opera
Drama presented in music, with the characters singing instead of speaking. (p. 100)
Florentine Camerata
Group of humanists, musicians, poets who discussed trends in art. Revival of greek drama. (notebook)
opera seria
Serious opera. Principal type of Italian Baroque opera; plots mostly derived from ancient history. (p. 155)
opera buffa
Italian comic opera. Depicted contemporary people in comic situations. (p. 210-11)
ensemble (operatic)
In opera buffa. A number sung by two or more people. Depict different sentiments of the participating characters simultaneously. (p. 211)
bel canto
“Beautiful song”. Romantic opera style; glorification of beautiful singing. (p. 277)
Risorgimento
Italian unification.
The Artwork of the Future
Richard Wagner. 1850
Opera and Drama
Richard Wagner. 1851 revised 1868.
Gesamtkunstwerk
Wagner’s idea. “Total artwork”. The merging of drama, music, and stagecraft. Name for the concept that formed the basis of music drama.(p. 243)
music drama
Name for Wagner’s new kind of opera in which music shares the honors with poetry, drama, and philosophy. (p. 285)
leitmotiv
Wagner. Guiding motive. (p. 283)
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, Siegfried, Die Gotterdammerung
Noh
Japanese. Stage action consists of highly restrained, stylized, and symbolic gestures and movements. Limited ensemble. (p. 314)
Bunraku
Japanese. Puppet theatre. One singer/narrator accompanied by shamisen (jap. lute). (p. 315)
Kabuki
Japanese. Adopted features from Noh and Bunraku. More modern stories, appealed to urban merchant class. (p. 315)
nagauta
Most famous genre of music involved in kabuki. “Long song”. Extended piece for a singer and the onstage orchestra. (p. 315)
jingju
Chinese term for Beijing Opera. “theater of the capital”. Mixture of song, spoken dialogue, instrumental music, dance, elaborate costume, martial arts. (p. 316)
syncopation
dsisplacement of accents. Used a lot in jazz. (p. 14)
blues
Special category of black folk song whose subject is loneliness, trouble, and depression of every shade. (p. 397)
New Orleans jazz
First important center of jazz. Imaginative and individual performance styles. (p. 399)
Big Bands/ Swing
Ten to twentyfive players. Improvisation limited. Variety of tone color and instrumental effects. (p. 401)
Bebop
Trumpet and sax with rhythm section and piano. Determined to return to improvisation of a new technical virtuosity. (p. 406)
musicals
Musical comedies, closely tied to the outpouring of popular songs in the 20s and 30s. (p. 411)