STUDENT STUDY GUIDE
Esther Nelson Stanford Calderwood General & Artistic Director David Angus Music Director John Conklin Artistic Advisor
September 25, 2019
Dear Educator, Boston Lyric Opera is pleased to invite high school and college students to attend Final Dress Rehearsals throughout our Season. We look forward to welcoming you and your students to the DCR Memorial Steriti Ice Rink for BLO’s immersive production of Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Italian classic, Pagliacci. It is important to know that this opera contains scenes of domestic violence and homicide. In order to help you best prepare for the opera, please note that this Study Guide describes plot details and events, and discusses subject matter that may be sensitive to some. Our intent is to provide support in historical as well as contemporary context, along with tools to thoughtfully discuss the opera with your students. As you discuss this in your classroom, consider that there may be students who are personally affected by the subject matter. Opera is an art form that can contain big, difficult emotions and BLO aims to provide a community forum from which to explore and discuss them. The experience of seeing and hearing live, professional opera is second to none, and we encourage you to explore the world of the opera in your classroom as well. We are proud to offer this Study Guide to support your discussions and preparations for Pagliacci. We’ve included special insights into this particular production as well as the opera’s history with connections to Social Studies and English Language Arts. Boston Lyric Opera’s mission is to build curiosity, enthusiasm, and support for opera. This Study Guide is one way in which we support the incredible work of educators like you, who are inspired by this beautiful art form and introduce it to your students. As we continue to develop additional Study Guides, we want your feedback. Please tell us about how you use this guide and how it can best serve your needs by emailing education@blo.org. If you’re interested in engaging with us further and learning about additional opera education opportunities with Boston Lyric Opera, please visit blo.org/education to discover more about our programs and initiatives. We look forward to seeing you at the opera! Sincerely,
Rebecca Ann S. Kirk, M.Ed. Manager of Education Programs
TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGLIACCI SYNOPSIS
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THE MAN BEHIND THE OPERA
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THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH
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ITALIAN THEATER: THE CONVENTIONS OF COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE
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CLOWNING AROUND
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WOMEN ON STAGE
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THE RISE OF THE BIG TOP
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LISTEN UP!
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PAGLIACCI RESOURCES
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HISTORY OF OPERA: AN OVERVIEW
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THE SCIENCE AND ART OF OPERA
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NOTES TO PREPARE FOR THE OPERA
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STUDENT STUDY GUIDE
PAGLIACCI SYNOPSIS
CHARACTERS Canio/Pagliaccio, tenor The head of the traveling theater troupe and Nedda’s husband Nedda/Colombina, soprano Canio’s wife Beppe/Arlecchino, tenor Fellow actor Tonio/Taddeo, baritone The Clown Silvio, baritone Local townsman
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PAGLIACCI SYNOPSIS
PROLOGUE
Speaking directly to the audience, Tonio the clown, promises the audience a story about real life and real people. He reminds the audience that actors are people too–they also experience both joy and pain.
Costume design sketches by Charles Neumann for BLO, from top to bottom: Pagliaccio, Arlecchino, Columbina. 5
ACT I
Gathering for the festival, the townspeople eagerly await the arrival of a travelling theater troupe. Canio, the leader of the troupe, announces to the crowd that there will be a performance that evening. Canio and fellow actor Beppe, join the villagers at a local tavern, where someone mentions that Tonio is secretly pursuing Canio’s wife, Nedda. Canio makes it known that while he may play the foolish husband on stage, theater and life are not the same. He will not hesitate to put an end, by any means necessary, any advances made toward his young wife. Canio’s jealous outburst scares Nedda. She daydreams of escaping her marriage and the theater troupe. Nedda notices that Tonio has been watching her. Tonio confesses his love and embraces her. She mocks him and pushes him off. However, Nedda is already having an affair with a local villager Silvio; they meet in secret. The couple declare their love and plot to run away together that very night. Unfortunately, Tonio has been eavesdropping on their secret rendezvous, and rushes to alert Canio. Silvio manages to escape before Canio can entrap him. Nedda refuses to reveal the identity of her secret lover to her vengeful husband. As Beppe restrains Canio, Tonio urges him to wait for the evening performance, where Nedda’s lover is sure to be in attendance. Canio then prepares for the performance, nursing a broken heart.
A Play within a Play The story of Pagliacci is a play within a play, which means the characters are actors who then assume characters who perform a play as part of the plot. Shakespeare wrote a few of his plays using this concept, namely Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Can you think of another example of a play within a play?
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PAGLIACCI SYNOPSIS
Depiction of Columbine stock character from commedia dell’arte
ACT II
The audience waits for the performance to begin; Silvio is in the crowd. Colombina (played by Nedda) is serenaded by her lover Arlecchino (played by Beppe) while her husband Pagliaccio (played by Canio) is out of town. The couple is interrupted by Taddeo (played by Tonio) who confesses his love for Colombina. The couple laugh and shoo him away. The lovers decide to run away together and devise a plan to poison Pagliaccio. Taddeo returns in time to warn the couple, propelling Arlecchino out the window just as Pagliaccio comes home. Taddeo attempts to calm the suspicious Pagliaccio by proclaiming that Colombina is faithful. Canio, however, abandons his character and the script, once again demanding the name of his wife’s real lover. The audience is captivated by the drama, not realizing the play is veering off course, until Canio exclaims he is no longer Pagliaccio. Nedda finally breaks character, openly defying her husband’s jealous interrogation. In a furious rage, Canio stabs Nedda, as well as Silvio who tries in vain to save her. The audience is in shock as Tonio turns to them and somberly declares: “The comedy is over.”
Depiction of Arlecchino stock character from commedia dell’arte
A scene from the commedia dell’arte with Harlequin and Punchinello by Nicolas Lancret (1734) PAGLIACCI SYNOPSIS
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THE MAN BEHIND THE OPERA
Although Pagliacci was written over 120 years ago in Italy, you will likely recognize the music today. Not only is it still one of the most performed operas around the world, but the music is often used in movies, commercials and even cartoons! Italian composer Ruggero Leoncavallo tapped into a long tradition of theater arts, bringing to life the old improvisational drama — commedia dell’arte — in a way that would be both brand new and timeless for audiences.
Leoncavallo on a 1910 postcard
PLAGERISM? It is quite common for artists to be inspired by existing works of literature or artwork. Often a story is reimagined and retold over and over like Cinderella, or Romeo and Juliet. Yet, Leoncavallo took his plot for Pagliacci from real-life events that he had remembered from his childhood. However, two years after its premiere, a French playwright sued him for plagiarism, claiming that Leoncavallo had stolen the plot of his play La Femme de Tabarin that premiered five years before Pagliacci. Later, a Spanish playwright accused the French playwright of stealing his play, which premiered 20 years before that! All lawsuits were dropped.
