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