Transcript Document 7648193

ISTITUTO “M.L.KING”
COMENIUS PROJECT
A.S. 2006/2007
IL MELODRAMMA
THE ORIGINS AND SPREADING
OF ITALIAN “MELODRAMMA”
• The origins of melodramma is
strictly tied to the changes of
styles and languages of the
baroque era accompanied with
its alleged monody and “recitar
cantando” (reciting in song).
Many music scholars consider
the baroque era to have begun
in 1580, more than 100 years
before Bach and Handel were
born, and the music of this
time is essential in defining the
baroque as a style era in
music.
BASSO CONTINUO
RECITAR CANTANDO
MELODRAMMA
MONODY: CREATING THE
TEXTURE OF BAROQUE MUSIC
•
The Renaissance idea of many
voices singing the same text at
different times, however lovely
sounding, ran counter to the
ultimate goal of clear expression.
The members of the florentine
Camerata, a group of italian
intellectuals at the end of the
sixteenth century, felt that listeners
would be unable to distinguish the
words themselves, let alone be
moved by a true perception of the
emotional content of a given text,
and to think of the words as the
most important part of a vocal
work, with the music there simply
to support them.
• This radical departure from the renaissance
concept of the way text should be set to
music resulted in a completely different
musical texture from the polyphony common
during the renaissance. Al though there
were precedents in accompanied song,
nothing that had existed previosly was quite
the same as the genre of monody that
resulted from the activities of several
members of the florentine Camerata,
including Giulio Caccini and Jacopo Peri.
Monody was simply a vocal melody
accompanied by an instrument that would
play chords underneath. This supporting part
was the continuo, played by any instrument
capable of playing chords, such as a
keyboard or a lute. Sometimes a viol
doubled the bass line.
RECITAR CANTANDO
•
•
It’s in the year 1600 that opera came into
being. It began in Florence, fostered by the
“Camerata” a group of scholars,
philosopheres and amateur musicians that
included the librettist Ottavio Rinuccini
(1562 – 1621) and the composers
Vincenzo Galilei, Emilio de’ Cavalieri and
Jacopo Peri. It was their aim to promote
the principle of monodic musical
declamation inspired by the example of
ancient greek drama. Accordingly, the
earliest operas took their plots from
mythology, the legend of orpheus and
eurydice being one of the most popular
combined with music scenery, costumes or
stage action. That is how opera
“melodramma” came into being.
Euridice (1600) composed by Jacopo Peri
and set to verse by Ottavio Rinuccini is
generally the first musical opera which was
a great success.
MONTEVERDI’S MASTERPIECE
•
In 1607, Monteverdi’s first opera and
the oldest to grace modern stages with
any frequency was “l’orfeo” a dramatic
version of the story of the legendary
orpheus who sought to bring his
beloved Eurydice back from the
underworld by the power of music.
Pluto acquiesces on one condition that
orpheus not look back as Eurydice
follows him back up into the light, and
back into life. His doubts, however,
impel him to look back over his
shoulder, and Eurydice vanishes like a
phantom before his eyes. Orpheus is
consumed by grief and Apollo, his
father, comes down from the heavens
to take his son away where he can
behold the image of Eurydice forever in
the stars.
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
He was born in Cremona in 1567.
Son of a doctorn he soon found
workin the court of the duke
Gonzaga. By the time he was 20 a
variety of his work had gone to
print. His first book of five – voice
madrigal succeeded in establishing
his reputation outside of his
provincial hometown. He eventually
succeeded as the Maestro di
Cappella in San Marco in Venice.
He remained such until his death in
1643.
SPREADING OF “MELODRAMMA”
• However, it was not until the appearance of
Claudio Monteverdi in Venice that baroque
opera reached its peak, and the art from that
began as entertainment for the aristocracy
became available to popular audience. In 1637
the first public opera house in the world opened
in Venice, and by 1700 at least 16 more theaters
were built and hundreds of operas produced.
Italian opera seria continued to dominate the
scene, just like the Neapolitans opera seria and
Venetians.
MELODRAMMA
OF FLORENCE
ROMAN
SCHOOL
VENETIAN
SCHOOL
NEAPOLITAN
SCHOOL
ROMAN SCHOOL
• It seems that the new style
“Recitar cantando” was
introduced in Rome by
Giovanni de’ Bradi in 1592 the
first Roman musical spectacle
was “Rappresentative de
anima et de corpo” a sacred
action in three acts. It was
performed in a non-scenic form
at the oratorio of the new
church, Santa Maria in
Vallicella, in 1600. It appears
thet Roman Opera was much
loved by the Barberini family
and soon afterwards they
actually built an Opera Theatre
in their Palazzo.
VENETIAN SCHOOL
SAN CASSIANO
• Venatian Opera first
began with the first
opening theatre to
paying public called
the San Cassiano. On
scene “Andromeda”
by Manelli. Great
importance was given
to the scenic form and
to its singing
virtuosity.
NEAPOLITAN OPERA
• Neapolitan Opera was
introduced in Naples by
the earl of ognotte with
opera began. Among the
actors of the neapolitan
school we recall Giovanni
Battista Pergolesi his
masterpiece “La Serva
Padrona”.
Giovanni Battista Lully
•
•
GIOVANNI BATTISTA LULLI
During the renaissance era, the
italian court ballets were further
developed in France. “Le ballet
Comique de la Reine” (the
queen’s ballet comedy) was
performed in Paris in 1581. Ita
was danced by aristocratic
amateurs in a hall with the royal
family and spectators in galleries
on three sides. Poetry and songs
accompanied the dances.
Later on Giovanni Battista Lulli
founded French Opera “Tragedie
en Musique or Tragedie Lyrique”
with the help of Moliere he created
a new music form the “Comedie –
ballet which combined theatre,
comedy and ballet.