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THE MAN BEHIND THE OPERA
Leoncavallo was born in Naples, Italy in 1857, the son of a distinguished local judge. He studied music composition and literature. His uncle, who worked for the Foreign Ministry, gave him the opportunity to be widely traveled by the time he was in his early 20s, and he even had the opportunity to work as a pianist and music teacher in Cairo, Egypt for a time. Leoncavallo also lived for a few years in the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris — where many artists from all over Europe congregated — and where he met his wife. After they married, the couple returned to Italy with a commission from a music publisher to compose an opera and to work on a libretto for another opera that was being composed by Giacomo Puccini (La bohème). Before he finished either of these commissions however, Leoncavallo saw Pietro Mascagni’s oneact opera Cavalleria Rusticana and was inspired to write a response to it. He composed and wrote the original libretto for Pagliacci in only five months! The story was inspired by a murder trial that his father had presided over when Leoncavallo was a child. When Pagliacci premiered in May of 1892, it was an instant hit, and has remained one of the most beloved operas to this day. The opera established
1996 Album cover of Pagliacci featuring Luciano Pavarotti
Leoncavallo not only a masterful composer, but also a sought-after librettist. Although he went on to compose 20 operas and operettas, his legacy rests solely on his debut opera. Leoncavallo died in Tuscany at the age of 62, and his funeral was attended by hundreds of admirers who came to pay their respects, including his life-time rival, Giacomo Puccini. The opera was composed in the emerging verismo style — meaning “real” — in response to the overly grandiose Romantic music that preceded it. Verismo opera featured common problems of normal people expressing real emotions. Other verismo operas include La bohème and Tosca (Puccini), and La traviata (Verdi). Since Pagliacci was written as a response to Mascagni’s opera, the two are often performed together as a “double-bill” and are referred to in short-hand as “Cav” and “Pag. “
Dame Nellie Melba as Nedda in Pagliacci (1893)
REFLECT: Artists tell stories that inspire them and sometimes, this forms a thin line between plagiarizing another’s work and being inspired by what came before to create something new. When do you think it is appropriate to use another’s ideas? When is it plagiarism and when is it not? 9
THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH
Verismo is an Italian word meaning realistic, or true. It was an artistic movement that was embraced by composers, painters, and writers alike that began in Italy in the late nineteenth century. The artists were rebelling against artistic styles that were taught in schools. In literature, writers would incorporate new scientific truths into fictional narratives, while painters took to the outdoors to capture the accuracy of shade and color as seen in natural sunlight. These painters were predecessors to the Impressionists, including Monet and Degas who came soon after. In music, composers were rebelling against the popular style that we now refer to as the Romantic style. These composers were not interested in creating art song and operas about mythical gods, or fairy tales, but rather the stories of ordinary people. Characters were completely consumed by overwhelmingly raw emotions — tales of lust, jealousy, and murderous revenge were realistically presented, and the music was appropriately violent and impassioned to match. Shrieks, laughter, and sobs are included, which is best heard in Canio’s aria, “Vesti la giubba.”
In fact, Pagliacci is considered one of the first operas to be written in this new style, second only to its inspiration, Cavalleria Rusticana. The style would become most famous through the work of Giacomo Puccini whose notable operas include: La bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly.
Pavarotti Italian tenor, Luciano Pavarotti (1935-2007) was a famous interpreter of the role of Canio in Pagliacci. He was one of the world’s most beloved operatic tenors, and one of the trio famously known Three Tenors including Plácido Domingo and José Carreras. Even after death, Pavarotti remains a cultural icon with a larger-than-life legacy, and is known as the “King of the High C’s” for good reason! A new documentary about his life and career was released this summer.
DISCUSS: If you were to write a contemporary opera using the concept of verismo, what would it be about, and in what ways would you choose to depict raw emotion through music? 10
ITALIAN THEATER: THE CONVENTIONS OF COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE
Commedia dell’arte is a form of improvisational theater that began in Italy in the 16th Century and became highly popular as traveling troupes performed for all people outside in very public places like in the streets and market places. Each of the actors created their characters and improvised unscripted storylines (drawn initially from Greek and Roman mythology) using limited props they had available to them. Over time, these characters became identifiable through their costumes and masks with exaggerated features, as well as physical feats like acrobatics and dancing. Each performance was based on a standard plot and the actors would improvise their lines, allowing them to add dirty jokes and subversive language that would comment on current events. Imagine if the skits from late-night comedy on television or even YouTube videos were performed live in the city streets with the addition of acrobatics! Before the performance began, the actors chose the plot for the day and decided on the outline, the characters and relationships involved, and the outcome of the story. Common elements of each performance were the Prologue or introduction, several acts or sections, the talents and tricks each character would use in order to develop the story such as acrobatics, dance, music, poetry and songs, and finally, brief comedic interludes called lazzi. During the lazzi, the most experienced and popular actors would tell jokes and perform pantomimes, acrobatics, juggling or wrestling to keep the crowds engaged.
THE CAST OF CHARACTERS When commedia dell’arte began, actors used distinct masks that were readily available and eventually developed their characters into a well-known cast of stock characters. As the years passed, audiences became very familiar with the characters and their particular set of traits — much of which relied upon the actors’ ability to use language and to manipulate their voice in order to differentiate between the characters. Actors would play the same character over and over again, yet these characters would be seen in endless combination — no two performances were exactly alike — but the characters were always recognizable.
Captain babbeo e Cucuba, scena della commedia dell’arte
ARLECCHINO, OR HARLEQUIN
One of the most famous commedia characters is Arlecchino. He is part of the servant class
ITALIAN THEATRE: THE CONVENTIONS OF COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE
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or zanni. His signature costume is a body suit of bright, multi-colored patches that later developed into the classic diamond-pattern and a mask that covers the upper-half of his face, with long nose. He is a talented acrobat, constantly hungry, and a simpleton. His character is a faithful servant known for his comic relief and love for shenanigans. He often develops a close relationship with the audience by gesturing to them and encouraging them to get involved in the action.
cowardice when faced with danger. He would appear in a military uniform with a sword which he would brandish with great flair, but was reluctant to put to use. His mask featured a long, pointed nose, and angry expression and a wiry, black mustache.
COLOMBINA
Another member of the zanni, Colombina (sometimes known as Arlecchina) is the clever, mischievous and flirtatious maidservant. She and Arlecchino get involved in subversive plots together so her costume is complementary to his — with colorful patches all over her dress and apron. Her mask covers only her eyes so it doesn’t hide her beauty. Her storylines typically drive the plot, as she is the subject of love matches, or as she devises plans to annoy the frustrated innamorati (the lovers).
