Opera

Opera is a special kind of Western theatre where music is very important. In opera, actors sing to tell the story. An opera mixes many arts together, like singing, acting, pretty scenery, fancy costumes, and sometimes dancing. Shows usually happen in big opera houses. There is an orchestra or a small group of musicians playing music, often led by a conductor.

Opera started in Italy in the late 1500s and soon spread across Europe. Famous composers like Claudio Monteverdi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Giuseppe Verdi, and Richard Wagner wrote many beloved operas. Over time, opera has taken many forms, from serious stories to lighter, funny ones. Today, opera still charms audiences, with performances sometimes shown live in cinemas around the world.

Operatic terminology

The words of an opera are called the libretto, which means "small book." Some composers, like Wagner, wrote their own libretti, while others worked closely with a writer, such as Mozart with Lorenzo Da Ponte.

Traditional opera includes two main ways of singing: recitative, which moves the story forward and sounds like natural speech, and aria, where characters sing formal songs to show their feelings. Opera can also include vocal duets, trios, ensembles, and choruses that comment on the action. In some types of opera, such as singspiel, opéra comique, operetta, and semi-opera, spoken dialogue is used instead of recitative.

During the Baroque and Classical periods, recitative could be performed in two ways: secco (dry) recitative, which is sung with a free rhythm and accompanied only by basso continuo—usually a harpsichord and a cello—and accompagnato (also known as strumentato), where the orchestra provides accompaniment. Over time, arias began to be accompanied by the orchestra more often. By the 19th century, the orchestra played a larger role, and Wagner changed opera by mixing aria and recitative into what he called "endless melody." Many composers followed Wagner’s style.

History

Main article: History of opera

Opera is a special kind of theatre where music is very important. Actors become singers to tell the story. It mixes many art forms like acting, scenery, costumes, and sometimes dance. Shows happen in opera houses, led by an orchestra or a small group of musicians.

The word "opera" comes from the Italian for "work." The first operas tried to copy ancient Greek plays, where people sang instead of spoke. One of the first operas was "Dafne" by Jacopo Peri around 1597. Later, Claudio Monteverdi's "L'Orfeo" from 1607 became very famous. Opera started out for royalty but later had public shows where anyone could buy tickets.

During the Baroque period, opera became more popular. Composers like Francesco Cavalli helped spread it across Italy. There were serious operas called opera seria and funny ones called opera buffa. Famous singers were big stars. Later, changes by Gluck and Mozart made the stories more important. In the 19th century, bel canto style was popular with composers like Rossini and Bellini. Giuseppe Verdi made operas more dramatic and emotional. After Verdi, verismo operas told realistic stories about everyday life.

Operatic voices

Opera singers have special ways to make their voices loud enough to be heard over the orchestra, because there were no microphones in the past. Singers are grouped by the type of voice they have. Men can be bass, baritone, or tenor, and women can be mezzo-soprano or soprano. There are also special names for singers who can hit very high notes or who act in fun ways while singing.

Famous opera singers have been popular for centuries. Some were known for their very high or very powerful voices. Today, many people still enjoy listening to recordings of these talented singers.

Changing role of the orchestra

Before the 1700s, Italian operas used small string orchestras. These orchestras mostly played between songs or during dances. They rarely played with the singers. They used a harpsichord and other plucked instruments.

By the early 1700s, composers started using the orchestra more. They added wind instruments and played solos to highlight special parts of the music.

Over time, orchestras grew larger and more important. They began playing music before the opera started, called an overture. In the 1800s, the orchestra became a key part of telling the story. They played special musical themes. Leading these large groups changed—from a harpsichord player or a sitting violinist to a standing conductor who guides both the orchestra and the singers.

Language and translation issues

Many famous composers, like Handel and Mozart, chose Italian for their opera stories. Some operas, like Lucia di Lammermoor and Don Carlos, are known in both Italian and French.

Today, most operas are performed in the language they were written in. But some opera houses, like the English National Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, use English translations. In the 1980s, opera houses began using supertitles—text shown above the stage or on screens—to help audiences follow along. This is because it can be hard to understand words when they are sung. These supertitles, sometimes called surtitles, are now common in opera shows and recordings.

Funding

Opera houses outside the United States, especially in Europe, often get money from taxpayers. For example, in Milan, Italy, a famous opera house called La Scala gets money from ticket sales and private donations, but also from public funds. In the United Kingdom, organizations like the Arts Council England help pay for several opera companies. These include the Opera North, the Royal Opera House, the Welsh National Opera, and the English National Opera.

This public funding helps many opera houses stay open all year in Europe. For example, Germany had about 80 opera houses open year-round, while the U.S. did not have any at that time.

Television, cinema and the Internet

Opera has found new ways to reach people through television, cinema, and the Internet. In 1951, the United States saw its first opera made just for TV, Amahl and the Night Visitors, by Gian Carlo Menotti. In 1992, Italy broadcast Tosca live from famous Roman places at times matching the story.

Today, many opera companies show their shows in cinemas. The Metropolitan Opera started live high-definition video transmissions in 2006, reaching thousands of theatres. Other famous opera houses like The Royal Opera and La Scala also share their performances around the world.

The Internet lets people enjoy opera online. The Glyndebourne Festival Opera offered downloads and online streams of their shows. In 2012, the first online community opera, Free Will, was created by people from many countries and performed at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, with live streaming for everyone to watch.