Op’era

(It. O”per a[se’ria, buf’fa,etc.], dram!ma per pars lac Fr, opera; Ger. O'per, Musil’drama.) Modern opera, a form of dramatic representation in which vocal and instrumental music forms an e ential and predominant element, took its rise towards the close of the 16th century in the striving of Italian (Florentine) composers and zstheticians to emancipate vocal music from the fetters of contrapuntal form. Their efforts led to the adoption of Monody OPERETTA(g. v.) as anart-style, and its application to dramatic purposes. The first opera iven was probably “Dafne” (music fy Peri and Caccini, book by Rinuccini) in 1594, which was lauded to the skies as a succe ful return to the musical declamation of the ancient Greek tragedy. The dry stilo rappresentativo of the earliest operas was improved upon by Monte verde (1568-1643), who employed vocal and orchestral resources ‘with a freedom undreamed of up to his time, justly earning him the title of “* father of the art of instrumentation”. His orchestra for the opera ‘t Orfeo” (1608) is given below: vice, 4 Conpabanal dl, Vils iole da Braccio, 1 ia; # Violin i picol all a, frances, a Chita ny Organ di 2 Gometti x Flautina all a aaday Clarinoy cot 3 Trombe sorde. With A le andro Scarlatti (16591725) begins the era of modern Italian opera; the sensuous charm of melody a erts itself more and more strongly; the singer becomes master of the situ: ation, and operas are written to his. order, This tendency, early transplanted with Italian opera to France and Germany, was combatted by leading composers of those countries; Lully (1633-1687) and Gluck (1714-1787) were reformers of the musical drama in ridding vocal dramatic music of superfluous melismas and coloraturas, making it follow throughout the course and sense of the action—The grand or heroic opera, with its full choruses and finales, its arias and recitatives, and all varieties of ensemble (duets, trios, quartets, etc.) is a growth due to the grafting of Italian opera upon the French musical stock, and is the style especially affected by modern French composers; the formal plan of Italian opera was likewise adopted by the great man composers, but with an infusion of artistic potency and sincerity which raise their productions far above the earlier level (Mozart, Beethoven), and tinge of German romanticism which lends them a truly national color (Weber, Marschner), In comic opera the Ital. ians were also pioneers (Pergotes Cimarosa); then follow the French (Grétry), and lastly the Germans (Mozart), all in the 18th century. Recent Italian operas show a distinct react i or against the old type, and bear witne to the strong influence of Germany (par- OPHICLEIDE. 137 ticularly ‘of Wagner). France continues in the footsteps of her national comj ers (Gretry, ‘Mehul, Boieldieu, cua, Hérold, Halévy, ‘Auber, Meyer beer, Gounod).—To the purification, or rather annihilation, of the quasi-dramatic form ‘of the grand opera, Richard Wagner (1813-1883) devoted all the powers of his marvelous genius. The guiding principle in his ‘* Musikdramen”’ (musical dramas) is the harmonious cod per at i on of the dramatic, poetic, scenic, and musical elements; thus, the action of the drama must never be checked or veiled by. purely musical episodes, however ming in themselves; the music must illustrate the (emotional) course and effects of the action, and nothing else. Hence the discontinuance of cut-and dried movements and leveling of traditional forms, the rarity of full cadences and harmonic sequences, the richly modulated flow of inspired melos, the absence of ‘' vain repetitions” of words and phrases, the uninterrupted dramatic interpretation by the orchestra of scenes and_moods.—Both the grand) a Sa and the Wagner i an drama find zealous advocates and imitators; these, together with operettes of most various complexion, are the typical forms of musico‘dramatic composition at present. The comic opera varies the form of grand ‘opera by the interpolation of spoken dialogue... Opéra bouffe [formerly bouffon) (Fr.), light comic opera...