Typical mask worn by the servant characters known as Zanni
IL DOTTORE The most demonized character in every scenario is Il Dottore (The Doctor). He is one of the vecchi (characters who are old and cranky). A wealthy, well-educated man, he is hopelessly unsuccessful in his romantic pursuits. He tries to impress other characters with his knowledge by rambling on about a topic, but misuses vocabulary and makes things up, which always causes confusion. He wears a traditional doctor’s outfit — black with either a beret or doctor’s hat. His mask covers the top half of his face and has a large, bulbous nose.
IL CAPITANO
The bully, Il Capitano (The Captain), is portrayed either as part of the zanni or vecchi. Modeled after a Spanish soldier, The Captain—long past his prime— boasts of his bravery and conquests, but reveals his
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ITALIAN THEATRE: THE CONVENTIONS OF COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE
Harlequin and Columbine by Giovanni Domenico Ferretti (ca. 1700)
SCARAMUCCIA
A character variation on Il Capitano, Scaramuccia is a devious and unreliable servant. He enjoys getting involved in sticky situations, and avoids blame or consequences at all costs. His costume is an all-black ensemble with a cloak, a beret, and a half-face mask with a long pointy nose and a mischievous expression.
INNAMORATI The Lovers are young characters, male and female, who are hopelessly in love, but are never able to be together! They ask the zanni to help them play tricks on the vecchi so that they can meet in secret, but the zanni always have other plans, causing calamity among all of the characters. The Lovers are always dressed in the latest fashions and instead of masks, they wear a lot of makeup.
PULCINELLA More commonly known for his English theater name, Punch, Pulcinella is portrayed as a humpbacked, hooked-nosed and pot-bellied fellow who is at odds with authority figures due to his brutal and vindictive character. He is known to be cranky and beats people with his batacchio (slapstick) whenever possible. His character wears a mask with a large, long nose and an allwhite costume similar to Pedrolino.
BRIGHELLA
This greedy and clever member of the zanni, is an opportunistic jack-of-all-trades who is ready to assist his master with any task, no matter how cruel. His jacket and pants have green stripes and he wears a green mask that has a hooked nose, mustache and black shaggy beard.
PANTALONE A native of Venice, Pantalone is a member of the vecchi, and a former merchant who is obsessed with money and romantic entanglements. His stories are centered around his pursuits to obtain money and women. His character is dressed in red from head to toe, and his mask has exaggerated, long, white eyebrows and mustache.
PEDROLINO Ever loyal, Pedrolino is a trustworthy and honest servant who is unfortunately a victim of many pranks by his fellow zanni. His character is also known as Pedro or in the French theater tradition as Pierrot. His costume is a loose white outfit with large buttons and a ruffle at the neck. And similar to the innamorati, he wears white-face powder instead of a mask.
Pierrot by Jean-Antoine Watteau (1718)
DISCUSS: Do you see similarities with these old characters and ones you know in your favorite TV, movies, or plays and musical theater? In what ways? 13
CLOWNING AROUND
The history of clowning dates back to Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, and China, each with their own traditions. Many clowns were employed as personal funny-men by royalty, thus beginning the long court jester tradition. One of the earliest uses of the word “clown” was found in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the word driving from the Dutch klunni meaning clumsy and boorish. The earliest circused were in fact, gladiator competitions and later, chariot races in Ancient Rome. Our modern concept of a circus gradually took form during the Industrial Age, combining traditions of animal performances, traveling minstrels, jesters, juggles, acrobats, puppeteers, and magicians—many of whom worked on the streets as what we now know as buskers. These performers often amused the aristocracy and nobility who would solicit them for private performances. In the 1600s, commedia dell’arte troupes were the first professional traveling performers and began to bring legitimacy to the trade.
Depiction of a Whiteface Circus Clown, derived from the Pierrot stock character (1907)
Clown Music! What do you think of when you hear this song? Clowns! But why? The piece is titled, “Entry of the Gladiators” and was written in 1897 by a Czech composer Julius Fucik as a bombastic military march to celebrate the glory of Ancient Rome. As circuses rose in popularity, the musicians providing live accompaniment to the acts were always looking for exciting music. An American composer created a new arrangement of the piece for brass band at the turn of the 20th Century. It quickly gained huge popularity as a “screamer march.” “Screamer Marches” were intended to rile up the crowd and signaled the entry of the clowns. Later an arrangement for pipe organ became popular at fairgrounds.
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CLOWNING AROUND
Early members of commedia dell’arte troupes were marginalized members of society. Eventually commedia performances became formulaic and frequently sought-after by the upper classes for entertainment. They earned a more respected social status, separating themselves from the bawdy, uncivilized lower classes. In France, a new form of live variety show called opéra comiques en vaudevilles emerged at various Parisian fairgrounds that included short musical-comedy plays, as well as marionettes, tightrope walkers, and animal trainers, later inspiring circus traditions. In addition to opéra comique in France, the circus also has roots in a London school for trick-riding horses, later including acrobats and dancing dogs. Many people attribute this as the first modern-day
circus. These horseback performers adopted the commedia characters’ identities and costumes. Eventually, the clown-like commedia characters with similar, recognizable costumes also brought an element of clowning to give commentary to these horseback performances. By the 1700s, there were three established types of clowns. The white-faced clown was the “boss” and received top billing. His costume is borrowed directly from the commedia Pedrolino and is the same kind of clown that Leoncavallo makes Canio. The second type is the auguste. They are the brunt of every physical joke and dressed in colorful clothing. Their makeup is what we might think of when we say “clown” with flesh-tone face and eyes and mouth encircled in white with red and black to accentuate the features. The final type is called the character clown, who plays opposite to the auguste. They often depict an exaggerated caricature of a baker, policeman, or butcher. As clowning evolved, clowns continued to draw some of their comedic techniques from commedia dell’arte, bringing their pantomime and physical
comedy to the Iazzi or interludes between other acts meant for comic relief. Sometimes they were known to hit each other with a noisy slapstick — a narrow wooden board with two pieces of wood that clap together to make a percussive sound, much bigger than the actual hit. This kind of comedy is now known simply as slapstick referring to physicality of actors or clowns pretending to get hurt. Slapstick traditions continued into the theater and later motion pictures, with famous comedians such as Charlie Chaplin using these old commedia techniques. After the circus reached the United States, in Philadelphia in 1793, it quickly began to change to meet the demands of new audiences. P.T. Barnum revolutionized the circus, moving away from clowns and trick horses and toward what was then known as the freak-show. From the late 1800s through the middle of the 1900s, traveling circuses were the most popular form of entertainment nationwide. Although clowning has not at all disappeared, it has continued to evolve throughout the centuries, and often some element of clowning is retained in the circus.
Au cirque Fernando, l’écuyère by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1888)
DISCUSS: What other ways do you see modern comedy mimicking or borrowing from commedia dell’arte traditions? 15
WOMEN ON STAGE This Italian theater form of commedia dell’arte (improvised comedic theater) not only influenced Leoncavallo’s opera Pagliacci, but its convention and popularity had a strong influence on how women were able to find the spotlight on stage. Commedia dell’arte was among the first forms of theater to feature women playing female roles. For many years, only men were allowed to perform on stage as professionals, but women soon carved out their own legacy in the world of theater.
