- 

 tra consisted of four instruments a harpsi- 

 chord, a harp, a violoncello and a lute; there 

 was no attempt at airs, and the dialogue was 

 d without regular rhythm or melody. 

 Dafne was semiprivately performed, hut Euri- 



tho same composers, was prodi; 

 1600 before a public audience, and so great was 

 its success that it became the model for stage 

 music. It marks the birth of real opera. 

 Monteverde (1567-1643), a Milanese m 

 not only added many instruments to the or- 

 chestra, but improved the hy pvinn 

 it more flow and expression. Alessandro Scar- 

 latti of Naples (1659-1725) wrote many beauti- 

 ful melodies and cast them into regular mold, 

 first opera composers to 

 make the airs harmonise with the dialogue. 



Meanwhile opera was making great strides in 

 Germany, France and England. Lully (1633- 

 1687), in France, introduced the ballet. The 

 operas of Henry Purcell (1658-1695) were char- 

 acterized by a boldness of thought and great 

 dramatic conception, which gave promise of the 

 establishment of an English school of opera, 

 but the dominating personality of the German 

 composer Handel (1685-1759) overshadowed the 

 influence that Purcell might have had over 

 English music. To-day Handel's operas are not 

 frequently heard, because of their lack of dra- 

 matic power. 



The eighteenth century brought a revival and 

 reform in opera history through the masterly 

 hand of Gluck (1714-1787), who remodeled the 

 opera entirely. Many were the battles he 

 waged before he succeeded in bringing the ar- 

 tistic world to his point of view. His methods 

 triumphed, and his influence may be seen in 

 the work of the group of brilliant German mas- 

 ters that followed his lead Mozart, Beethoven. 

 Weber and Spohr. These are a few of the p 

 names with which the early history of opera is 

 identified. Gluck's name will forever be asso- 

 ciated with his Iphigenie en Aulide, Iphigcnie 

 en Tauridr and Orjeo. Another Colossus, Rich- 

 ard Wagner (1813-1883), stands foremost in the 

 list of modern composers. His efforts have 

 revolutionized opera, and every composer - 

 his time shows some trace of his remarkable 

 influence. He believed that in the rendering 

 of opera the arts of music, action, pot-try and 

 scenery must stand on equal footing--non 

 subservient to the other; nml in the music of 

 his operas there is a flow of many melodic* 

 which work toother into one glorious, har- 

 monious whole. His works represent the height 

 of dramatic perfection. He preferred that the 

 name miuic drama should be applied to his 



