FAQ about Opera music (frequently asked questions)

An aria is a solo vocal piece in classical music. The aria conveys the feelings and moods, called affect, of a particular moment, i.e. normally there is no action, unlike the recitative. Lists of famous arias can be found in the following links: Tenor arias, Soprano arias, Baritone arias, Bass arias, Mezzo-Soprano arias.

An arioso is a piece of music for a solo voice and instrumental accompaniment which is a between recitative and aria. An arioso is more vocal and less committed to drama than the recitative, but of more open and a less fixed form than the aria (Wikipedia). In the operas of Tchaikovsky, for example, we can find ariosi written for the classically light Russian tenor. Listen to the beautiful arioso kuda, kuda (Eugene Onegin) sung by Russian tenor Leonid Sobinov.

Autodafé stems from Latin actus fidei: judgment on faith. The solemn pronouncement of the verdicts of the trials of the Inquisition. The autodafé is followed by execution, such as burning at the stake. Autodafé scenes can be found in opera, for example in Don Carlo (Verdi) or in Candide (Bernstein).

It was clear to Wagner from the very beginning, that the performance of such a work like the Ring des Nibelungen in existing theatres was hardly possible. Early the idea of his own festival theatre was born. But it was to take another 25 years until its completion. Securing the financing of this enormous undertaking cost Wagner a great deal of work. In 1872 Wagner and his wife Cosima moved to Bayreuth, and construction work began. Together with many patrons he succeeds in raising money for the laying of the foundation stone of the Festspielhaus and for the purchase of the Villa Wahnfried. Four years later the Festspielhaus was opened with Rheingold. The first festival took place in 1876 in the presence of Emperor Wilhelm and all the European cultural celebrities and became Wagner’s greatest triumph of his entire life. With the Ring and the construction of the Festspielhaus, Wagner completed his vision of the Gesamtkunstwerk: the union of the arts of music, poetry, architecture and stage design.

It describes an Italian vocal technique before 1900, including purity and delicacy of tone, flow (legato), singing with the breath (canto sul fiato), and further dynamic flexibility (messa di voce) and agility in ornamentation. Famous bel canto composers were Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini, moreover Verdi composed mostly in bel canto style. The iconic opera of belcanto is Norma, and an iconic belcanto aria is Casta diva. One singer of whom sound recordings from the bel canto era have survived is Fernando de Lucia (1860-1925). A recording of Fernando de Lucia and more recordings on bel canto can be found in this link.

The name Bacchanale comes from the Greek Roman god Bacchus (Dyonisos), the god of wine, intoxication, madness and ecstasy. The Bacchanale is a musical composition depicting an orgiastic feast, often with dance performances. Famous operatic examples include the Bacchanale in Camille Saint-Saëns’ Samson and Delilah, the Venusberg scene in Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser, and the Dance of the Seven Veils from Salome (Strauss).

The basso buffo (similar to the basso cantante), is a typical bass role of operatic comedies that require a very agile voice, acting skills and in Italian opera also the sillabato (the fast speech singing). Listen to the famous sillabato from Don Pasquale: cheti cheti and the intrigue aria from Il barbiere di Siviglia.

The bravura aria (Italian: aria di bravura) is a sung piece of music that aims for external effect due to its technical difficulty (virtuosity) and musical content. Famous bravura arias are Ah, non giunge from La Sonnambula or Non piu mesta from La cenerentola (Cinderella). The first bravura arias were composed for the immensely virtuous castrati. The aria “Venti, turbini, prestate” is one of Handel’s bravura arias composed to bring out Nicolini’s voice.

A castrato is a male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano or mezzo-soprano. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity (wikipedia). The first castrati appeared in the 16th century. They were trained by the churches and formed an important pillar of vocal church music. They were very important for the churches, since they created an considerable source of income through their music. They soon found their way into the new genre of opera and Monteverdi already employed castratos in supporting roles in his first revolutionary opera “Orfeo” (1607). In his L’incoronazione di Poppea, castratos appear for the first time ever in the leading role. The role of Nero, thus the first castrato hero in opera history, was cast by a soprano castrato, and the buffo role of the nurse (!) Arnalta, hence the first drag queen, was cast by a tenor castrato. Nowadays the question arises how the role of Nero, with his extremely high tessitura, should be cast. Most of the time the role is sung by a countertenor, occasionally by a female soprano or a tenor. The immensely rich technique which developped was called bel canto, and the most famous castrati were Senesino and Farinelli. Mozart’s Idomeneo was one of last opera where castrati were used (end 18th century). The last castrato died at the beginning of 20th century.