532 BCE Theater gets its start from ancient Greek traditions of drama: comedy and tragedy. The many female heroines and goddesses of Greek mythology meant women were worshiped in Greek society, but women were forbidden from the stage by the early Christian church. Therefore, men would also play female characters.
1st - 9th Centuries With the rise of Christianity, the theater was deemed amoral, as early Christians set to distinguish themselves from Greek and Roman traditions. Eventually, the Church began to use theater to relate dramatic teachings in morality plays, beginning with dramatizing biblical events on certain feast days. Because the populations were largely illiterate, this method proved effective for instructing the crowds as the dramatizations were largely recited or sung, rather than acted.
10th Century, Germany German nun Hrothsvitha is considered to be the first female playwright. Writing mainly comedies, she highlighted the strength of her female characters with scenarios in which woman’s tranquility triumphs over man’s brutality. Hildegard of Bingen, also a German nun, soon followed by writing the first Latin musical drama in 1155.
16th Century, Europe
Starting in Italy, the first documented commedia dell’arte performance was around 1551. This type of improvised acting with masks used ancient traditions from the Early Roman Empire.
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WOMEN ON STAGE
It was one of the first forms of what we now know as modern theater, in which female roles were played by women. As commedia dell’arte gained immense popularity and spread throughout Europe, women were slowly recognized as professional actors, despite attempts from the nobility to ban them from the stage. As a member of the famous Gelosi company of Italian actors, Isabella Andreini became the world’s first celebrity actress. Within the conventions of commedia dell’arte, women were either paired with a young man to make up the young couple, called innamorati (lovers), or they played lowly servant characters.
Neddas Past and Present Australian soprano Nellie Melba debuted the role of Nedda in the premiere of Pagliacci in London and also in New York City at the Metropolitan Opera, only a year after the world premiere of the opera in Italy. The composer was present at the London performance and praised her interpretation of the character. In BLO’s production, soprano Lauren Michelle will sing the role of Nedda. Ms. Michelle maintains a multidimensional career in the performing arts, primarily as an opera singer. She was recently featured on an episode of the popular TV show Empire.
Not All Fiction Despite the Church of England outlawing women from the stage in the early 16th Century, there are loose accounts of progressive women masquerading as men in order to take part in theater, on and off stage. This phenomenon was dramatized in Tom Stoppard’s screenplay, Shakespeare in Love (1998). Women still disguise themselves either physically or with a pen name in order to gain access to a man’s world today. Can you think of any modern-day examples?
16th - 17th Century, England Meanwhile in England, although William Shakespeare introduced many fierce, independent female characters into his plays, it was illegal for women to appear on stage. After some time, King Charles II, who had spent years in exile and was an avid theater patron, appointed his own royal theatre troupe where it was a legal requirement for women to play all female acting roles. Soon, theater in England was accessible to everyone, from the lower and middle classes, as well as the court. Margaret Hughes was the first English woman to perform on a public stage, and she played the role of Desdemona in the King’s Company production of Shakespeare’s Othello in 1660. Soon after, Aphra Behn, was the first woman to earn a living as a playwright, with her first play, The Forc’d Marriage, staged in England in 1670.
17th - 18th Century, Europe Opera was born with the premiere of Monteverdi’s Orfeo in 1607. Men with unchanged high voices called castrati, would usually sing female roles in place of women. By the late 17th century, women started to perform pants roles in opera. This is a male role written for female voice, typically a mezzosoprano. Soon after, changes in operatic taste and social attitudes meant composers were no longer
writing for castrati. The Baroque era celebrated the female voice, granting women the leading roles in operas. These leading ladies were referred to as a prima donna, or first woman. Eventually, women had greater opportunities to pursue musical careers, especially as singers, but also as instrumentalists and composers. The best performers earned fame and fortune, which would continue into the next centuries.
19th - 20th Century, United States By the late 1800s, women attended more performances and assumed more professional roles in the arts than ever before. American opera singers were becoming world famous, and Broadway opened its doors to women who were eager to make a name for themselves. Though audiences loved to welcome the next prima donna to the American stage, female singers of color, including Marian Anderson, still faced much adversity. Later in the 20th Century, the creation of film and television opened even more avenues for women to pursue careers on screen as well as behind the camera. As more opera companies were formed and American music schools opened their doors to women, a new generation of classical singers was inspired to pursue careers in opera theater. Today women are taking a seat at the table in all aspects of the theater—from opera to Broadway, films to television series. Yet women are still fighting to break down barriers and against the inequities that are ever-present in the industry including equal pay, equality in racial and ethnic representation, and a safe, respectful workplace free from harassment.
DISCUSS: Who are some of your sheros in the performing arts, past and present? In what ways were they able to break boundaries? 17
THE RISE OF THE BIG TOP
The stage design of BLO’s production of Pagliacci is based on American traditions of carnivals, festivals, and the circus. Some of the design elements for this production were inspired by the aesthetics of the 2017 motion picture, The Greatest Showman, which follows the story of P.T. Barnum and his creation of one of the most famous circus troupes in all of history, Barnum and Bailey. The movie also features the Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind, who rose to popularity and fame in the 19th century after an American concert tour that was sponsored by P.T. Barnum. While BLO’s production won’t be happening under a Big Top tent, there will be some recognizable elements of the circus from the moment you walk up to the venue. There will be greeters wearing colorful umbrella hats, food trucks, pop-up performances, carnival games, and food, like cotton candy. You’ll even be able to bring your snacks to your seat while you watch the opera! There will be plenty more surprises as the evening goes on and the drama of the opera unfolds.
Scenic Design by Julia Noulin-Mérat for Boston Lyric Opera
REFLECT: BLO’s production will take place in Steriti Ice Rink in the North End (without the ice though!). Can you imagine how the company will transform the rink into a carnival and opera performance space? 18
LISTEN UP!
