Chapter 17: Romantic Opera
description
Transcript of Chapter 17: Romantic Opera
![Page 1: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Chapter 17:Romantic Opera
Wagner and “Music Drama”
![Page 2: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Key Terms
Music dramaGesamtkunstwerkLeitmotivThematic transformationPreludeDeceptive cadence
![Page 3: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Wagner and “Music Drama”
The most influential Romantic composer after BeethovenHis innovations revolutionized opera and orchestral music•“Complete artwork” concept•“Guiding motive” (leitmotiv) technique
Elaborate theories on art, music, opera•Opera had degenerated from original serious
drama to “concert in costume”•Arias hopelessly artificial – always interrupting
dramatic flow for a song
![Page 4: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Richard Wagner (1)(1813-1883)
Intellectual pursuits as a youth•Literature, music, philosophy, mythology,
religionBegan career as an opera conductorEarly works influenced by Weber•Early German Romantic opera style•Flying Dutchman, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin
Exiled after revolution of 1848-49•Formulated principles for “music drama”•Began work on The Ring of the Nibelung
![Page 5: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Richard Wagner (2)(1813-1883)
Bavarian King Ludwig II a Wagner fanatic•Sponsored 1st productions of Ring operas
His 2nd wife was Liszt’s daughter Cosima•She left Wagner conductor von Bülow for him
He built his own opera house in Bayreuth•Annual festival still performs only Wagner
Wagner stirred enormous controversy•Half visionary & half con man•Highly influential in music & the other arts•The most important Romantic composer (?)
![Page 6: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
The “Total Work of Art” (1)
New kind of opera – the “music drama”•Powerful new concept – Music shares honors
with poetry, drama, & philosophy•Called a “total work of art” (Gesamtkunstwerk)
Wagner had total artistic control•He was not merely the composer—also writer,
director, producer, designer, & conductorBased on old German myths & legends•They present weighty philosophical issues•Use of myth as embodiment of deepest
unconscious truths anticipates Freud
![Page 7: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
The “Total Work of Art” (2)
New intensity of emotional expression•Slow tempos suggest timelessness of myth
Orchestra given new importance in opera•Larger than ever – new instruments added•Brass section now equal to other sections•Superb orchestration provided exciting,
intoxicating new tone colorsOrchestra now carried the opera along•No more recitatives, arias, ensembles, etc.•One long orchestral web woven with singing
![Page 8: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Leitmotivs (1)
Leitmotiv = guiding, or leading, motive•Motives associated with some person, thing,
idea, or symbol in the dramaThey give thematic continuity to the unbroken orchestral web•Modeled after motivic development in
Beethoven’s symphoniesWagner skillful in thematic transformation•A Romantic variation-like technique•Pioneered by Liszt in his symphonic poems
![Page 9: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Leitmotivs (2)
With leitmotivs & their transformations –•Wagner’s orchestra can now guide the listener
through the story• It can tell us what the hero thinks or feels when
he is saying something else• It can show a person or idea changing as
drama progressesLeitmotivs used widely since Wagner’s day•John Williams in Star Wars or Indiana Jones
![Page 10: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Wagner, Tristan und Isolde Background (1)
Two major inspirations•Discovered philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer•Love affair with Mathilde Wesendonck, wife of
a wealthy patronFor Schopenhauer, all human existence consists of “Will” or “Appearance”•Will = emotions & drives•Appearance = ideas, morals, & reason•Will always dominates Appearance•Will is sensed directly only through music
![Page 11: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Wagner, Tristan und Isolde Background (2)
Schopenhauer echoed Wagner’s beliefs•Music was especially suited for emotional
expression•The deepest truths could be plumbed in music
Tristan und Isolde is not just a love story•Wagner chose sexual love to exemplify Will•He presents love as the dominant force in life•This love transcends all worldly Appearance
Wagner’s affair ended when Mathilde’s husband found out & put his foot down
![Page 12: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Story (1)
Wagner’s story draws on medieval legendStory shows ever-growing power of loveAct I takes place on shipboard•Tristan escorts Isolde (a vanquished king’s
daughter) to Cornwall to marry his king• Isolde tries to poison Tristan, her father’s killer•Her maid brings a love potion by mistake•Tristan & Isolde fall hopelessly in love
![Page 13: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
Story (2)
Act II takes place in Cornwall•Their love (Will) sweeps all obstacles away• It overpowers Isolde’s fierce pride, her scorn
for Tristan, & her marriage vows to the king• It dissolves Tristan’s perfectly chivalry & his
loyalty to the king, his uncleTristan & Isolde meet under cover of night•Longest unconsummated love scene in opera•Through treachery, their tryst is discovered•Tristan is mortally wounded and escapes
![Page 14: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Story (3)
Act III takes place on a desolate coast•Tristan refuses to die until Isolde comes to him•Long soliloquy probes Tristan’s psychological
struggles to accept all that has happened•When she arrives he dies in her arms• Isolde sinks down in rapture & expires in an
ecstatic, mystical vision of love beyond death•The two move in a realm where reality, morals,
reason, even life & death, have lost their power•Love as ultimate transcendent experience
![Page 15: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
Prelude to Tristan und Isolde (1)
Magnificent depiction of romantic love•Especially its endless, sensual yearning•Full of unresolved, deceptive cadences•Music restlessly, ceaselessly surges forward
Introduces several important leitmotivs•Begins with threefold Love-Death motive
![Page 16: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
Prelude to Tristan und Isolde (2)
•Death motive & other new motives emerge (or transformations of earlier themes?)