The cabaletta is a part of the so-called scena ed aria from the Italian opera, which describes a very schematic scene of individual characters. The sequence of the scena ed aria is: recitative (Tempo d’attacco), slow aria (Cavatina), recitative (Tempo di mezzo), fast aria (Cabaletta) and possibly a stretta at the end. The Scena was accompanied by various performances of cues. The scena ed aria allowed the librettists to write the scenes according to a fixed scheme, without the need for a lengthy coordination with the composer. The Scena ed Aria form was perfected by Rossini and adopted by Donizetti, Bellini and Verdi. A famous Scena ed aria is: Ah si ben mio (Cavatina) followed by Di quella pira (Cabaletta) from the opera Il trovatore (Verdi)

The cavatina is a part of the so-called scena ed aria from the Italian opera, which describes a very schematic scene of individual characters. The sequence of the scena ed aria is: recitative (Tempo d’attacco), slow aria (Cavatina), recitative (Tempo di mezzo), fast aria (Cabaletta) and possibly a stretta at the end. The Scena was accompanied by various performances of cues. The scena ed aria allowed the librettists to write the scenes according to a fixed scheme, without the need for a lengthy coordination with the composer. The Scena ed Aria form was perfected by Rossini and adopted by Donizetti, Bellini and Verdi. A famous Scena ed Aria is: Ah si ben mio (Cavatina) followed by Di quella pira (Cabaletta) from the opera Il trovatore (Verdi)

A countertenor is a male singer who sings in alto or, more rarely, soprano register using a head voice or falsetto technique amplified by chest resonance (wikipedia). The countertenor can be used in roles previously reserved for castrati, but the voice is not comparable, because it is produced in falsetto (head voice) and does not sound as usual with the chest voice (castrato). You can hear an example of a countertenor in this link (Philippe Jaroussky with Oblivion soave)

The expression comes from the French opera. A couplet is a multi-strophic, happy song with a distinctive refrain in the manner of a rondo, with a recurring refrain. An example is Chacun le sait, chacun le dit from the opera La fille du régiment.

In opera, a choir is a community of singers in which each voice is multiple. In addition, chorus is the name for a piece to be performed by this ensemble. You can find a list of famous pieces for choir in this link.

Concertato in the sense of 19th century opera, is an ensemble piece which is sparsely accompanied or even sung in a cappella style (without accompaniment). It often happens after a colpo di scena (coup de théâtre): time stands still, the music stops, and the soloists go about their thoughts. Famous concertati include Questo è un nodo aviluppato (Cenerentola) or Chi mi frena a tal momento (Lucia di Lammermoor).

The da capo aria was the main aria form of the Baroque period. The da capo aria(Da-capo means repetition) is written in three parts A-B-A’. Da-capo means repetition. Usually the A’ part is embellished by the performer with coloratura etc. An example of a famous da capo aria is Lascia ch’io pianga from Rinaldo (Handel). The capo aria lost its importance with Gluck, who criticized performers for embellishing arias beyond recognition. Nevertheless, he too wrote da capo arias, for example the dreamlike aria Ô toi, qui prolongeas mes jours from Iphigénie en Tauride.

An ensemble is a piece in which many of the vocal soloists are involved. They often have the function of a finale (sometimes as concertato). In this link you will find many famous examples of opera literature.

Entr’acte (French: between two acts) refers to instrumental music played during the intermission between acts, often with the curtain closed, as the music temporally bridges the stage decoration change. In the second half of the 19th century, entr’acts were developed into climaxes. Richard Wagner called them transformation music. Famous passages are in Rheingold (Nibelheim) and Parsifal (bell motif). Various Entr’acte of verismo became famous under the name Intermezo (e.g. Cavalleria rusticana). Listen to these and other great entre’acts in this link.

Grand opéra (french) is the name given to a genre of opera that emerged in Paris after the French Revolution. The Grand Opéra was based on the traditions of Gluck’s Reform Opera and the Opéra Comique. Rossini’s “Guillaume Tell” (1829), together with Auber’s “Muette de Portici” (1828) and Meyerbeer’s “Robert le diable” (1831), formed the prototype of this new type of magnificent opera based on historicising themes, which had the claim to combine the artistic genres of music, literature, dance, decoration and painting. Specialised Committees for each artistic genre took care of the elaboration of the details and endless rehearsals revealed weak points, which again led to changes in the composition. The productions of the Grand Opéra required the artists to create historical fabrics with authentic colouring. So for example the stage designer Cicéri was sent to Central Switzerland for the production of Rossini’s Guillaume Tell, where he made sketches for the stage sets. It was performed in its heyday in the Salle Pelletier, which fell victim to a fire in 1873. The works for the grand opéra have five acts and include an extended ballet. The operas were elaborately planned and staged at gigantic expense. For example, 355 costumes had to be sewn for Don Carlo, which was given during the Paris World’s Fair in 1867. Giacomo Meyerbeer is considered the most successful composer of the grand opéra. Richard Wagner tried for many years to succeed at the grand opéra, but failed with his Tannhäuser with a fiasco that went down in history. Most of the works of this genre are rarely given nowadays because of the gigantic effort (for example Les Hugenots or L’Africaine).