Act 1: The Bell Chorus
The sounding of bells and the entrance of the bagpipers invite the boisterous crowd to attend the Evening Mass, which was an important part of the day among the Italian villagers. The chorus imitates the bells heard in the orchestra, which mimic the sound of church bells. Lighthearted, ringing sounds are echoed throughout the instruments. What images do you picture when listening to this chorus? https://youtu.be/PnS0LsuNE8c
Act 1: Nedda’s Aria “Stridono lassù”
In a delicate moment of solitude, Nedda dreams of escaping her life and making a new start as she watches a flock of birds fly overhead, envious of their freedom. Nedda is reminded of her mother, who understood their songs. How does the orchestra depict the mood of this piece? What instruments are used? Listen to this version with famous soprano, Maria Callas singing Nedda’s aria: https://youtu.be/PxlcHEMPxbk
Act 1: Canio’s Aria “Vesti la giubba”
In one of the best-known tenor arias, the heartbroken Canio prepares himself for the evening’s performance, where he must turn his feelings of anguish and sorrows into comedy for the audience. The aria contrasts the comic, public face he must maintain, with the conflict of his inner emotions as a performer. This communicates the underlying idea of Pagliacci: the conflict and often combination between “real” life and “stage” life. The rising and falling of the orchestra matches the oscillating waves of emotion. The final two lines of the aria are notated to be sung “with great expression” and ending with weeping. Here, Plácido Domingo is portraying this moment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hxonfpfuTY This aria is also often used in popular culture. Here’s an example from the cartoon The Simpsons where Sideshow Bob sings the final verse of Canio’s aria in the episode when the Simpson family was traveling to Italy. Note he also recites the final line of Pagliacci: “La Commedia è finita!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyFygB7I_-A This theatrical moment has also inspired others in musical theater. In the song “Mr. Cellophane” from the musical Chicago, the character Amos has a very similar dramatic moment to Canio. Both characters sing about feeling invisible, especially in relation to their wives. The final high note of “Mr. Cellophane” is almost operatic, expressing the same raw emotion that Canio does as he sobs at the end of his aria. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKHzTtr_lNk
Act 2: Beppe’s Aria “O Colombina”
The evening’s performance has begun. Beppe is now in character as Arlecchino, who serenades Nedda’s character Columbina from afar. He professes his love, asking her to come and meet him. The orchestra adds playful pizzicato, or plucking of the string instruments. Listen to one of the most famous tenors, Luciano Pavarotti depict this moment: https://youtu.be/cJaCLDV5MTY
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GENERAL QUESTIONS TO GUIDE YOUR LISTENING • • • • • • • • • • • •
What instruments are playing? How fast is the music? Are there sudden changes in speed? Is the rhythm steady or unsteady? Key/Mode: Is it major or minor? (Does it sound bright, happy, sad, urgent, dangerous?) Dynamics/Volume: Is the music loud or soft? Are there sudden changes in volume (either in the voice or orchestra)? What is the shape of the melodic line? Does the voice move smoothly or does it make frequent or erratic jumps? Do the vocal lines move noticeably downward or upward? Does the type of voice singing (baritone, soprano, tenor, mezzo, etc.) have an effect on you as a listener? Do the melodies end as you would expect or do they surprise you? How does the music make you feel? What effect do the above factors have on you as a listener? What is the orchestra doing in contrast to the voice? How do they interact? What kinds of images, settings, or emotions come to mind? Does it remind you of anything you have experienced in your own life? Do particularly emphatic notes (low, high, held, etc.) correspond to dramatic moments? What type of character fits this music? Romantic? Comic? Serious? Etc. LISTEN UP!
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PAGLIACCI RESOURCES OTHER STUDY GUIDES Minnesota Opera Michigan Opera VIDEO Watch the opera Pagliacci AUDIO Listen to the whole opera Pagliacci
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PAGLIACCI RESOURCES
Antoinette Perry. (2019, June 19). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoinette_Perry Aphra Behn. (2019, July 19). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphra_Behn Bishai, N. (2009). Body Parts: Women and Performance on the Stage and Scaffold in Late SeventeenthCentury England. The Public’s Open to Us All: Essays on Women and Performance in Eighteenth-Century England. Ed. Laura Engel. Newcastle upon Tyne, England: Cambridge Scholars, 2009. 224-245. Charles II of England. (2019, July 22). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_England#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHutton1989185-36 Commedia dell’arte. (2017, March 14). New World Encyclopedia, . Retrieved 16:24, July 30, 2019 from https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Commedia_dell%27arte&oldid=1003689. Commedia dell’Arte Characters. (2013). Retrieved July 30, 2019, from https://www.italymask.co.nz/About Masks/Commedia dellArte Characters.html#arlecchino Entrance of the Gladiators. (2019, June 11). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrance_of_the_Gladiators Fitzgerald, J. (2019). The Archetypes of Commedia (a selection). Retrieved July 30, 2019, from https://www.huntingtontheatre.org/articles/The-Archetypes-of-iCommediai-a-selection/ The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. (2019, March 07). Commedia dell’arte. Retrieved July 30, 2019, from https://www.britannica.com/art/commedia-dellarte Jando, D. (n.d.). Short History of the Circus. Retrieved from http://www.circopedia.org/SHORT_HISTORY_OF_THE_CIRCUS McQueen-Pope, W. (1952). Ladies First. Hutchinson 1952; The Oxford Companion to the Theatre, 1st Ed. 1951; Oxford Encyclopaedia, 2002. Meagher, J. (2007, July). Commedia dell’arte. Retrieved July 30, 2019, from https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/comm/hd_comm.htm Pagliacci. (2019, February 13). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagliacci Sansone, M. (1989). The ‘Verismo’ of Ruggero Leoncavallo: A Source Study of ‘Pagliacci’. Music & Letters, 70(3), 342-362. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/735470 The Musical Story of “Pagliacci”. (2018, March 05). Retrieved from https://utahopera.org/explore/2018/03/the-musical-story-of-pagliacci/ Wilson, A. (2015, January 15). A blanket term misused: What is (and isn’t) verismo? - Royal Opera House. Retrieved from https://www.roh.org.uk/news/a-blanket-term-misused-what-is-and-isnt-verismo Women in Theatre: A Historical Look. (2015, March 18). Retrieved from https://nctheatre.com/blog/women-theatre-historical-look Women in Theater. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA02/volpe/theater/theater/women.htm
PAGLIACCI RESOURCES
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RENAISSANCE
1500
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THE HISTORY OF OPERA
BAROQUE
1600-1750
CLASSICAL
1730-1820
THE HISTORY OF OPERA People have been telling stories through music for millennia throughout the world. Opera is an art form with roots in Western Europe dating back hundreds of years. Here is a brief timeline of its lineage.
ROMANTIC
1790-1910
20th CENTURY
1900
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1598
RENAISSANCE
Jacopo Peri, a member of the Camerata, composed the world’s first opera – Dafne, reviving the classic myth.
1573
1607
The Florentine Camerata was founded in Italy, devoted to reviving ancient Greek musical traditions, including sung drama.
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) wrote the first opera to become popular, Orfeo, making him the premier opera composer of his day and bridging the gap between Renaissance and Baroque music. His works are still performed today.
Toccata from L’Orfeo. Claudio Monteverdi Favola in musica. Reprint of the First Edition of the core, Venice 1609, via Wikimedia Commons 24
THE HISTORY OF OPERA
1689 Henry Purcell’s (1659-1695) simple and elegant chamber opera, Dido and Aeneas, premiered at Josias Priest’s boarding school for girls in London.
