A (Very) Brief History of Opera
In The Beginning…
The first ever opera was “Dafne” by Jacopo Peri – written in the renaissance period over 400 years ago. The first opera that is still performed regularly today is Montiverdi’s “L’Orfeo”, which tells the Greek legend of Orpheus travelling to the underworld to save his lover, Eurydice.
Baroque
Classical
The main man of classical opera of course none other than Mr Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who wrote some of the most famous operas ever: think “The Magic Flute”, “The Marriage of Figaro” and “Don Giovanni” (Don Juan). Other notable composers of this time period include Gluck, Haydn and Salieri.
Fun Fact: There is a a legend that Salieri killed Mozart out of envy – played out in the 1984 film “Amadeus”.
The classical period saw a rise in popularity of the “opera buffa” or comic opera, that included stories of more relatable characters from lower class backgrounds, like housemaids and servants. One famous trope was when a character would put on a “disguise” on par with some glasses and a fake tache, that would somehow make their closest family or lover unable to recognise them!
Romantic
As we get into the 19th century, and the romantic period, there’s a lot more diversity in the different styles of operas being written. In the early part of the century, the main style of opera being performed was bel canto (Italian for beautiful singing), which was popularised by Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini. A lot of bel canto operas are comedies, although there are serious ones too, like Donizetti’s “Maria Stuarda”, which tells the tragic story of Mary Queen of Scots.
Fun Fact: Rossini’s famous opera “The Barber of Seville” (featuring the equally famous aria “Largo al factotum”) is a prequel to Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro” even though it was written about 30 years later!
The second half of the 19th century and into the beginning of the 20th century is where we find many of the most famous names in opera. Some of the biggest names include Verdi (La Traviata, Rigoletto, Otello), Puccini (La boheme, Madam Butterfly, Tosca) and Bizet (Carmen, The Pearl Fishers), although there are a lot more!
By now, the size of an orchestra had grown from only 10-30 players in the baroque period, to around 100, which meant that singers had to produce a lot more sound to be heard in a theatre. The music was also far more dramatic, with complex harmonies, and intense stories of love at first sight and tragic death.
It would be impossible at this point not to mention the epic story of Gounod’s opera “Faust”, about a man who literally sells his soul to the devil, which Paisley Opera will be performing this October (dates and more info to come!)
The real drama-king was Wagner, whose operas required so much dramatic power that some singers dedicated their entirecareers to singing his roles. Funnily enough, his stories returned to themes more reminiscent of the baroque period, featuring mythical gods and goddesses.
Modern
Operas written from around the mid 20th century to the 21st century are thought of as being modern! A new style of music that came about during this time was minimalism, which features a lot of repetition, and slow, gradual changes in the music.
Some of the most well-known examples of minimalist opera include John Adams’ “Nixon in China” which tells the story of Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit to China, and Philip Glass’ “Akhnaten”, about the life of the Egyptian pharoah of the same name.
Some operas evolved with the more popular musical styles of their day, and became more similar in style to popular music like jazz and musical theatre, for example, Berstein’s “Candide”.
Fun Fact: The jazz standard “Summertime” is originally from an opera by Gershwin called “Porgy and Bess”.
There are still lots of operas being written today that push the boundaries of the art form, with modern themes like social justice and environmentalism that resonate with modern audiences. As we look to the future opera, one thing is certain: opera lovers will continue to exist because nothing can capture a heart like a melody can!