The term Gesamtkunstwerk (Total work of art) is associated with Richard Wagner. The music is not divided into scenes and numbers (“number opera”), but these form an inseparable unit, which Richard Wagner called “MUSIC DRAMA”. Characteristically, the scenes and its music is composed through, with no interruptions (such as tercets, finales, recitatives etc.). Recurring motives (LEITMOTIV) create coherence. A prime example in this sense is Wagner’s work Tristan und Isolde, his Ring des Nibelungen or Parsifal which he no longer called opera.  Wagner understood his operas the longer the more as “GESAMTKUNSTWERK”, in which the arts of music, acting, painting/stage design and poetry are united. For Wagner it was important that he was not only the composer, but also his own librettist and that he could create his own theater in Bayreuth for his total work of art.

The Habanera is a piece of music of Cuban-African origin, which contains a provocative sexual allusion with sensual movements. With the habanera L’amour est un oiseau rebelle Bizet has painted a true character portrait of the role of Carmen. Rarely has one of the great roles in opera literature been defined by only one aria as Carmen with the Habanera. Bizet has taken the main theme from a work by the Spaniard Yradier, who had spent some time in the Caribbean. Bizet used a chromatic vocal line for Carmen. The verses are in a minor key and the chorus is in major key. The orchestra accompanies Carmen with a ostinato motive of the cellos, thus reinforcing the hypnotic character of her Habanera.

The highly dramatic soprano is the female counterpart of the Heldentenor. It is a soprano voice with radiant power. In addition, she must play roles with extreme emotional outbursts. Typical roles include Salome (Strauss), Elektra (Elektra) Brünnhilde (Götterdämmerung) and Isolde (Tristan und Isolde). Outstanding role representatives were Kirsten Flagstadt, Frida Leider and Birgit Nilsson. Nina Stemme also belongs to this circle in our years. An illustrative quote from Christa Ludwig, a famous mezzo-soprano who also sang many highly dramatic roles: “A highly dramatic soprano has enormous vocal chords. There are few high dramatic singers who have the modulation ability for song singing. They can’t paint with subtle colors like that because the vocal cords are extra robust and thick. An ear, nose and throat doctor once told me, “The Nilsson’s vocal cords are as wide as a thumb. And mine are as delicate as a woolen thread.”

It is a tenor voice with radiant power in the dramatic vocal register. This subject can be mastered by only a few tenors. The roles are reserved for experienced singers, as a young voice can be quickly damaged. The physical demands on the singer are immense. The duration of the opera is usually very long and the accompaniment by the orchestra is loud and dense. Tannhäuser is possibly the most difficult Heldentenor Part. The number of outstanding representatives of this discipline is small and the artists are in demand and usually booked years in advance. Accordingly, their voice must drown out a large orchestra. Heldentenor roles include Siegmund (Walküre) or Lohengrin. This is the link to the Heldentenor aria In fernem Land from Lohengrin. The presumably greatest Heldentenor in history was Lauritz Melchior. Great German Wagner tenors were Max Lorenz and Franz Völker or nowadays Peter Seiffert and Jonas Kaufmann.

Lamento refers to a sad song from the operas of the 17th and 18th centuries. A descending chromatic sequence of notes together with effective rests create the classical sigh motif that forms an important element of the lamento. Monteverdi was the inventor of the Lamento. His operatic language wanted to express the feelings of the human beings, Monteverdi believed that music should make people cry, not discuss. Music should not follow rigid rules, but should give space to the human condition and express it. One of the most sensational consequences were Monteverdi’s dissonances. For his contemporaries this werde monstrosities that represent extreme states of mind and triggered fierce polemics at the time. The famous “Lasciatemi morire” from the opera “Arianna” – the cry of pain – can be used as an illustration. Listen to the famous lamento from Handel’s Rinaldo, Lascia ch’io pianga. Purcell’s When I am laid in earth is one of the great arias of opera literature, a lamento, a classic product of baroque opera. It is uncommonly effectively written and belongs to the handful of baroque lamentos that can truly move the listener to tears.

Messa di voce is a technique from bel canto. It involves a waxing and waning of vocal volume during the continuous tone, ideally from pianissimo to fortissimo and vice versa, without changing pitch and other aspects such as intonation and vibrato. The castrati of the Baroque period, who were generally of very sturdy stature, were thus able to demonstrate their controlled strength and lung volume.” (Wikipedia). Listen to a messa di voce from Handel’s famous aria Cara Sposa from Rinaldo: after a chromatic introduction by the strings, the voice begins with a large messa di voce. The following notes must be sung with the greatest legato and chromatic note changes to create the desolation of the moment.