BAROQUE
1637
1712
The first public opera house, Teatro San Cassiano, was built in Venice, Italy.
George Frederic Handel (1685-1759), a German-born composer, moved to London, where he found immense success writing intricate and highly ornamented Italian opera seria (serious opera). Ornamentation refers to stylized, fast-moving notes, usually improvised by the singer to make a musical line more interesting and to showcase their vocal talent.
1673 Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) an Italian-born composer, brought opera to the French court, creating a unique style, tragédie en musique, that better suited the French language. Blurring the lines between recitative and aria, he created fast-paced dramas to suit the tastes of French aristocrats.
Dido and Aeneas, 1747, Pompeo Batoni, via Wikimedia Commons THE HISTORY OF OPERA
25
1805 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) although a prolific composer, wrote only one opera, Fidelio. The extremes of musical expression in Beethoven’s music pushed the boundaries in the late Classical period and inspired generations of Romantic composers.
CLASSICAL
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770- 1827)
1750s A reform movement, led by Christoph Gluck (1714-1787), rejected the flashy, ornamented style of the Baroque in favor of simple, refined music to enhance the drama.
1767 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) wrote his first opera at age 11, beginning his 25-year opera career. Mozart mastered, then innovated in several operatic forms. He wrote opera serias, including La clemenza di Tito, and opera buffas (comedic operas) like Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro). He then combined the two genres in Don Giovanni, calling it dramma giocoso (comedic drama). Mozart also innovated the Singspiel (German sung play), featuring a spoken dialogue, as in Die ZauberflĂśte (The Magic Flute). Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756- 1791)
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THE HISTORY OF OPERA
1853 Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) completed La Traviata, a story of love, loss, and the struggle of average people, in the increasingly popular realistic style of verismo. Verdi enjoyed immense acclaim during his lifetime, while expanding opera to include larger orchestras, extravagant sets and costumes, and more highly trained voices.
ROMANTIC
THE GOLDEN AGE OF OPERA
Giuseppe Verdi
1816
1842
Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) composed Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), becoming the most prodigious opera composer in Italy by age 24. He wrote 39 operas in 20 years. A new compositional style created by Rossini and his contemporaries, including Gaetano Donizetti and Vincenzo Bellini, would, a century later, be referred to as bel canto (beautiful singing). Bel canto compositions were inspired by the nuanced vocal capabilities of the human voice and its expressive potential. Composers employed strategic use of register, the push and pull of tempo (rubato), extremely smooth and connected phrases (legato), and vocal glides (portamento).
Inspired by the risqué popular entertainment of French vaudeville, Hervé created the first operetta, a short comedic musical drama with spoken dialogue. Responding to popular trends, this new form stood in contrast to the increasingly serious and dramatic works at the grand Parisian opera house. Opéra comique as a genre was often not comic, rather realistic or humanistic. Grand Opera, on the contrary, was exaggerated and melodramatic.
A scene from 19th-century version of the play The Barber of Seville by Pierre Beaumarchais. Its origins in the commedia dell’arte are shown in this picture which portrays Figaro dressed in the costume and mask of Harlequin. 1884, via Wikimedia Commons
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27
1896 Giacomo Puccini’s (1858-1924) La bohème captivated audiences with its intensely beautiful music, realism, and raw emotion. Puccini enjoyed huge acclaim during his lifetime for his works.
1871 Influenced by French operetta, English librettist W.S. Gilbert (1836-1911) and composer Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) began their 25-year partnership, which produced 14 comic operettas including The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. Their works inspired the genre of American musical theater.
Giacomo Puccini
1865
1874
Richard Wagner’s (1813-1883) Tristan und Isolde was the beginning of musical Modernism, pushing the use of traditional harmony to its extreme. His massively ambitious, lengthy operas, often based in German folklore, sought to synthesize music, theater, poetry, and visuals in what he called a Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art). The most famous of these was an epic four-opera drama, Der Ring des Nibelungen, which took him 26 years to write and was completed in 1874.
Johann Strauss II, influenced largely by his father, with whom he shared a name and talent, composed Die Fledermaus. This opera popularized Viennese musical traditions, namely the waltz, and shaped German operetta.
Richard Wagner Mikado theatre poster, Edinburgh, 1885, via Wikimedia Commons 28
THE HISTORY OF OPERA
1922
20th CENTURY
Alban Berg (1885-1935) composed the first completely atonal opera, Wozzeck, dealing with uncomfortable themes of militarism and social exploitation. Wozzeck is in the style of 12-tone music or Serialism. This new compositional style, developed in Vienna by composer Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951), placed equal importance on each of the 12 pitches in a scale, removing the sense of the music being in a particular key.
1911
1927
Scott Joplin, “The King of Ragtime,” wrote his only opera, Treemonisha, which was not performed until 1972. The work combined the European late-Romantic operatic style with African American folk songs, spirituals, and dances. The libretto, also by Joplin, was written at a time when literacy among African Americans in the southern United States was rare.
American musical theater, commonly referred to as Broadway, was taken more seriously after Jerome Kern’s (18851945) Show Boat, words by Oscar Hammerstein, tackled issues of racial segregation and the ban on interracial marriage in Mississippi.
Hammerstein and Kern Scott Joplin
THE HISTORY OF OPERA
29
1935 American composer George Gershwin (1898-1937), who was influenced by African American music and culture, debuted his opera, Porgy and Bess, in Boston, MA with an all African American cast of classically trained singers.
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THE HISTORY OF OPERA
Porgy and Bess by the New York Harlem Theatre, 2009
1945
1957
British composer Benjamin Britten (19131976) gained international recognition with his opera Peter Grimes. Britten, along with Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), was one of the first British opera composers to gain fame in nearly 300 years.
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), known for synthesizing musical genres, brought together the best of American musical theater, opera, and ballet in West Side Story—a reimagining of Romeo and Juliet in a contemporary setting.
Benjamin Britten
Leonard Bernstein
1987 John Adams (b. 1947) composed one of the great minimalist operas, Nixon in China, the story of Nixon’s 1972 meeting with Chinese leader Mao Zedong. Musical Minimalism strips music down to its essential elements, usually featuring a great deal of repetition with slight variations.
John Adams
TODAY Still a vibrant, evolving art form, opera attracts contemporary composers such as: Philip Glass (b. 1937), Mark-Anthony Turnage (b. 1960), Jake Heggie (b. 1961), Thomas Adès (b. 1971), and many others. These composers continue to be influenced by present and historical musical forms in creating new operas that explore current issues or reimagine ancient tales.
BLO’s production of Philip Glass’ opera, In the Penal Colony. Photo: T. Charles Erickson
THE HISTORY OF OPERA
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THE SCIENCE AND ART OF OPERA
32
THE SCIENCE AND ART OF OPERA
WHY DO OPERA SINGERS SOUND LIKE THAT?
