Music Ch. 18
In composing ________ , a composer often works with a __________ librettist, who supplies the text for the various recitatives, arias, and choruses and provides the story's main threads and subplots.
Opera, librettist
Which of the following operas were composed by Claudio Monteverdi?
Orfeo and The Coronation of Poppea
At the time of Monteverdi's opera The Coronation of Poppea, what type of opera houses we're beginning to open in Venice?
Public
An opera is a large-scale _________ that is __________.
drama sung
What is "Thy hand, Belinda," as sung by Dido in Purcell's opera?
A recitative
Why does Dido sing a lament at the end of Purcell's opera?
Aeneas left her
The libretto for Purcell's opera, Dido and Aeneas, is based on _____.
Aeneid
Which of the following dramatic works were composed by Henry Purcell?
Dido and Aeneas, The fairy queen
True or False: Early opera was originally designed to reflect the manner in which seventeenth-century aristocrats sung their conversations to each other on a daily basis.
False
True or False: Italian opera was embraced in all Western European countries.
False
What is the structural basis for Dido's Lament in Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas?
Ground bass
Which of the following does NOT describe Henry Purcell's life and career? He was a composer, He was an organist, He was born in Venice, He was a singer
He was born in Venice
Which of the following correctly describes Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas?
It is based on Virgil's Aeneid, The opera ends tragically, It was first performed at a girls school in London
Match each definition to the genre it best describes.
Overture - An orchestral introduction, Recitative - A kind of musical declamation or speech, Aria - A song usually of a highly emotional nature, Libretto - The text/script of an opera
Which of the following are purely instrumental sections that can be included in an opera?
Overture, sinfonia
True or False: A descending ground bass helps underscore the sorrow in Dido's lament.
True
True or False: Monteverdi was one of the first great composers of opera.
True
True or False: Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas is based on an episode in Virgil's Aeneid
True
True or False: The masque was an English form of entertainment that combined music, poetry, and dance.
True
How does Purcell musically depict Dido's grief in the aria "When I am laid in Earth"?
With a slow tempo, With a descending, chromatic bass line