Monologues are significant solo scenes that show a reflective person. The words are not directly addressed to a listener, the monologue often serves to carry thoughts and mental processes of a person audibly or legibly to the outside and thus become clear to viewers or listeners. In many works, monologues form a dramatic climax or mark a turning point in the plot (Wikipedia). Famous examples in operatic literature are Giammai m’amo (Don Carlo), Skorbit dusha (Boris Godunov) or the Wahn-Monolog (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg)

Mozart’s tenor roles require an agile and lyrical voice, because they usually have to sing only emotions, since the action and its drama take place in the recitatives. Nevertheless, they are virtuosic, because they require long breath, beautiful coloratura and are very varied. Mozart’s favorite tenor aria was “O wie ängstlich, wie feurig klopft mein liebevolles Herz” from Die Entführung aus dem Serail. Listen to it sung by the great Mozart tenor Fritz Wunderlich.

The term opera comique is somewhat misleading. It was invented in the 18th century to distinguish it from the tragédie lyrique with its gods and nobles as the main roles. It became the opera of the bourgeoisie and the people and the most important stylistic element were the spoken dialogues (instead of the musically accompanied recitatives). The spectrum ranges from comedies to dramas with a maximum of three acts. The best-known works of this genre are Carmen (Bizet), Medée (Cherubini), Les contes d’Hoffmann (Offenbach), Faust (Gounod) and Manon (Massenet). The term “opéra comique” not only a genre but also a site in Paris and is still a French institution. The Opéra comique of today (also known as the Salle Favart in Paris) is a beautiful historic theatre, and dates back to 1898. Both of its predecessors burned down, including the premiere theatre of “Carmen”; the fire occurred in 1887 and killed around 100 people.

 The tragédie lyrique is a genre of French opera of the late 17th and 18th centuries. The inventor of the tragédie lyrique can be considered Jean-Baptiste Lully (e.g. Alceste), who developed this form in the 1670s. In its aristocratic form, it is similar in essence to the opera seria. Another outstanding (later) representative was Rameau (e.g. Les indes galantes). In the course of time, the tragédie lyrique twice became an object of cultural struggle. Both times it was about rivalry with Italian opera. In the Buffonists’ dispute (around 1750), Rousseau propagated the naturalness of Italian opera; twenty years later, the Piccinists’ dispute (over the composers Piccinni and Gluck) escalated in favor of Gluck’s reform opera. The French Revolution caused a break and an end to this genre. Tragédie lyrique then developed into two streams. On the one hand, into the Opéra comique (popular opera) and on the other hand in the Gran Opéra (opera of the upper middle class and aristocracy).

The recitative (from Italian recitare “to recite”) is a form of singing that approximates speech. During the recitative, the singer has the freedom to declaim the text rhythmically. There are two forms of recitative: the secco recitative is accompanied only by a basso continuo and allows the greatest rhythmic freedom. In the accompagnato recitative, the singer is accompanied by an orchestra that participates compositionally in the interpretation of the sung content, which results in stricter rhythmic constraints (Wikipedia). The role of the recitative evolved in the history of opera. In the early period (17th century) and opera seria (18th century) it was the carrier of the plot. In the 19th century, a distinction was made between unaccompanied spoken dialogue (opéra comique, singspiel, opera buffa) and accompanied dialogue (recitative). In the process, part of the action shifted to the sung passages. This changed with Richard Wagner and the late Verdi. The distinction between recitative and aria was eliminated and the through-composed so called Musikdrama emerged.

Opera seria was the predominant genre of opera music from 1700 – 1800 (with the exception of France –> Tragédie lyrique). It was the art form of the nobility, intended to emphasize the heroic and noble disposition of this class. The subject matter of opera was mostly mythological material. In the 18th century, this style was represented by Pietro Metastasio, whose libretti were set to music several times by many composers. Metastasio’s work thus became a style-forming work. From 1730 Metastasio was active in Vienna, which gave him enormous influence in the German-speaking world as well. Even Mozart set Metastasio’s material to music (La clemenza di Tito and il re pastore). The most famous composers who composed operas in the style of opera seria are Alessandro Scarlatti, Johann Adolf Hasse, Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric Handel, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Joseph Haydn, Antonio Salieri, Domenico Cimarosa and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (among others Idomeneo). Gluck reformed the opera seria. He felt that musical theater suffered from the stereotyped nature of the characters and the sometimes grotesque nature of the plots. To this end, the works were sung by singers who sometimes embellished the music beyond recognition. Drama, ethics and real feelings had disappeared from the stage.