So Young Park as Queen of the Night Photo: Eric Antoniou
Opera is unique among forms of singing in that singers are trained to be able to sing without amplification, in large theaters, over an entire orchestra, and still be heard and understood! This is what sets the art form of opera apart from similar forms such as musical theater. To become a professional opera singer, it takes years of intense physical training and constant practice— not unlike that of a ballet dancer—to stay in shape. Additionally, while ballet dancers can dance through pain and illness, poor health, especially respiratory issues and even allergies, can be severely debilitating for a professional opera singer. Let’s peek into some of the science of this art form.
THE SCIENCE AND ART OF OPERA
33
How the Voice Works Singing requires different parts of the body to work together: the lungs, the vocal cords, the vocal tract, and the articulators (lips, teeth, and tongue). The lungs create a flow of air over the vocal cords, which vibrate. That vibration is amplified by the vocal tract and broken up into words by consonants produced by the articulators.
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BREATH
Any good singer will tell you that good breath support is essential to produce quality sound. Breath is like the gas that goes into your car. Without it, nothing runs. In order to sing long phrases of music with clarity and volume, opera singers access their full lung capacity by keeping their torso elongated and releasing the lower abdomen and diaphragm muscles, which allows air to enter into the lower lobes of the lungs. This is why we associate a certain posture with opera singers. In the past, many operas were staged with singers standing in one place to deliver an entire aria or scene, with minimal activity. Modern productions, however, often demand a much greater range of movement and agility onstage, requiring performers to be physically fit, and disproving the stereotype of the “fat lady sings.”
VIBRATION
If you run your fingers along your throat you will feel a little lump just underneath your chin. That is your “Adam’s Apple,” and right behind it, housed in the larynx (voice-box), are your vocal cords. When air from the lungs crosses over the vocal cords, it creates an area of low pressure (Google The Bernoulli Effect), which brings the cords together and makes them vibrate. This vibration produces a buzz. The vocal cords can be lengthened or shortened by muscles in the larynx, or by increasing the speed of airflow. This change in the length and thickness of the vocal cords is what allows singers to create different pitches. Higher pitches require long, thin cords, while low pitches require short, thick ones. Professional singers take great pains to protect the delicate anatomy of their vocal cords with hydration and rest, as the tiniest scarring or inflammation can have noticeable effects on the quality of sound produced.
THE SCIENCE AND ART OF OPERA
RESONANCE
Without the resonating chambers in the head, the buzzing of the vocal cords would sound very unpleasant. The vocal tract, a term encompassing the mouth cavity, and the back of the throat, down to the larynx, shapes the buzzing of the vocal cords like a sculptor shapes clay. Shape your mouth in an ee vowel (as in eat), and then sharply inhale a few times. The cool sensation you feel at the top and back of your mouth is your soft palate. The soft palate can raise or lower to change the shape of the vocal tract. Opera singers always strive to sing with a raised soft palate, which allows for the greatest amplification of the sound produced by the vocal cords. Different vowel sounds are produced by raising or lowering the tongue. Say the vowels: ee, eh, ah, oh, oo and notice how each vowel requires a slightly lower tongue placement. This area of vocal training is particularly difficult because none of the anatomy is visible from the outside!
ARTICULATION
The lips, teeth, and tongue are all used to create consonant sounds, which separate words into syllables and make language intelligible. Consonants must be clear and audible for the singer to be understood. Because opera singers do not sing with amplification, their articulation must be particularly good. The challenge lies in producing crisp, rapid consonants without interrupting the connection of the vowels (through the controlled exhale of breath) within the musical phrase.
Perfecting every element of this complex singing system requires years of training, and is essential for the demands of the art form. An opera singer must be capable of singing for hours at a time, over the top of an orchestra, in large opera houses, while acting and delivering an artistic interpretation of the music. It is complete and total engagement of mental, physical, and emotional control and expression. Therefore, think of opera singers as the Olympic athletes of the stage, sit back, and marvel at what the human body is capable of! 35
Different Voice Types
C B C B Soprano MezzoSoprano
C B
Bass The lowest male voice, basses often fall into two main categories: basso buffo, which is a comic character who often sings in lower laughing-like tones, and basso profundo, which is as low as the human voice can sing! Doctor Bartolo is an example of a bass role in The Barber of Seville by Rossini.
Contralto Tenor
C B
Baritone Bass
C
D
E
F
G
A
110HZ
D
E
F
G
A
220HZ
D
E
F
G
A
440HZ
D
E
F
G
A
880HZ
D
E
F
Opera singers are cast into roles based on their tessitura (the range of notes they can sing comfortably). There are many descriptors that accompany the basic voice types, but here are some of the most common ones:
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THE SCIENCE AND ART OF OPERA
Baritone A middle-range male voice, baritones can range from sweet and mild in tone, to darker dramatic and full tones. A famous baritone role is Rigoletto in Verdi’s Rigoletto. Baritones who are most comfortable in a slightly lower range are known as Bass-Baritones, a hybrid of the two lowest voice types.
Tenor The highest male voice, tenors often sing the role of the hero. One of the most famous tenor roles is Roméo in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliet. Occasionally men have cultivated very high voices singing in a range similar to a mezzo-soprano, but using their falsetto. Called the Countertenor, this voice type is often found in Baroque music. Countertenors replaced castrati in the heroic lead roles of Baroque opera after the practice of castration was deemed unethical.
Each of the voice types (soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, bass) also tends to be sub-characterized by whether it is more Lyric or Dramatic in tone. Lyric singers tend toward smooth lines in their music, sensitively expressed interpretation, and flexible agility. Dramatic singers have qualities that are attributed to darker, fuller, richer note qualities expressed powerfully and robustly with strong emotion. While it’s easiest to understand operatic voice types through these designations and descriptions, one of the most exciting things about listening to a singer perform is that each individual’s voice is unique, therefore each singer will interpret a role in an opera in a slightly different way.
Contralto Occasionally women have an even lower range that overlaps with the highest male voice. This voice type is more rare and they often play male characters, referred to in opera as trouser roles.
Mezzo-Soprano Somewhat equivalent to the lower female alto role in a chorus, mezzo-sopranos (mezzo translated as “middle”) are known for their full and expressive qualities. While they don’t sing frequencies quite as high as sopranos, their ranges do overlap, and it is a “darker” tone that sets them apart. One of the most famous mezzo-soprano lead roles is Carmen in Bizet’s Carmen.
Soprano The highest female voice. Some sopranos are designated as coloratura as they specialize in being able to sing very fast moving notes that are very high in frequency and light in tone, often referred to as “color notes.” One of the most famous coloratura roles is The Queen of the Night in Mozart’s The Magic Flute.
