Mapeh

• opera - theatrical presentation in which a dramatic performance is set to music
• romantic opera - it is a musical composition having all or most of its text set to music with arias, recitative, chorus, duets and trios, everything is sung with orchestral accompaniment

  opera has also variety of elements and components like props, costumes, scenery and choreography where everything is seen and performed on stage
• libretto - the text of an opera. libretist and the composer work closely together to tell the story
• score - the book the composer and the librettist put together.

  -has all the musical notes, words and ideas to help the performers tell the story

  -there are operas with overtures, preludes, prologues, several acts, finales and postludes
• recitative - also known as declamatory singing, used in the prose parts and dialogue of opera
• aria - an air or solo singing part sung by a principal character
• timbre - the quality of a sound that distinguishes it from others of the same pitch and volume
• male voice

  tenor - like sopranos, they are capable of delivering thrilling high notes and often have a brilliant shining timbre
• male voice

  baritone - middle male voice, lies between bass and tenor voices. it is the common male voice. his timbre carries enough extra weight and color to be considered bass-like
• bass - these men make up the bottom part of the musical staff, what makes basses special is not their incredibly depth of their tones but the volume and strength with which they can sing them.
• female voice

  soprano - characterized by impressive high notes and usually sounds brighter and more sparkling than the other voice type.
• female voice

  mezzo soprano - most common female voice, strong middle voice, tone is darker or deeper than the soprano
• female voice

  alto - characterized by a strong, heavy, dark and deep husky voice
• coloratura - it is the highest soprano voice were range is far beyond any other voices can reach with ornamentation for and opera performance
• lyric soprano - bright and full sound of a female singer for an opera
• dramatic soprano - darker full sound of a female singer for an opera
• A cappella - one or more singers performing without instrumental accompaniment
• cantabile - in a singing-like style
• crescendo (>)-it means gradually becomes loud
• decrescendo(<) - it means gradually becoming soft
• dolce - sweetly
• falsetto - a weaker and more airy voice usually in the higher pitch ranges
• glissando - performed with a gliding effect by sliding on or more fingers rapidly over the keys of piano or strings of harp.
• passagio - italian word used for voice training meaning bridge or passage. one of the goals in singing is to unify the two main register of the voice, chest voice and head voice
• rubato - an expression marking which instruct the performer to "freely", expressively speed up (slightly advancing) or slow down (slightly delaying) a certain passage.
• tessitura - the most comfortable singing range of a singer
• vibrato - a more or less rapidly repeated slight alteration in the pitch of a note, used to give a richer sound and as a means of expression
• rhythm - gives the beat, timing, accent and counting for all performances within the opera. counting can also be referred in:

  -duple- two counts

  -triple- three counts

  -quadruple meters-four counts
• melody - this gives tone, pitch and flow to each and every song in an opera
• texture is how the rhythm, melody, and harmony are combined in different compositions. it determines the overall quality of the sound in a score

  -homophony-single melodic line with an accompaniment

  -monophony - single melodic

  line

  -polyphony - two or more different melodic lines
• dynamics-in an opera, this element delivers a specific emotion according to a certain scenery it is used. soft sound volume can create an ambiance of lonely or simple emotions like while loud sounds can trigger anger, excitement and exaggerated happiness
• timber examples of voice qualities that are frequently used in an opera by principal characters are mostly soprano for female and tenor or baritone for male. alto and base quality of voices are sometimes used for either backup or response in support for the main character
• harmony - a combination of two or more tones vertically

  -forte (f) - it means loud

  -piano (p)-it means soft

  -crescendo(>)

  -decrescendo(<)
• examples of opera

  LA TRAVIATA

  -music by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)

  -categorize as a romantic tragedy

  -originally in three acts. but present-day productions are usually in four acts dividing the act II

  -  it is a story of sickness, love, and death
• MADAME BUTTERFLY

  -music by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)

  -a romantic tragedy. set numbers; recitative

  -setting: nagasaki, japan, at the beginning of the 20th century

  -two acts where act II has two parts

  -THIS TRAGIC TALE REVOLVES AROUND THE YOUNG JAPANESE GEISHA, BUTTERFLY. SHE USED TO BE MARRIED TO PINKERTON, AN AMERICAN OFFICER ON ASSIGNMENT IN NAGASAKI
• Theater


  Place of seeing, more than just the buildings where performances take place
• To produce theater


  1. Playwright writes the scripts

  2. Director rehearses the performers

  3. Designer and technical crew produce props to create the scenes

  4. Actors and actresses perform on the stage

  5. Audience witnesses it
• Ancient Greek theater


  • Began around 700 BC with festivals honoring the god Dionysus
  • Athens was the center of cultural, political and military power during this period
  • Three well-known Greek tragedy playwrights: Aeschylus, Euripides and Sophocles
• Tragedy


  A compound of two Greek words: tragos (goat) and ode (song), referring to goats sacrificed to Dionysus before performances or to goat skins worn by the performers
• Comedy


  Plays derived from imitation, with no traces of their origin