arts
Regular opera-goer Emma Drake provides an introduction to the opera dahhhhling
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pera has been popular in Western culture for centuries. Usually thought of as a snobbish art form, it mostly conjures up images of fat women in large dresses belting out a song of woe. But this is only one style of opera, with some of the other styles being much more accessible. Some of the most dramatic and arousing pieces that we hear today come operas. TV adverts for PlayStation 2, Estee Lauder, BT broadband all use opera pieces for their soundtracks. Opera became popular in Italy in the 16th century, and by the 17th century it had also spread to Germany, France and Britain, where each
country established their own style. The story lines were serious and overly dramatic. Mozart in the 18th century made a break through by taking some of the seriousness out of opera, composing the first comic operas, Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute. By the early 19th century, Italy had the monopoly on opera in Europe. Composers were writing ‘Grand opera’ in the Bel Canto style, meaning ‘beautiful singing’. Within this style, the Prima Donna’s aria is the main focus of the performance. Then in the mid-19th century, Germany started to rival Italy’s domination of the opera scene. Their most influential opera composer at this time was Wagner. He wrote the lon-
gest operas ever written. His Ring Cycle, made up of four operas, took fifteen hours to perform. Not for the faint hearted! The Italians stood up to Wagner’s rivalry, and reformed their opera style to suit the times. Operas became shorter and cheaper. The story lines, though still dramatic and far-fetched, were focused on everyday life of the lower classes, a prototype modern day soap opera. The 19th century saw opera spread to Russia and Bohemia, and a wider range of composers like Tchaikovsky and Dvoák. By the 20th century, opera became experimental and intensely political, mirroring the trend in the Arts in general.
TOP FIVE OPERAS 1. Falstaff, Verdi (Italian) A comic opera based on Shakespeare’s ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’. 2. Porgy and Bess, Gershwin (American) For those that can’t bear the thought of classical music and reading subtitles. 3. Salome, Strauss (German) At one point Salome demands her lovers head on a
plate, and then passionately kisses it. Lovely. 4. The Magic Flute, Mozart (German) A traditional classical opera, with very pretty and colorful passages and a witty and easy-to-follow story line. 5. I Pagliacci, Leoncavallo (Italian) One of the shortest operas, the story line is pure drama.
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