What is opera and what types exist?
Opera
In 1573, a group of musicians and intellectuals gathered to discuss various topics, especially the desire to revive the Greek drama. This group of individuals is known as the Florentine Camerata; they wanted lines to be sung instead of just spoken. This resulted in the opera that existed in Italy around 1600. Initially, the opera was only for the upper class or aristocrats. Venice became the centre of musical activity and a public opera house was built there in 1637. It takes a lot of time, people and effort before an opera finally gets its premiere. Writers, librettists (playwright who writes the libretto or text), composers, costume and stage designers, conductors, singers (coloratura, text and dramatic soprano, text and dramatic tenor, basso buffo and basso profundo, etc.), dancers, musicians, prompters (person giving clues), producers and directors are some of the people who work closely together to shape an opera.
Singing Styles Opera
Different singing styles were developed for the opera, such as:
- recitative: mimic the pattern and rhythm of speech
- aria: when a character expresses feelings through a smooth melody
- bell canto: Italian for “beautiful vocals”
- castrato: During the Baroque period, young boys were neutered before reaching puberty to avoid deepening the voice. The main roles of the opera are written for the castrato.
