opera
Also known as lyric drama, European opera, Western classical opera
280px|thumb|Macbeth (Verdi)|Macbeth at the [[Savonlinna Opera Festival in St. Olaf's Castle, Savonlinna, Finland, in 2007]] thumb|280px|La Scala of Milan thumb|280px|Palais Garnier of the [[Paris Opéra]] Opera is a form of Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librettist and incorporates a number of the performing arts, such as acting, scenery, costume, and sometimes dance or ballet. The performance is typically g
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Opera is a form of Western theatre where singers perform dramatic roles with music as a fundamental element, typically created through collaboration between a composer and a librettist and incorporating acting, scenery, costume, and sometimes dance. It matters as a major performing art that has produced significant works like Verdi's *Macbeth* and continues to be performed in prestigious venues around the world.
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Article
31 sectionsContents
- Operatic terminology
- History
- Origins
- Italian opera
- {{Anchor|Baroque opera}}Baroque era
- Gluck's reforms and Mozart
- Bel canto, Verdi and verismo
- German-language opera
- French opera
- English-language opera
- Russian opera
- Czech opera
- Other national operas
- Contemporary, recent, and modernist trends
- Modernism
- Other trends
- From musicals back towards opera
- Acoustic enhancement in opera
- Operatic voices
- Vocal classifications
- Historical use of voice parts
- Famous singers
- Changing role of the orchestra
- Language and translation issues
- Funding
- Television, cinema and the Internet
- See also
- References
- Notes
- Further reading
- External links
280px|thumb|Macbeth (Verdi)|Macbeth at the [[Savonlinna Opera Festival in St. Olaf's Castle, Savonlinna, Finland, in 2007]] thumb|280px|La Scala of Milan thumb|280px|Palais Garnier of the [[Paris Opéra]] Opera is a form of Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librettist and incorporates a number of the performing arts, such as acting, scenery, costume, and sometimes dance or ballet. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, which since the early 19th century has been led by a conductor. Although musical theatre is closely related to opera, the two are considered to be distinct from one another.
Opera is a key part of Western classical music, and Italian tradition in particular. Originally understood as an entirely sung piece, in contrast to a play with songs, opera has come to include numerous genres, including some that include spoken dialogue such as Singspiel and Opéra comique. In traditional number opera, singers employ two styles of singing: recitative, a speech-inflected style, and self-contained arias. The 19th century saw the rise of the continuous music drama.