A feat of strength for tenors and sopranos to achieve this top note. As a rule, they appear in Italian operas in two or three passages of an opera. The high C was sung in Rossini’s time with head voice, but afterwards for over a hundred years until now with chest voice (vibrations in the chest). Read and hear more in this link.

Intermezzo is the equivalent to Entr’acte (French: between two acts) refers to instrumental music played during the intermission between acts, often with the curtain closed, as the music temporally bridges the stage decoration change. In the second half of the 19th century, entr’acts were developed into climaxes. Richard Wagner called them transformation music. Famous passages are in Rheingold and Parsifal. Various works of verismo became famous under the name Intermezo (e.g. Cavalleria rusticana). You can hear these and other great Intermezzi in this link.

A leitmotif is an artistic device that is used again and again as a musical motif in a work. They serve as a means of recollection for the listener and thus acquire semantic significance as narrators. These musical motifs can be tied to actions, persons or objects. Carl Maria von Weber was the first to consistently use leitmotifs (for example, in Freischütz, see here the detailed list of the leitmotifs in the famous Ouverture). Richard Wagner was the most consistent in continuing the use of leitmotifs. Leitmotifs became a compositional principle in many of his works. In this link you will find a description of the 70 most important leitmotifs by Richard Wagner.

Opera buffa refers to Italian comic opera, as opposed to serious opera seria. In opera buffa, mostly people from the people play leading roles (for example, the barber Figaro). Opera buffa originated in part from the Italian commedia dell’arte. Famous operas are Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini) or Elisir d’amore (Donizetti). Recitative scenes often alternate with sung scenes. The plot of the opera is usually funny or even absurd. The music is usually sparkling, occasionally interrupted by nostalgic arias. The French opéracomique should not be equated with opera buffa, the genre differs greatly.

An overture opens the opera. It is usually composed as an instrumental piece without a singing voice. It may anticipate themes or motifs of the opera or be freely composed.Other alternative names are: “SINFONIA “, ” PRÉLUDE”, “VORSPIEL”, “INTRODUZIONE”. In the early days of opera, these type of openings included different forms. In the 19th century, the terms became increasingly interchangeable. In this link you will find a list of the most beautiful overtures and their most beautiful interpretations.

It is a dramatic turning point in the plot due to a surprising event. Often the event leads to a concertato with solo voice and chorus. Famous examples are Bella figlia d’amore from Rigoletto or Chi mi frema a tal momento from Lucia di Lammermoor.

The libretto is the opera’s textbook, which includes the plot and speech texts. Often, stage directions can also be found in the libretto. The librettist is the author of the libretto and is usually a man of letters or a poet. In opera seria, it was common to use drafts several times. In the Romantic period it became customary to tailor the texts for the opera. Often literary models were used, which were used by the librettist (e.g. la dame aux camélias for La Traviata). Puccini separated the task of the librettist into that of the dramatist (often Luigi Illica) and lyricist (often Giuseppe Giacosa). Richard Wagner wrote the libretti for most of his operas himself. Long-standing and famous partnerships between librettists and composers were maintained by Mozart and da Ponte, Bellini and Felice Romani, Verdi and Francesco Maria Piave and Salvatore Cammarano. Famous was the writing factory of Eugene Scribe in Paris of the 19th century, who, with the help of collaborators, wrote about 400 plays, many of which were used for operas (for example, “Les Huguenots” or “Il ballo in maschera”).

Lieder are straightforward compositions for singers. The music is folk-like, the lyrics, meter and rhythm remain unpretentious. As a rule, the verses are concluded with a refrain. The Lieder had its heyday in opera between 1780 and 1830. Famous Lieder for opera are Durch die Wälder durch die Auen (Der Freischütz) or Der Vogelsänger bin ich ja (Die Zauberflöte). Even Wagner composed a Lied-like piece with Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnenmond (Die Walküre). Moreover, lullabies occasionally appear in operas.

A persiflage (from French persifler “to mock, to ridicule”) is a witty, imitative, and often critical mockery of a genre. In opera, there are numerous persiflage of famous models. For example, Elisir d’amore is a persiflage of Tristan and Isolde.

The tessitura describes the vocal range of a role within a vocal genre. For example, the tenor role of Calaf (Turandot) contains many passages in and above the passaggio (the transition between chest voice and head voice) and thus has a high tessitura.

Originally, the prima donna (Italian: first woman) was the most important soprano in an ensemble. Over time, the term was used with a negative undertone (magnificent voice but capricious person). The epithet “Assoluta” as was not only an honorary title for the most important soprano of an era, this addition is due only to female artists who do justice to roles of various subjects. Maria Callas, for example, was an Assoluta because she was one of the best in both dramatic and coloratura roles. Particularly capricious primadonnas are also called Divas.

