Opera Composers
________________ is known for breaking down racial barriers in the Opera World, representing African-Americans in "Porgy and Bess."
George Gershwin
___________________ is a passage, usually at the end of a musical number, in which singers perform a few improvised measures of vocally showy music to personalise their characters and show off their virtuosity.
cadenza
This era saw the first African-American representation in the Opera world, as well as the first time to see Jazz represented in the classical Opera world.
20th Century
The middle female singing voice often portray maternal figures, villainesses, or seductive anti-heroines. They also often assume ‘trouser roles’, characters meant to be men.
What is the term used to describe a specific type of singing used by Rossini?
Bel Canto
_______________ was known for his famous Opera works during the Classical period that focused on love, deception and class as he started adding societal and political commentary to his operas.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
_______________ is a piece for one voice in an opera, i.e. a song for a solo singer
This era of opera was characterized by the use of harpsichord and lots of vocal ornmentation. Composers from this era include: Purcell and Peri
Baroque
The highest and most common female singing voice. Most often young romantic heroines of both comic and serious operas.
soprano
In what country was the first public opera house constructed?
Italy
_________________ is a German opera composer known for his view of opera as "total art," controlling every aspect of the opera performance from music to costumes to set design.
Richard Wagner
_____________ are projections of the opera’s libretto – often in English translation – on a display just above the stage.
supertitles
This era of opera is known for its increase in chromatic harmony, the expansion of the orchestra, and "larger than life" style of singing
Romantic
The middle male singing voice, often portrays either the villain, the rival in love of the main character, or his best mate.
baritone
What subject matter was most popularly covered in Baroque operas?
Greek mythology
____________________ is known for his distinctly English style in Operas, composing the first English opera "Dido and Aeneas"
Henry Purcell
__________________ is a style of vocal music that follows the rhythms and pitches of ordinary speech.
recitative
This era of opera focused on simplicity and narrative to create a compelling storyline, in contrast to the previous era that used lots of vocal embellishment
Classical
The lowest female voice, frequently embodying female villains or ‘trouser roles’, ie roles written for men with higher voices
contralto
Where did Richard Wagner derive his inspiration for the stories in his Ring Cycle opera?
Norse mythology
_______ is known for the first ever full and complete opera to survive the Baroque Era.
Jacopo Peri
_________ means literally ‘little book’, the text sung in an opera or oratorio.
libretto
This era of opera is where all tonality was broken down and the concepts were very abstract
20th Century/Modern
The highest natural adult male singing voice in 18th and 19th-century opera, mostly playing the romantic leads
tenor
What is a light-hearted genre of opera, originating in the 18th century, which depicts everyday characters contending with the familiar challenges and foibles of life in an amusing way?
Opera Buffa