what is grand opera

8/12/2019 What is Grand Opera

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Class: Music History 2

Name: Katerina Kakantoussis

Essay: Grand Opera (184!18"#

Opera is an art $orm t%at com&ines drama and music' %ere are many operatic )enres' *or

e+ample, Opera -u$$a is a comic opera, Opera .eria, an /talian opera 0it% a serious plot,

.in)spiel, a German opera t%at incorporates &ot% sin)in) and spoken dialo)ue, and t%en t%ere is

Grand Opera, 0%ic% / 0ill ela&orate on in t%is paper'1

Grand Opera is &ased on a serious su&ect t%at could &e myt%ical, %istorical or le)endary'

/t is per$ormed in $our or $ie acts and uses &allet, lais% settin)s, and lar)e casts and orc%estras'

%e cast inoles multiple soloists and coprimario roles, 0%ile t%e orc%estra incorporates arious

musical instruments suc% as t%e op%icleide, t%e trian)le, cym&als and &ass drum' %e c%oruses

0ere )randiose and 0ere present t%rou)%out t%e opera, intensi$yin) t%e con$lict &et0een t%e

political or reli)ious responsi&ilities and %uman emotions' 3ue to t%e e+pansion o$ t%e orc%estra

and c%orus, oices could no lon)er &e li)%t5' 6 more %eroic and dramatic sound 0as sou)%t,

0%ic% 0as more demandin) and $or t%e same reason t%e need $or castrato sin)ers 0as cast aside'2

Musically, t%e composers incorporated irtuoso /talianate arias into t%e operas, 0%ic%

0ere ocally c%allen)in) due to t%e lar)e ran)e t%at t%ey coered' %ere 0ere lar)e ensem&les

t%at 0ere com&ined 0it% t%e c%orus in order to rein$orce t%e drama as muc% as possi&le' %e

composers also e+perimented 0it% di$$erent te+ture layers in t%e orc%estra, 0%ic% e+panded t%e

musical %ori7ons o$ %armony'

1 6rnold, 3enis, et al' 9opera'9 %e O+$ord Companion to Music' O+$ord Music Online' O+$ord niersity ;ress,

accessed May 1, 214,%ttp:


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%eatrically t%ere 0ere sumptuous scenes and costumes and seeral deelopments in

li)%tin) and isual display, 0%ic% )ae a dramatic e$$ect to t%e sta)e and t%e per$ormers' %e

importance o$ t%e set desi)ner, t%e costumer, t%e metteur!en!scene and t%e mac%inist )ained

more importance, as t%ey 0ere in c%ar)e o$ settin) t%e 0orks and &rin)in) t%em to li$e' 4

/n t%e 1?t% Century t%e Grand Opera %ad a cultural e$$ect on *rance' %e composers o$

Grand Opera attempted to create social a0areness and sensi&ility o$ %istorical eents t%rou)%

t%eir operas usin) many sym&olic sources' /n order to make a &i) impact and succeed in t%eir

purpose $amous sin)ers 0ere %ired to per$orm t%e most si)ni$icant roles' %e costumes, sets and

c%aracters 0ere e+traordinary, as t%ey too 0ere inspired &y past eents and tried to replicate t%e

%istoric reality' %ey created spectacles and produced s%o0s t%at needed a %i)%er tec%nolo)y,

t%us )eneratin) interest in a lar)er audience' /t attracted t%e upper classes and t%e aristocracy as a

place to sociali7e and t%us &ecame a sym&ol o$ status' /t created a reali7ation t%at a ne0

innoatie operatic $orm 0as sur$acin) t%at 0as musically remarka&le, isually darin) and

dramatically $ascinatin)' 6s a result, $ictie stories t%at 0ere presented in t%e earlier part o$ t%e

century 0ere reected' Historical dramas, %istorical costumin), noels )rand operas!all treated

t%e past as a social tool a means o$ de$inin) relations%ips in t%e present' Historical consciousness

$ed a kind o$ present!oriented social consciousness'5 5@riters and ournalists 0ould send

political messa)es t%rou)% t%eir critics on )rand opera' Grand Opera %ad reac%ed many places

around t%e 0orld suc% as ;ra)ue, Haana, Ne0 Orleans and .t' ;eters&ur)'

4 M' Eli7a&et% C' -artlet' 9Grand op=ra'9 Groe Music Online' O+$ord Music Online' O+$ord niersity ;ress,



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%e )enre 0as in$luenced &y seeral composers and t%eir 0orks suc% as .pontini 0it% Da

Aestale (18"#, 6u&er and Da Muette de ;ortici (1828#, ossini and %is opera Guillaume ell

(182?#' %e most dominant composer o$ Grand Opera 0as Giacomo Meyer&eer (1"?1!18>4#

0%o esta&lis%ed t%e prototype o$ opera in $ie acts' >

Meyer&eer came $rom a 0ealt%y e0is% $amily and lied in -erlin' He studied piano and

committed %imsel$ to t%e composition o$ opera in %is later years' His initial musical style 0as a

com&ination o$ /talian lyricism and t%e &elcanto style, in$luenced &y ossini, and Germanic

!)rand!orc%estration in$luenced &y t%e master0orks composed &y -eet%oen' /t 0as called

