Drama, dance, and visual art are all integral parts of opera, singing, and instrumental music. The style dates back centuries to Renaissance-era Italy.
During the Baroque era, operas often focused on weighty subjects like mythology and history. They performed on elaborate stages with singers with high voices (castrati).
Baroque music's origins can be traced back to the newfound dramatic drive of the 17th century when composers sought a more dramatic connection between words and music. Madrigals, chansons, and lieder were unsuitable for this purpose because they rarely conveyed the singer's true feelings.
For example, baroque composers like Claudio Monteverdi and Domenico Scarlatti developed the earliest significant styles of vocal music. As a result, subsequent vocal works like opera, oratorio, and cantata were able to develop.
Baroque opera is defined by its use of a narrative told entirely through music; this narrative is frequently based on classical mythology, such as those of Greece and Rome. An excellent cast and orchestra are necessary, making this a costly production.
Opera, a type of music-drama with its roots in Italy around the year 1600, is today considered a cornerstone of the Western classical music canon. There will be acting, singing, dancing, and musical numbers.
In most cases, an opera features a huge orchestra. Its musical motifs are meant to stick in your head and bring a specific scene, character, or feeling to mind.
The libretti for many operas of the Classical era were written in Italian. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, for instance, composed such humorous opera classics as The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni.
As one of the earliest forms of opera, baroque opera is a musical drama performed by a singer and an orchestra. Lyrics and music are commonly paired in operas.
Since its inception at the start of the 19th century, romantic opera has been a staple of opera houses worldwide. It features larger-scale musical arrangements, such as fuller choruses and orchestras.
As the name suggests, emotional themes and a sense of national pride or heritage are hallmarks of this art. It originated with the late 18th-century Counter-Enlightenment movement.
During this time, novel musical forms emerged, including the concert overture and the lied. These innovative techniques allowed composers to generate a wider variety of sounds and textures in their music without adding additional instruments.
Modern operas can use music and vocals to make even the most mundane narrative seem dramatic and compelling. This is why operatic adaptations of such classic tales as Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, and Romeo and Juliet are so common.
Opera's popularity and growth didn't slow down once the Baroque era ended. In the Romantic era (1830–1900), grand opera flourished, showcasing vocal virtuosity and elaborate embellishment.
Wagner eliminated the boundaries between arias and recitatives in the 19th century, a watershed moment for the operatic genre. His works often featured an intricate web of leitmotifs that expanded the orchestra's function and power.
The 20th century also saw the birth of operas based on more recent historical events. These tendencies can be seen in the works of John Adams (Death of Klinghoffer, Nixon in China, Doctor Atomic, etc.), Jake Heggie (Dead Man Walking), and Mark-Anthony Turnage (Anna Nicole).
Style-defining composers include Massenet, Gounod, and Verdi. Manon and the Knight of the Grail's passionate duet in Massenet's opera is a prime example of operatic brilliance.