A brief history of opera in dates:
1598 - A new genre of music called "Opera in Musica" is premiered in Jacopo Corsi's Palazzo. The opera is called "Daphne" set to the music by Jacopo Peri and Jacopo Corsi and libretto by Ottavio Rinuccini.
Notes:
- "Opera in Musica" comes from the word Opus , which means Work. Opera is the plural. Therefore, the actual translation of "Opera in Musica" is "Works in Music".
- During the late Renaissance the humanists wanted to revive what they considered to be the ancient Greek Tragedy. This was the beginning of the new genre called Opera.
1600 - The Opera Euridice is premiered at the wedding of King Henry IV of France
1607 - Claudio Monteverdi's opera "L'Orfeo, favola in musica" is premiered. Monteverdi is the first composer to set the basic elements in developing Baroque Opera. Some of the characteristics he adopted were to stop using polyphony, he develops a new way of composing and adds basso continue (which means accompanying bass/melody)
Middle of the 17th Century - Opera is accessible to the public. Opera buffa (comic opera) and Opera Seria (Serious Opera) are both develop, as per the public's demands. In addition, the singers start to become well known and the public demands arias which will showcase their vocal ablities.
1762 - The Opera "Orfeo ed Euridice" by Christoph Willibald von Gluck is premiered in Vienna which brings back the ancient Greek Tragedy theme and plot.
1767 - The Opera "Alceste" by Christoph Willibald von Gluck is premiered in Vienna. This is the first that the composer, Gluck, suggests a new relation between the dramaturgy and music, where music supports the libretto and the story's plot. This suggestion is accepted in France and composers such as Jean-Baptiste Lully and Philippe Rameau operate in such way, when composing.
1678-1738 - Hamburg Opera is establishes. This is the point where the German composers start establishing the German Opera.
Middle of the 18th century, France - Opera Comique is establishes in France, which shares characteristics of the Italian Opera Buffa (Comic Opera) and the German Signspiel (German Folk-like Opera).
Second half of the 18th century, Germany - The German Signspiel is established, influence by the Italian Opera and the French Opera Comique.
1770 - The opera "Pygmalyon" by Jean-Jacques Rousseau is premiered in Lyon and establishes the French Scene Lyrique. Those characteristics were further developed during the 19th and 20th Century and were used by Ludwig Van Beethoven in his opera "Fidelio" and by Carl Maria Von Weber in his opera "Die Freiszhutz".
1786 - Wolfgang Amadeus Opera "Le Nozze di Figaro" (The Marriage of Figaro) is premiered in Vienna. Mozart works are based on the Italian Opera Buffa as well as the Italian Opera Seria. In addition, his last opera "Die Zauberflote" (The Magic Flute) was based on the German Signspiel. You can read more about Mozart's last opera in the blogs:
End of 18th - early 19th Century, France - The French Revolution changes the plots and stories of opera where opera serves as a means of patriotic hymns and emphasizes on the people's everyday struggles.
Early 19th century, Germany - The Romantische Nationaloper and Grosse Historische Oper are developed, which emphasize on romanticism and nature.
19th Century France - The Grand Opera is developed which emphasizes on nationality.
Early 19th Century, Italian Opera in France - The Théâtre Italien is developed in Paris. Paris is considered to be the center of the development of the Italian Opera. Composers such as Gioacchino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti and Vincenzo Bellini stay loyal to the Italian Opera and use the Bel Canto (beautiful singing) in their compositions. An 18th century vocal technique.
1851 - Richard Wagner publishes the boom "Opera und Drama" in an attempt to analyze opera and to suggest a new way of composition. He develops the Romantische Nationaloper and brings it to its peak.
middle of 19th century, France - Drame Lyrique is developed which emphasizes on drama, historical events and mythology.
middle of 19th century, Italian Opera - Literature is used as the base of the Italian opera's plot. Giuseppe Verdi is considered to be the revolutionary of that period.
End of 19th century - early 20th century, France - Verismo (realism) is developed in opera where the story's are now based on real life events. Important composers of that era were: Pietro Mascagni, Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Francesco Cilea and Giacomo Puccini.
20th Century - Mixture of styles, forms and expressions are being used by composers as well as new and old compositional styles. Some 20th century composers are: Claude Debussy, Richard Strauss, Alban Berg, Francis Poulenc and more.
Parakanou, A., 2007, Chronology of Opera, in Anna Karapanou (ed.) Maria Callas: 30 Years after (Athens: The Hellenic Parliament Foundation for Parliamentarism and Democracy) pp.16-19.
2024
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