Music 11
Giuseppe Verdi
(1813-1901) -son of storekeeper -scored first important opera at age 29- Nabucco -gained fame with: Rigoletto, Il travatore, and La traviata -Supported the Risorgimento (Italian liberation) -Otello and Falstaff composed after his retirement
Verdi
-italian passion -realistic stories and characters -recitative, chorus, aria, and ensemble -vocal music dominates -homophonic -functional harmony, some chromaticism -face paced drama -emotional expression
Features of Verdi's Operas
-Bel canto-emphasis on the voice -drama and strong emotions -larger role given to the orchestra, particularly in recitative but never overshadows the singer -arias complete and distinct -clear melodic climaxes -plot centered on real people -old division between recit and aria, but orchestra underpins both -last two opera, Otello and Falstaff
the valkyrie
-mostly a subplot of the ring cycle -siegmund and sieglinde fall in love --children of wotan, leader of the gods --separted in early childhood -siegmund is killed in a duel with Hunding -Sieglinde escapes to bear their child Siegfried, hero of the last two nights
Leitmotivs in Act 1 scene 1
-Siegmund motive -Sieglinde motive -love motives -sorrow empathy motive -hunding motive
Music drama
-based on concept of Gesamtkunstwerk --music, poetry, drma, and philosophy all equally important --deal with weighty philosophical and psychological issues -based on german myths and legends -required expanded use of orchestra --leitmotiv and thematic transformation/unity
the orchestra's role
-carried the music drama along --no more recitatives, arias --one long web woven with singing --new intensity of emotional expressoin -larger than ever --brass section fleshed out and used regularly --creation of new tone colors
Richard Wagner
-considered the most influential romantic composer following Beethoven -revolutionized both opera and orchestral music- though he wrote almost exclusively for opera -developed elaborate theories on art, music, opera -gesamkunstwerk
Wagner's personal life
-first marriage ended in divorce -second marriage to Cosima (daughter of Franz Liszt) -influential -controversial
Orchestra in Act 1 , scene 1
-first orchestral climax at first drink -theme from prelude at mention of storm -second orchestral climax at second drink -loud dissonant chord at Siegmund's sigh -Misswende- additional dissonant chords -does not conclude with a cadence
Wagner after exile
-gained support of King Ludwig ll of Bavaria ( who later became mad) -built his own opera house in Bayreuth --specifically for his music drama --annual festival stilll performs only Wagner -highly influential in music and other arts
wagner
-german philosophy -drawn from myths and legends -each act as long symphonic poem -orchestra tells the story -polyphonic -extreme chormaticism destabilizes tonality -deliberately slow -psychological revelation
leitmotivs
-guiding or leading motives --associated with a person, thing, idea or symbol in the drama -made use of thematic transformation --first used by Liszt in symphonic poems
Leitmotivs and transformations
-helps to guid the listener through the story -tells us what the hero truly thinks or feels -may show a person or idea changing as drama progresses
The Nibelung's Ring
-huge four opera cycle. Titles are --the rhine gold --the valkyrie --siegried --twilight of the gods -drawn from norse legends -critique of middle class values --greed for money and power --work and discipline valued over emotions
Romantic Opera
-includes romantic themes of : --transcendence of artistic barriers --music the most important art of the arts -meaning taken seriously --opera no longer for mere entertainment --plots and characters taken from famous literature
features of act 1, scene 1
-orchestra depicts characters' thoughts and feelings -Leitmotivs are continually transformed -free formed declamation of words and no full fledged arias -little conventional stage actoin --but the orchestra reveals more than we see
Aria, La donna e mobile
-popular and famous melody -strophic form -each stanza first introduced by the orchestra -contains a vocal cadenza -melody continues through recitative that follows
The Valkyrie, Prelude
-ragin thunderstorm --reflects both natural turmoil and psychological trouble --enemies pursue Siegmund --unsettled, nervous quality -large orchestra for dramatic effect --builds to climax and then fades away -contains texture, color and rhythm but lacks a complete melody
The Valkyrie Act 1 scene 1
-siegmund stumbles out of the storm -collapses in Hunding's house where he meets Sieglinde -she offers him water, then mead -instant attraction progresses to love and empathy
Quartet, bella figlia dell amore
-the duke pursues maddalena -duke's melody: 16 bars in aa b a form -ensemble quartet -all four voices travel through shifts in harmony and modulation
Rigoletto scenes
1. Recit (Gilda and Rigoletto) 2.Aria Duke La donna e Mobie -strophic, each stroph introduced by orchestra -duke is confident and spirited 3. Recit (Sparafucile and Rigoletto) -we hear aria Duke sings first --> Internal form aa'ba -alternation between each character each with distinctive tone -duke,confident; maddlena, laughing; Gilda, crying; Rigoletto, stern
Verdi, Rigoletto
1851 -based on Victo Hugo's Le roi s'amuse -setting is in 16th century court of Mantua -The (evil) duke of manuta seduces Gilda, daughter of the court jester Rigoletto -Rigoletto hires Sparafucile to assassinate the Duke in revenge -Gilda is killed instead of the Duke -Opera ends with Rigoletto's madness and grief
Wagner's early life
Born in Leipzig -extreme interest in literature, music, philosophy, mythology, religion -career started as an opera conductor -13 years in exile following the revolution of 1848-1849