A premiere is the first performance of an opera production. Premieres are also called first performances and first performances when the work is performed for the first time. The word comes from the French: première = “first.” Famous premieres in opera history were the fiasco of Barbiere di Siviglia, the turbulent story of the opera Tristan und Isolde, or perhaps the most triumphant and surprising success in opera history of Cavalleria rusticana.

In opera music, a coloratura soprano is a soprano voice with coloratura ability, that is, a special agility, especially in the high register. This includes, above all, singing long chains of notes with trills and other ornaments. The coloratura technique emerged with the appearance of castrati in opera in the 17th century. Famous Castrati were Farinelli and Senesino. With Rossini and Bellini, the coloratura soprano took over. Famous coloratura soprano were: Isabella Colbran, Jenny Lind and Adelina Patti in the 19th century. In the 20th centurey: Lisa Tetrazzini, Joan Sutherland, Marylin Horne, Teresa Berganza and Edita Gruberova. In our days, the most renowned coloratura soprano is Cecilia Bartoli. Famous works for Coloratura soprano are La sonnambula or Il barbiere di Siviglia. With Verdi, Bellini and Donizetti, the coloratura soprano of Rossini style became more dramatic and coloratura was used more selectively, the composer added volume and expression. This mix produced the dramatic coloratura Soprano (e.g. Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Norma in Norma and Abigail in Nabucco. The iconic dramatic coloratura soprano was Maria Callas.

Repertoire comprises the works of opera literature that are considered to have an outstanding artistic value that has been developed and consolidated over a longer period of time. Depending on the source, between 50 – 150 operatic works are attributed to the repertoire. Find in this link the ranking of the 50 most played operas (world wide). The scope and selection may vary by region and era. The repertoire is subject to fashion trends, for example the bel canto renaissance of the 1950s and the baroque renaissance of the 1980s brought works of the respective epochs back into the repertoire. The term “Repertoire” can also used to describe a system: in theater practice, a distinction is made between the repertory system and the stagione system. More on this: see description under “What is a Stagione system.

Mad scenes involve the transformation of a normal person into a state of mental derangement. This state is shown in a great aria. Mad scene were popular in the first half of the 19th century. The most famous is the scene from Lucia di Lammermoor. Other famous mad scenes are the one from Boris Godunov, Macbeth, Pique Dame and La Sonnambula (sleepwalking scene).

One distinguishes between the (early) golden operetta in Paris, the (late) silver operetta and the late operetta in Vienna. The inventor of the operetta was undoubtedly Jacques Offenbach, who began his training at the conservatory in Paris at the age of 14, coming from Cologne with his family. He opened his own theater in 1855 and three years later composed the mother of all operettas Orpheus in the Underworld. The work quickly became popular throughout Europe and the Theater an der Wien commissioned Franz von Suppé to come up with an Austrian operetta, which he did in 1860 with “Das Pensionat”. The rest is history, the era of Johann Strauss and others dawned and became a silver age. It ended in Paris already in 1880 with the death of Offenbach and in Vienna with the death of Millöcker, Strauss and von Suppé in 18 and 1895 respectively. Lehar once again revived the genre and it finally ended in the 1930’s. What remained was the recipe for success of this style. The code of operetta that Lehar internalized was composed of elements of Viennese and Parisian operetta: Frivolity, satire and higher nonsense / Fast, musical numbers such as gallop, cancan / Varied use of dance rhythms, in Vienna especially the waltz / Simple, effective harmonies, mainly in major / Musical local color / Sympathetic role characters / Romantic love stories / Happy ending. The most played operettas are Die lustige Witwe (the merry widow) and Die Fledermaus (the bat)

Gluck was the reformer of the opera seria. In the first forty years of his life Gluck was literally active as a musician throughout Europe. He gained a deep insight into the opera practice of the continent. His impression was that opera seria suffered from the stencil-like nature of the characters and the sometimes grotesque nature of the plots. To this end, the works were sung by singers who sometimes ornamented the music beyond recognition. Drama, ethics and real feelings had disappeared from the stage. To counter this, Gluck was first of all dependent on a suitable librettist, a real dramatist and lyricist. He found him in the person of Raniero de Calzabigi. The Italian Calzabigi wrote for the German composer among others because he was repelled by the noisy and chaotic Italian theatre business. The most important principles were: Word before Music, few acting roles, the choir becomes an acting person and true feelings instead of affect and virtuosity. The endlessly long (and boring) secco recitatives were dropped, recitatives were through-composed and kept short. The dominant da capo aria (ABA’) was also eliminated. While the singers left the composer’s music in the A part more or less in the original, the A’ part was left to the taste of the (vain) singers with coloratura, cadenzas and ornamentation. The most important Reform opera was Orfeo ed Euridice.