Gesamtkunst0erk, %e 6rt o$ t%e *uture, 0ould &e e+pressie o$ modern society, 0%ose

tec%nical and industrial $oundations must under)o radical c%an)e5' " 6s %e )re0 as a composer

%e &ecame less concerned a&out t%e e+pression o$ %is sin)ers emotions' He 0as more interested

in re$lectin) t%eir emotions t%rou)% t%e lu+urious scenery and t%e plot' He &ecame t%e most

proli$ic composer $or a century and took opera into a ne0 pat% 0it% many c%an)es' %e

assessment o$ t%e li&retto 0as no lon)er a 0ork o$ a $e0 0eeks, &ut it rat%er &ecame an intense

inner researc% $rom &ot% composer and li&rettist' 8

He composed seeral 0orks &ut %is most important 0orks 0ere o&ert le 3ia&le (181#,

Des Hu)uenots (18>#, De ;rop%Fte (184?# and D6$ricaine (18>B#' o&ert le 3ia&le displayed

t%e constant con$lict &et0een )ood and eil and t%e pursuit $or $or)ieness in t%e a$terli$e' Des

Hu)uenots descri&es t%e story o$ t%e massacre o$ t%e ;rotestants &y t%e Cat%olics in *rance in

1B"2 and t%e loe o$ a cat%olic 0oman and a protestant man' De ;rop%Fte is &ased on t%e %istory

o$ o%n o$ Deiden and %is decision to cro0n %imsel$ kin) o$ Munster in$luenced &y t%ree

6 @arrack, o%n and im 6s%ley ' 9)rand opera'9 %e O+$ord Companion to Music' O+$ord Music Online' O+$ord

niersity ;ress, accessed May 1, 214,%ttp:


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6na&aptists' *inally D6$ricaine is an ima)inary story a&out Aasco de Gama and %is adentures

as a Conuistador'?

Meyer&eers 0orks in$luenced seeral composers and t%eir 0orks suc% as @a)ner and %is

operas ann%auser (18>1# and ien7i, Aerdi 0it% %is operas 3on Carlos (18>"# and 6ida,

Gounod and .aint!.aens and many ot%ers' %ese composers incorporated all t%e aspects o$

Grand Opera suc% as lar)e c%oruses, &allet, lar)e scenes and ensem&les' ()roe#1

Grand Opera 0as a %i)%ly romantic opera $orm t%at encompassed reli)ious plots and

passionate actions t%at 0ere emp%asi7ed t%rou)% %u)e displays' /t conuered t%e people and

em&ellis%ed t%eir %istorical a0areness' /t &ecame a tool o$ social media, a place to e+press

political, reli)ious and p%ilosop%ical t%ou)%ts' /t in$luenced composers and took opera to anot%er

leel' 6nd yet a$ter t%e pass o$ t%e 1?t% Century, Grand Opera 0as no lon)er t%e predominant

operatic )enre' /t is possi&le t%at due to immense costs $or t%e productions, sets, sin)ers,

orc%estra and costumes, it 0as no lon)er as $easi&le to produce as it used to &e' /t could also &e

t%e case t%at people 0ere no lon)er interested in ric%enin) t%eir %istorical a0areness, &ut instead

pre$erred a more simplistic operatic plot t%at didnt need as muc% analysis'

/ o&sere a cyclical process in t%e deelopment o$ Opera t%rou)%out its %istory' /n t%e

&e)innin) Monteerdi 0ould use t%is art $orm to rea$$irm t%e main motie &e%ind t%e creation o$

opera: to resurrect t%e Greek drama' %is period 0as $ull o$ %istory and its t%emes 0ere

)randiose as t%ose present in t%e Grand Opera' /n t%e &aroue Handel composed operas like

Giulio Cesare or amerlano, &io epics o$ )reat %istorical $i)ures and still in t%at same line 0it%

%is predecessors' /n t%e &aroue comedy reac%ed its %i)%est summits 0it% ossinis operas and

yet %e dedicated many compositions to t%e &i) le)ends and %istories' Mo7art in t%e classical

9 Matt%ias -r7oska' 9Meyer&eer, Giacomo'9 Groe Music Online' O+$ord Music Online' O+$ord niersity ;ress,



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period kept t%is tradition 0it% %is /domeneo, Mitridate, %amos and Ducio .illa amon) ot%er

operas' Grand Opera 0as t%e moment in 0%ic% t%e )randiosity o$ %istory met t%e )randiosity o$

tec%nolo)ical means to e+alt t%e dramatic condition o$ t%is art $orm and put drama and music in a

more een situation, 0%ere t%e music didnt %ae to cede to t%e drama &ut t%e drama eoled to

reac% t%e leel o$ t%e music' Grand Opera le$t a mark in %istory and no0 is part o$ t%e operatic

identity t%at 0e can appreciate 0%en 0e attend a per$ormance o$ Aerdis Na&ucco or ;uccinis

urandot' /t is liin) in t%e essence o$ Opera and t%anks to it t%is art $orm arried to its )olden

a)e' Contemporary Opera %as not ac%ieed t%e popularity o$ ot%er timesI may&e 0e s%ould

conclude t%at Opera s%ould &e naturally Grand'

what is grand opera

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