THE SCIENCE AND ART OF OPERA
37
THE PHYSICS OF OPERA SINGERS What is it about opera singers that allows them to be heard above the orchestra? It’s not that they are simply singing louder. The qualities of sound have to do with the relationship between the frequency (pitch) of a sound, represented in a unit of measurement called hertz, and its amplitude, measured in decibels, which the ear perceives as loudness. Only artificially produced sounds, however, create a pure frequency and amplitude (these are the only kinds that can break glass). The sound produced by a violin, a drum, a voice, or even smacking your hand on a table, produces a fundamental frequency as well as secondary, tertiary, etc. frequencies known as overtones, or as musicians call them, harmonics.
For instance, the orchestra tunes to a concert “A” pitch before a performance. Concert “A” has a frequency of about 440 hertz, but that is not the only pitch you will hear. Progressively softer pitches above that fundamental pitch are produced in multiples of 440 at 880hz, 1320hz, 1760hz, etc. Each different instrument in the orchestra, because of its shape, construction, and mode in which it produces sound, produces different harmonics. This is what makes a violin, for example, have a different color (or timbre) from a trumpet. Generally, the harmonics of the instruments in the orchestra fade around 2500hz. Overtones produced by a human voice—whether speaking, yelling, or singing—are referred to as formants. As the demands of opera stars increased, vocal teachers discovered that by manipulating the empty space within the vocal tract, they could emphasize higher frequencies within the overtone series—frequencies above 2500hz. This technique allowed singers to perform without hurting their vocal chords, as they are not actually singing at a higher fundamental decibel level than the orchestra. Swedish voice scientist, Johann Sundberg, observed this phenomenon when he recorded the worldfamous tenor Jussi Bjoerling in 1970. His research showed multiple peaks in decibel level, with the strongest frequency (overtone) falling between 2500 and 3000 hertz. This frequency, known as the singer’s formant, is the “sweet spot” for singers so that we hear their voices soaring over the orchestra into the opera house night after night.
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THE SCIENCE AND ART OF OPERA
Prof. Tecumseh Fitch, evolutionary biologist and cognitive scientist at the University of Vienna, explains the difference between a fundamental frequency and formant frequency in the human voice. For an opera singer, the lower two formants (peaks on a graph) determine the specific vowel sound. The third formant and above add overtones that are specific to each particular singers’ voice, like a fingerprint. When two people sing the same note simultaneously, the high overtones allow your ear to distinguish two voices
A RESONANT PLACE The final piece of the puzzle in creating the perfect operatic sound is the opera house or theater itself. Designing the perfect acoustical space can be an almost impossible task, one which requires tremendous knowledge of science, engineering, and architecture, as well as an artistic sensibility. The goal of the acoustician is to make sure that everyone in the audience can clearly understand the music being produced onstage, no matter where they are sitting. A perfectly designed opera house or concert hall (for non-amplified sound) functions almost like gigantic musical instrument.
Boston Opera House – photo by John Wolf
Boston Symphony Hall, opened in 1900, with acoustical design by Harvard physicist Wallace Clement Sabine, was the first concert hall to be designed with scientific acoustic principles in mind. Each seat was mathematically designed and placed for maximum acoustical perfection.
Reverberation is one key aspect in making a singer’s words intelligible or an orchestra’s melody clear. Imagine the sound your voice would make in the shower or a cave. The echo you hear is reverberation caused by the large, hard, smooth surfaces. Too much reverberation (bouncing sound waves) can make words difficult to understand. Resonant vowel sounds overlap as they bounce off of hard surfaces and cover up quieter consonant sounds. In these environments, sound carries a long way but becomes unclear or, as it is sometimes called, wet as if the sound were underwater. Acousticians can mitigate these effects by covering smooth surfaces with textured materials like fabric, perforated metal, or diffusers, which absorb and disperse sound. These tools, however, must be used carefully, as too much absorption can make a space dry – meaning the sound onstage will not carry at all and the performers may have trouble even hearing themselves as they perform. Imagine singing into a pillow or under a blanket. The shape of the room itself also contributes to the way the audience perceives the music. Most large performance spaces are shaped like a bell – small where the stage is, and growing larger and more spread out in every dimension as one moves farther away. This shape helps to create a clear path for the sound to every seat. In designing concert halls or opera houses, big decisions must be made about the construction of the building based on acoustical needs. Even with the best planning, the perfect acoustic is not guaranteed, but professionals are constantly learning and adapting new scientific knowledge to enhance the audience’s experience.
THE SCIENCE AND ART OF OPERA
39
NOTES TO PREPARE FOR THE OPERA You will see a full dress rehearsal – an insider’s look into the final moments of preparation before an opera premieres. The singers will be in full costume and makeup, the opera will be fully staged, and a full orchestra will accompany the singers, who may choose to “mark,” or not sing in full voice, in order to save their voices for the performances. A final dress rehearsal is often a complete run-through, but there is a chance that the director or conductor will ask to repeat a scene or section of music. This is the last opportunity that the performers have to rehearse with the orchestra before opening night, and therefore they need this valuable time to work. The following will help you better enjoy your experience of a night at the opera:
40
NOTES TO PREPARE FOR THE OPERA
OPERA CHECKLIST Arrive on time! Latecomers will be seated only at suitable breaks in the performance and often not until intermission. Dress in what you are comfortable in so that you may enjoy the performance. For some, that means dressing up in a suit or gown, for others, jeans and a polo shirt fit the bill. Generally “dressy-casual” is what people wear. Live theater is usually a little more formal than a movie theater. Please do not take off your shoes or put your feet on the seat in front of you. Respect your fellow opera lovers by not leaning forward in your seat so as to block the person’s view behind you, and by turning off (not on vibrate) cell phones and other electronic devices that could make noise during the performance. Lit screens are also very distracting to your neighbors, so please keep your phone out of sight until the house lights come up. Taking photos or making audio or video recordings is strictly forbidden. Do not chew gum, eat, drink, or talk while the rehearsal is in session. If you must visit the restroom during the performance, please exit quickly and quietly. At the very beginning of the opera, the concertmaster of the orchestra will ask the oboist to play the note “A.” You will hear all the other musicians in the orchestra tune their instruments to match the oboe’s “A.” After all the instruments have been tuned, the conductor will arrive. Be sure to applaud! Feel free to applaud or shout Bravo at the end of an aria or chorus piece if you liked it. The end of a piece can be identified by a pause in the music. Singers love an appreciative audience! It’s OK to laugh when something is funny! When translating songs and poetry in particular, much can be lost due to a change in rhythm, inflection and rhyme of words. For this reason, opera is usually performed in its original language. In order to help audiences enjoy the music and follow every twist and turn of the plot, English supertitles are projected. Listen for subtleties in the music. The tempo, volume, and complexity of the music and singing depict the feelings or actions of the characters. Also, notice repeated words or phrases; they are usually significant. Sit back, relax and let the action on stage pull you in. As an audience member, you are essential to the art form of opera—without you, there is no show!
Have Fun and Enjoy the Opera!
