Modern+Opera+-+Elyse

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=__Modern Opera __=

Opera
===Opera was started at the end o​f the 16th century in Florence, Italy. It is a Form of musical expression in which in which singers and musicians perform dramatic work using text (libretto) and musical score. It also includes various different elements such as acting, costumes, scenery, and sometimes dance. ===

===In the 18th century, Italian opera was most prominent in most of Europe, except France which foreign composers such as Handel. Opera seria was the most prestigious form of Italian opera, until Gluck reacted against it with his "reform" operas in the 1760s. ===

===One of the ost renowned figures of late 18th century opera is Mozart, who began with opera seria but is more famous for his Italian comic operas, such as //The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni//, and //Così fan tutte//, as well as //The Magic Flute// ===

Modern Opera
===What we now consider modern opera started with two Viennese composers, Arnold Schoenberg and his student Alban Berg. In their Opera’s we see the development of atonality. In these pieces there was also heavy use of chromatic harmony and dissonance in general. Schoenberg also used Sprechstimme, which he described as "The voice rising and falling relative to the indicated intervals, and everything being bound together with the time and rhythm of the music except where a pause is indicated". ===

Also George Bizet's //Carmen// began a trend in opera towards realism which was in reaction against the emotionalism of Wagnerian Opera.
===Also, much of musical theatre, especially in the 1930’s began writing in a more operatic structure. Some musicals such as //Tommy// in 1969, //Jesus Christ Superstar// in 1971, //Les Miserables// in 1980, and //Rent// in 1996 use various operatic features such as through composition, leitmotifs and dramatic told a lot through rock, pop, or contemporary music. ===

Atonality
===Atonality is where music is written not specifically to a key, scale, or mode. It is when the notes of a chromatic scale work independently of one another and it usually uses all twelve pitch classes in hierarchies other than triadic harmony meaning that there is no pull towards any particular tonic note. It also is supposed to follow a list of requirements which that there are no repetitions, no accents, no durational differences, no endings (cadences), and no strategic placements. === ===One of the first composers to uses atonality was Arnold Schoenberg, although Gustav Mahler explored this concept is some of his later symphonies. Other composers that used atonality a lot were Alexander Scriabin, Claude Debussy, Béla Bartók, Paul Hindemith, Sergei Prokofiev, Igor Stravinsky, and Edgard Varèse. === ===Today a little bit atonality can be heard as background music for many tv shows and movies during parts of horror or suspense because it creates a disturbed/uneasy feelings. ===

Here is an example of Atonal Music

Sprechstimme
===Sprechstimme is supposed to be more like speaking then singing, but is not really considered either. It is where the singer is expected to hit the note by then quickly leave that note by falling or rising. ===

Here is an Example of Sprechstimme from Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire media type="file" key="Schoenberg20.mp3" width="240" height="20" __Bibliography__ "Operatics." //The Free Dictionary//. Research Machines Plc, 2009. Web. 20 april 2010. . "Opera ." //Wikipedia//. Wikipedia, 10/02/2010. Web. 22 april 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opera>. "Sprechgesang." //Wikipedia//. Wikipedia, 13/04/2010. Web. 22 April 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprechgesang>. "Atonality." //Wikipedia//. Wikipedia, 17/04/2010. Web. 22 April 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atonality>. "Atonality ." //TalkTalk//. RM, 2010. Web. 22 April 2010. <http://www.talktalk.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0009510.html>. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">