vocal music in this period require singers to perform a greater range of tone color, dynamics, and pitch.
because of this, opera became an important source of musical expressions.
opera - a musical composition having all or most of its text set music with aria, recitative, chorus, duet, and trio sang to the orchestra accompaniment.
elements of opera
acting
scenery
costumes
dancing
bel canto technique - literally means beautiful singing; the space in your mouth and throat needs to be wide open
components of an opera
libretto - the text of an opera
librettist - person who writes librettos
composers - person who writes the music
composers and librettist work closely together during the development of musical piece
score - the book that the composer and librettist put together
has all the musical notes, words, and ideas to help the performers tell the story
recitative - declamatory singing, used in the prose parts and dialogue of opera
aria - an air or solo singing part sung by a principal character
gives the character a chance to share their thoughts and emotions with the audience
male voice classifications:
tenor - highest
baritone - middle, common
bass - lowest
female voice classifications:
soprano - highest
coloratura - highest soprano
lyric - bright and full
dramatic - darker full
mezzo-soprano - most common, strong middle, tone is deeper than soprano