With the ensemble piece “Nella testa ho un campanello” from Italiana in Algeri Rossini describes the boundless confusion of the characters. Everyone is only able to make confused noises like “tac tac”, “din din”, “bum bum” etc. While the singers stammer a dazzling staccato of notes, the orchestra produces a powerful accelerando over several minutes: the legendary Rossini Crescendo was born. This kind of music was completely new and made the audience go wild. With this finale Rossini made his rousing calling card of his music for the first time.   

The Soubrette (originally French for maid, servant) is a role subject for a light, lyric soprano with an agile voice (coloratura) and good high notes. As a rule, soubrette roles are accepted at a young age early in a career. Well-known roles include Adele (Fledermaus), Aennchen (Der Freischütz), Despina (Cosi fan tutte), Norina (Don Pasquale), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), etc.

Regieoper  is German for Director’s opera. In Regieoper, great weight is given to the interpretation of the opera’s content. The interpretation can (but does not have to) deviate from the intention of the composer or librettist. The message of the opera is to be modernized in order to address contemporary aspects. Visualization with shock effect is often used (sexuality, Nazi symbols, weapons, etc.). The basis for this development was laid by Walter Felsenstein, who coined the term “music theater” at the Komischen Oper in Berlin in the sixties. The so-called Century Ring may be mentioned as the most essential, early milestone of Regieoper: In 1976, the film director Patrick Chéreau was the first foreigner to stage a Ring in Bayreuth. Together with fellow conductor Pierre Boulez, he developed a socialist interpretation of the Ring (based on a 19th-century interpretation by G.B. Shaw), setting the action not in a mythical landscape but in the setting of a society of the Industrial Revolution. The production led to fierce protests, but was adopted 5 years later to great acclaim. This so-called “Ring of the Century” had an enormous influence on directing in opera houses and became the basis for the following era of Regieoper.

The stagione system (Italian: stagione = season) is a form of operation of opera houses that contrasts with the repertory system. Opera houses that operate according to the stagione system include only a limited number of operas in their repertory each season. As a rule, these are new productions. During the rehearsal period, the theater often remains closed. The productions are then shown in longer series (around ten performances) and then cancelled. Revivals of older productions tend to be the exception. For this reason, most repertory works do not appear in the repertory for years until a new production is staged. (Wikipedia)

Verismo is the Italian counterpart to the late Romanticism of the late 19th century of the northern part of Europe. Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana was the first musical work of this style. The verismo genre combined realistic theater with raw emotional music. To achieve the greatest possible effect, the music wanted to express violent passions and intense emotions. It was meant to touch the listener’s heart and appeal to his sensitive side. The “artificial” ornamented belcanto sound was abandoned in favor of dramatic vocal lines. There is no precise definition of verismo, but in Pagliaccio the composer Leoncavallo has Tonio say a characteristic phrase in the prologue: the people on stage are “flesh and blood.” The prologue became the program of verismo. Andréa Chénier and Adriana Lecouvreur are other important works of this genre. Puccini can also be partially assigned to verismo. His closest work to verismo was Tosca.

The the so-called scena ed aria is a structural element from the classic Italian opera, which describes a very schematic scene of individual characters. The sequence of the scena ed aria is: recitative (Tempo d’attacco), slow aria (Cavatina), recitative (Tempo di mezzo), fast aria (Cabaletta) and possibly a stretta at the end. The Scena was accompanied by various performances of cues. The scena ed aria allowed the librettists to write the scenes according to a fixed scheme, without the need for a lengthy coordination with the composer. The Scena ed Aria form was perfected by Rossini and adopted by Donizetti, Bellini and Verdi. A famous Scena ed Aria is: Ah si ben mio (Cavatina) followed by Di quella pira (Cabaletta) from the opera Il trovatore (Verdi)

The German-language Singspiel dates back to the 18th century. How does the German-language Singspiel differ from Italian opera? The distinction is often made by the use of spoken dialogues of the Singspiel as opposed to the recitatives of the Italian opera, and the Lieder-like music of the Biedermeier (= early german Romanticism). The most famous three operas of the Singspiel genre are Mozart’s Zauberflöte, Beethoven’s Fidelio and Carl Maria von Weber’s Freischütz. The Singspiel was the genre of the people. Operas like Freischütz were written in the spirit of the time when fairy-tale material was popular. Perhaps the most impressive musical piece is the famous Wolfsschlucht scene from Freischütz.

Spinto tenor is the slightly heavier tenor part. It lies between the lyric tenor and the heroic tenor. The voice of the spinto tenor is powerful and brilliant in the high notes. Verdi’s tenor roles are usually spinto roles (Manrico, Riccardo, Radames etc.). It is the domain of famous tenors such as Caruso, Pavarotti and Domingo.