•Death motive
•Overall gradual crescendo climaxes with ff return of threefold Love-Death motive
•Broods & dies away without any cadence
![Page 17: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
Tristan und Isolde“Philter” Scene (1)
Captive on Tristan’s ship, Isolde & her maid Brangaene discuss their situation•Brangaene suggests Isolde repay King Mark
with a potion to bind him in chains of love•But Isolde pulls out a poison philter (potion)•She plans to kill Tristan & drink the rest herself•Sailors’ chantey tells that land is near•Kurwenal enters to escort Isolde to Tristan so
they can prepare for landing
![Page 18: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
Tristan und Isolde“Philter” Scene (2)
Singing style neither aria nor recitative•Ranges freely between the two•Singers vital as actors, bearers of the words•But musically each is just another voice in the
orchestra’s rich contrapuntal web
![Page 19: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
Tristan und Isolde“Philter” Scene (3)
No let-up in drama’s forward momentum•Orchestra paints each character & their
changing emotions with great accuracy•Music moves seamlessly from maid’s song to
dialogue to sea chantey to Kurvenal’s song
![Page 20: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
Tristan und Isolde“Philter” Scene (4)
Leitmotivs from the Prelude reappear•Threefold Love-Death motive accompanies
dialogue about a love potion
![Page 21: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
Tristan und Isolde“Philter” Scene (5)
•Death motive used ominously at the mere thought (not even the mention!) of death
•When Isolde actually seizes the death philter, the orchestra explodes
In the end, Brangaene switches philters•Tristan & Isolde drink an aphrodisiac instead
![Page 22: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
Ring of the Nibelung (1)
Four-opera cycle took 27 years to finish•Towering artwork comparable to the Taj Mahal,
the Iliad, the Odyssey, or the Sistine ChapelWagner’s story based on Norse myths•Epic tale spans several generations•With gods, dwarves, giants, dragons, water
nymphs, humans, & a ring of power•Tolkien drew on the same myths in writing
Lord of the Rings
![Page 23: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
Ring of the Nibelung (2)
Wotan, king of the gods, attains absolute power through deception & theft•But he loses the Ring that will doom his family,
his enemies, & his empireMusic of enormous expressive range•Depicts innocence, spite, rage, regret, love at
first sight, passion, exuberance, & wonderRich, vast web of leitmotivs•Matched flexibly with people & events•Paved the way for today’s film composers
![Page 24: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
Verdi vs. Wagner (1)
Italian passionDrawn from popular plays or novelsFeatures princes, prostitutes, poets, & peasantsRecitative, chorus, aria, & ensembleTuneful melodiesRegular phrases
German philosophyDrawn from German legends & mythFeatures knights, princesses, gods, giants, & dwarvesEach act a long symphonic poem“Infinite” melodyIrregular phrases
![Page 25: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
Verdi vs. Wagner (2)
Functional harmony with decorative chromaticismHomophonic• Vocal melody with
orchestral accompaniment
Fast-paced, razor-edged dramaSingers carry the show
Extreme chromaticism destabilizes tonalityPolyphonic • Elaborate web of
vocal and orchestral lines
Deliberately slow but inexorableOrchestra tells the story with leitmotivs
![Page 26: Chapter 17: Romantic Opera](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56816169550346895dd0f592/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
Verdi vs. Wagner (3)
Verdi at his bestFast-paced, nonstop dramaPowerful expression of emotionsRealistic story & charactersGlorious vocal music
Wagner at his bestGripping, psychological dramaProfound revelationsTimelessness of mythGlorious orchestral music