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Semi-opera, like early 'musical theatre', is just adding more and more song-and-dance numbers to a show; these are typically the most popular bits of such a show, so it's composition-by-focus-group. Purcell and Dryden, however, aren't hacks; they knew exactly what the difference was between, say, King Arthur and Dido , even though Dryden didn't write the text for the latter.
Opera was the pre-eminent musical form - if you wanted to make your name as a composer, you wrote an opera. In fact, this is still true to some extent - look at how much attention George Benjamin has had since Written on Skin. Without listening to the important operas of an era, you really don't have the full picture.
- La Bohème
- Carmen
- The Magic Flute
- The Barber of Seville
- The Marriage of Figaro
- La Traviata
- Tosca
- Madama Butterfly
- Rigoletto
If you’ve ever seen Jonathan Larson’s revolutionary rock musical RENT, Puccini’s storyline will sound rather familiar. La bohèmetells the tale of a group of poor, struggling artists in Paris, focusing on the love story between Rodolfo, the poor bohemian, and Mimi, the dying maid. It’s full of super-emotional arias, like ‘Che gelida manina’ (What a ...
The title character in Bizet’s salacious opera is a seductress, an outrageous flirt who drives men wild. A nineteenth-century version of Chicago’s Velma Kelly, if you will. From the barnstorming orchestral Overture and the macho Toreador’s Song to the sultry ‘Habanera’ and ‘Seguidilla’, Bizet’s opera is like a collection of Romantic era musical the...
This opera by Mozart is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that includes both singing and spoken dialogue – just like a musical would (excluding those weird exceptions, like Les Misérables). But the main thing you need to know about this opera is that it contains one of the most terrifying arias ever to grace the opera world. Its German tit...
If you’re used to the jaunty heel-tapping storylines associated with musical theatre and are concerned by the rumour that literally everyone dies in opera, look no further. Rossini’s opera is a comic tale of love and trickery between the young, desirable Rossina, her creepy uncle Dr Bartolo, and her future lover Almaviva. Oh, and there’s Figaro the...
And there’s a follow-up story! Just in case you were confused about why the song that says ‘Figaro’ a billion times in it isn’t actually from The Marriage of Figaro (it would seem logical), there is an explanation. Le Mariage de Figarowas originally a play, written in 1778 by Pierre Beaumarchais, and it’s the second in the ‘Figaro’ trilogy, precede...
You might not know the name, but you’ll likely recognise the tune of the jaunty ‘Libiamo ne’ lieti calici’, otherwise known as the ‘Drinking Song’. Giuseppe Verdi’s tragic tale of Violetta, the Parisian courtesan, is filled with passion, drama and wonderful melodies – and if you love the beautiful tunes yet dark undercurrents of Les Misérables, thi...
Is there a darker, more passionate opera than Puccini’s brilliant Tosca? Featuring one of the composer’s greatest arias ‘E lucevan le stelle’, the story is one of death, betrayal and booming chords (not all operas are cheery, you may have gathered). It’s a storyline that dates back to Shakespeare, but if you dig the whole dying-for-each-other thing...
If you’re a Miss Saigonsuperfan, the storyline of this next storming Puccini opera will be ringing a few bells of familiarity. Madama Butterflytells the story of 15-year-old Butterfly, a young Japanese girl who falls in love with Pinkerton, an American officer in Nagasaki – only for him to later abandon her and return with a wife. Nice work, Pinker...
Verdi's opera has a fun name, and its most famous aria ‘La donna è mobile’ is in a delightfully jolly major key. But underneath, it’s all about the Taken-esque kidnapping of a man's daughter, and her suicide over a man who thinks that all women are fickle and small-minded (the unfortunate literal translation of ‘La donna è mobile’). The aria is a b...
Apr 27, 2018 · Simply put, an operetta is also a short opera with a humorous theme. Like operas, operettas are performed in many languages. Still, some of the most famous operettas, like Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore (1878), The Pirates of Penzance (1879), and The Mikado (1885), are written in and most commonly performed entirely in English.
An opera is primarily sung, whereas in a musical, the songs are interspersed with passages of dialogue. In both instances, it is drama and words that drive the action. Both operas and musicals use librettos, i.e. texts, as their basis, but in the case of opera, the singing tends to be continuous, whereas in musicals, much of the plot is ...
Conclusion. In conclusion, while musicals and operas share common elements such as music, singing, and storytelling, they possess distinct attributes that set them apart. Operas, with their historical origins, operatic singing, and focus on dramatic narratives, offer a grand and emotionally intense experience.
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Oct 28, 2016 · The music, the stories, the costumes, the voices! To kick off National Opera Week 2016, a week-long celebration of the art form, we’re sending up some of the many (many) reasons we love opera. 1. Beautiful Music . Ok, maybe you saw this one coming. Opera is, quite literally, nothing without its music.