The tenore di grazia is an Italian operatic name for a type of tenor that lies between the leggiero tenor (German: Spieltenor or tenor buffo) and the heavier lyric tenor. It is characterized primarily by elegant phrasing, vocal agility, and usually warm (“sweet”) or very light vocal coloration. The genre emerged during the great period of romantic belcanto style between ca. 1810-1850, when this type of tenor was often assigned the roles of lovers or youthful heroes (source: Wikipedia). Famous tenors were Tito Schipa, Alfredo Kraus and Nicolai Gedda. Youtube videos can be found in this link.

This term comes from the musical language of Verdi and there is no formal definition for it. What is it about? From Nabucco onwards, Verdi equipped each of his operas with their own basic musical colors and musical characterization (rhythmic structures, harmonies, etc.). In “La traviata”, for example, it was the Waltz rhythms of bourgeois society or in Aida, among other things, the use of a specially developed Aida trumpet (the faranoa’s fanfares). For Verdi the development of the characteristic tinta of an opera was an important part of the composition work, but also a laborious one (“il piu fatticoso lavoro”), because the tinta was strategically developed, it had to support the scenes & plot and reflect the historical embedding of the opera. Find and more examples and illustration in this link and in the opera guide to Nabucco.

It is a part of the Tristan harmony of Richard Wagner (from the opera Tristan und Isolde). Summarizing, it can be said that Wagner detached the harmony from the melody and replaced it with chromaticism. However, this was not an end in itself (as later with the composers of atonal music), but a means of expression to represent the unquenched love through endless chromatic developments. For this state of pain there is only one possible redemption: to die, to perish, never to wake up again! In this work, Wagner holds this dissolution of dissonances before the listener for four hours, until it finally resounds in the last chord of the opera with the death of Tristan and the silencing of Isolde. The Tristan Chord can be heard for the first time right at the beginning of the opera in the Vorspiel. At this famous meeting of the two motifs, the legendary “Tristan chord” is heard, a chord with a strange floating dissonance that expresses neither pain nor joy, but a kind of ” indefinite search for resolution”. The resolution comes only after four hours, with the so-called “Liebestod” – love death. It is actually not a death, but as Wagner called the scene, a “transfiguration,” or as Isolde puts it, “Drowning – sinking – unconsciously highest pleasure!” («Ertrinken – versinken – unbewusst höchste Lust!»). And the resolution of the Tristan dissonance of the ouverture finally occurs with the two famous B-flat major final chords.

In a number of operas, Verdi gave the leading role to the baritone. With the darker, lower voice compared to the tenor, Verdi wanted to increase the dramatic level. This role develops great dramatic power and requires great vocal flexibility for passages in higher registers. Verdi often composed for this type of baritone (Nabucco, Simon Boccanegra, Rigoletto, Macbeth, Ballo in maschera etc.) and emphasized that “the baritone must be able to cover all human emotions”. Listen to the baritone aria Cortigiani, vil razza dannata from Rigoletto and Eri tu from il ballo in maschera.

In music, vibrato is the periodically recurring, slight change in the frequency of a sustained tone. In contrast to a non-vibrato tone, a tone with appropriate vibrato (from Italian vibrare, “to vibrate”) is perceived as lively and expressive (Wikipedia). In operatic singing, it is used purposefully in dramatic roles as a stylistic device and as a means of volume, which can be perceived as unpleasant when exaggerated. Listen to Maria Callas Vissi d’arte sung with beautiful vibrato.

Late Romanticism in opera refers to the period beginning in the late 19th century in northern Europe. In Italy, the musical style developed into verismo. Late Romanticism was decisively inspired by Richard Wagner. An important characteristic is the significant enlargement of the orchestra. Additional instruments such as celesta add new colors to the orchestra. Tonality is expanded (for example Tristan chord) but the music remains tonal. The orchestral writing becomes complex with a tremendous density of motives, more complex rhythms and harmonies. Exemplary and iconic works of the late Romantic period are: Tristan und Isolde, Salome, Parsifal and Die tote Stadt.

A trouser role describes a male role character whose singing voice has been written for a woman (usually for mezzo-soprano). Famous trouser roles are Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier and Oscar in Il ballo in maschera.

The most important voice types in opera music are: A) Tenor: lyric tenor, tenero leggiero, spinto tenor, heroic tenor B) Soprano/Mezzo-soprano/Alto: soubrette, lyric soprano, coloratura soprano, dramatic coloratura soprano, youthful dramatic coloratura soprano, highly dramatic soprano  C) Baritone: lyric baritone, heroic baritone   D) Bass: Basso buffo, Black bass   E) Castrato, Countertenor