Evolution of Opera: From Germany to Italy
German Opera
German opera largely evolved from the Italian style. It truly began with Beethoven’s Fidelio. However, it was Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826) who fully embraced this genre. His works include Der Freischütz, Oberon, and Euryanthe. In 1812, he also published a Singspiel, Abu Hassan. These three operas share important common elements, including the use of the supernatural and the wonderful. They all incorporate great arias for the main characters, contrasting with romances for the minor characters. The overtures are movements in sonata form.
German opera culminated in the works of Richard Wagner (1813-1883). After Weber’s death, opera had declined. Wagner not only revived it but also created a new system of enormous significance. His ideal was to create a German opera that had an artistic height similar to the greatest symphonic music.
Characteristics of Wagner’s Operas:
- Based on German mythology.
- Exalts these sentiments.
- Strives for a unified work of art.
- Emphasizes the unity of the German language at a time when the country was still divided into various dialects.
- Gives the orchestra the greatest importance.
- Creates the leitmotiv, a unifying idea of the opera.
- The melody often serves to support the text and facilitate rapid dialogue among singers.
Notable works include: The Flying Dutchman, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, the tetralogy The Ring of the Nibelung (The Rhinegold, The Valkyrie, Siegfried, and The Twilight of the Gods), Tristan and Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Parsifal.
French Opera
During this period, a kind of naturalistic and entertaining work was created in France. This is exemplified by the works of Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864), who created a type of opera that mixed music, song, dance, etc., composed to attract audiences. He composed L’Africaine and Les Huguenots. Another notable composer is Charles Gounod, known for his very melodic music in works such as Romeo and Juliet.
The Operetta
A new genre emerged: the operetta. This is a stage work in which spoken passages are combined with songs of a frivolous and humorous theme. The operetta had two precedents in France: opera buffa and vaudeville. This style perfectly reflected the frivolous and cynical society of the Second Empire. Surprisingly, it often implied social satire and ridicule of the political regime, but this criticism was ignored by his contemporaries, who simply enjoyed the “galops” and “cancans” danced in the operettas.
The consummate master of this style is Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880). In addition to the renowned opera Les Contes d’Hoffmann, he wrote a large series of operettas. A special mention goes to Carmen by Georges Bizet (1838-1875), an opera of the highest caliber in which the musician opposed Wagner’s theories and embraced a Spanish atmosphere.
Italian Opera
In the history of Italian music, opera holds a uniquely important place, distinguishing it from other European countries. The Italian character is especially suited for musical drama. This style began in 1600 and produced a large number of geniuses.
Italian opera spread throughout Europe until the emergence of Wagnerian drama. Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) represents a great transition between 18th-century opera and Romantic opera and is the culmination of the Neapolitan opera. Among his successes are The Barber of Seville and William Tell.
After Rossini, we encounter the great genius of Italian opera, Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901). His operatic work is divided into several periods. The first, of lesser value, in which most of his works are political, such as Nabucco. This period ends with Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, and La Traviata. The second period is one of less activity but with more far-fetched themes, more widely understood, and above all, seeking spectacle: La Forza del Destino and Don Carlo. Finally, in the final period, he wrote Aida, a symbol of the tragic genre, and Falstaff, Verdi’s comic masterpiece.
Verdi’s art is realistic, spontaneous, natural, and simple. He gives more weight to the voice than the orchestra, but his greatness lies precisely in subordinating everything to the representation of the human. Outside of his operas, his typically Romantic Requiem, which marks the end of his life, deserves special mention.