For the first composers, who were inspired by Greek tragedy, it was ‘Prima le parole, dopo la musica’ (‘The words first, the music after’). Music is a necessary and inextricable component of opera, but it is surprising nowadays to think that it has not always played the lead role. Some characters are punished for their crimes, other find redemption or are stricken with remorse… and sometimes there is a happy ending! Love at first sight, sacrifice, enchantment, courage, suicide or murder: all extremes can happen. The characters, sometimes torn between their feelings and their duty, are confronted with extraordinary situations and are carried away by their heightened feelings. Love, Tragedy and Death are often at the heart of the plot. The subjects developed in libretti are various: forbidden love, infidelity, revenge, craving for power, war, ancient myths or historic events.Īll human passions are represented in opera. It can be an original creation, sometimes written by famous poets or novelists (as Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Stefan Zweig for Richard Strauss’s works), but often is an adaptation of plays (Shakespeare was a great source of inspiration for librettists), tales or novels. The libretto is the ‘script’ of an opera. An opera is composed of four essential elements: the text (‘libretto’) and the music, the singing and the staging. Drama, poetry, visual arts and sometimes dance interact with music to create a unique alchemy that changes show after show, production after production. Since its invention in the late 16th century in Italy, it has continuously evolved, becoming the universal art form known today. Opera, at its core, is a way to tell a story through music and singing.
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