A HISTORY OF : OLD AND NEW PERSPECTIVES – 1-DAY SEMINAR

JOHN GIBBONS [email protected] WWW.HOLDEKUNST.COM Not only is the history of opera supremely entertaining, it offers a unique cultural mirror, a barometer of European and American societal evolution. This class examines the great , singers, and productions, assessing the operatic canon from musical, historical, and social viewpoints. Great masterpieces from Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, Puccini and others are presented with many recent, but also archival performances on CD and DVD, exploring this frequently exhilarating, moving, and often provocative art.

RECOMMENDED READING

A History of Opera By and Roger Parker

While no readings are required, I highly recommend this book. It is readable, entertaining, accessible to the general public, and right on point in connection with “old and new perspectives.” In fact, this book was a considerable influence in the design of this course. I will recommend other books as specific topics arise in the course.

Books for New Opera Fans Author/Editor Title David Pogue and Scott Peck Opera for Dummies (Yep, that’s the David Pogue who covers personal technology for the Times and other organizations. He’s a Yale-trained composer.) Fred Plotkin Opera 101 – A complete guide to learning and loving opera Robert Levine Weep, Shudder, Die: A Guide to Loving Opera Tim Smith The NPR Curious Listener’s Guide to Classical Music Carolyn Abbate and Roger Parker A History of Opera The Musical Dialogue Robert Donington Opera and Its Symbol Richard Taruskin Music in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

“Opera is all around us — hundreds of hours’ worth on YouTube alone — and there is no excuse not to take part in it. It still requires some commitment to knowledge and it rarely has a beat, but there’s just so much of Lady Gaga a human being can enjoy/tolerate without needing to be touched in a slightly deeper place.” – Robert Levine in Weep, Shudder, Die: A Guide to Loving Opera AGENDA:

10:00-11:00 - Opera and the Subversive Monteverdi: Coronation of Poppea Mozart Characters: Figaro, , and The Queen of the Night Verdi: Strauss:

11:00-12:00 - Opera and Forbidden Love Wagner: Tannhauser Verdi: Puccini: Dvorak: Rusalka Berg: Lulu

12:00-12:30 - Interlude: Voice and Character Vocal type and role. Examples from Handel, Mozart, Puccini and Strauss

12:30-1:30 Lunch (on your own)

1:30- 2:30 - Opera and National Identity Verdi and the Risorgimento Mussorsky and the People Smetana: The Bartered Bride Wagner: Die Meistersinger

2:30-3:15 - Wagner's Ring and the Director Traditional stagings versus "Regietheatre"

3:15-4:00 - Twentieth Century Antiheroes Debussy and Pelleas Berg and Britten and Adams and "Doctor Atomic"

VOICE TYPES IN BRIEF

It can get much more granular than this (check Wikipedia), and the style designations are subject to interpretation. With the exception of German-speaking countries, where the system can peg singers into a limited set of roles, most singers move back and forth across styles and ranges. And many roles are doable by singers with different ranges – , baritones and basses have sung Don Giovanni with distinction, and dramatic sometimes encroach on the mezzo turf that is . (Dramatic mezzos simply respond “Ach, ja?” and sing Isolde, a quintessential dramatic role.) What people can sing is highly individual. The taxonomy you see here features singers who serve as particularly clear examples of a given style, but most are more versatile than this grid suggests.

Fun Fact: It’s not just boys who have to worry about their voices changing! Many singers change over time – light voices can become richer, mezzos become sopranos, and it’s practically a requirement for Wagnerian to start as baritones.

A note on “:” is really a technical distinction – the ability sing with great agility. A singer with any or range can have coloratura ability. However, it is mostly associated with the highest sopranos and tenors for physiological reasons. We have below indicated singers, such as and , who are celebrated mainly for their coloratura talent. Many other singers, such as Renee Fleming and (the late) , handle some coloratura roles without breaking a sweat, but it’s not what they’re mainly known for.

Female Voices Range Weight/Style/Fach Roles Singers Sopranos Susanna, Zerbinetta, Kathleen Battle (coloratura), Natalie Sophie, Adele Dessay (coloratura), Anna Christie, (coloratura) Lyric Mimi, Violetta, Countess Renee Fleming, Anna Netrebkho, Kiri Almaviva, Misc. Verdi Te Kanawa Spinto (“pushed”) Any lyric or dramatic role , Sonda Radvanovsky, she can handle Violetta Urmana Dramatic Wagner roles, Irene Theorin, Nina Stemme, Birgit Queen of the Night Nilsson, Joan Sutherland (coloratura), (coloratura) Deborah Voight Mezzo Sopranos Lyric Carmen & Dalila, , Joyce DiDonato, Cherubino, Octavian (coloratura), , (trouser roles), Misc. Cecila Bartoli (coloratura) roles Dramatic Carmen & Dalila, , Elīna Garanča. Many Wagner and Verdi Waltraud Meier, , roles Virtual * Usually dramatic Any mezzo or who like to keep role she wants Jill Grove options open Contraltos Any style possible Erda, Ulrica , Meredith Arwady *The female equivalent of bass baritones, but for some reason it’s “not a thing” for the ladies

Male Voices Range Weight/Style/Fach Roles Singers Sopranos (boy soprano) Amahl and other Robert Sapolsky shepherds, Ynold Castrato (extinct) Hero in opera seria Today these roles are taken by male ( opera) by sopranos, , and mezzo Handel et al, sopranos Male Soprano – sings Akhnaten Michael Maniaci, Radu Marian soprano in full voice Sopranista ( - Simone Bartolini, Aris Christofellis high ) Countertenor David Daniels, Andreas Scholl, Iestyn (falsetto) Davies Tenors Lyric () Misc. Rossini and Juan Diego Florez (coloratura), Piotr Donizetti roles Beczala, Full Lyric Rodolfo, Don Jose, Marcello Alavarez, Yonghoon Lee, Luciano Pavorotti, Jussi Bjoerling Character Mime, Monostatos, , Heinz Zednik, David Beppe, Goro Cangelosi Spinto Calaf, Don Carlo, Placido Domingo, Andrea Chenier Dramatic , Tristan, Johann Botha, , (Heldentenor) Florestan, Paul , Robert Dean Smith Baritones/Basses Lyric , , Marius Kwiecin, Count Almaviva, , Simon Marcello – rarely do Keenleyside, they get the girl Verdi Baritone , Count di Dmitri Hvorostovsky, , Luna, Rigoletto, Sherill Milnes Rodrigo Bass Baritone Wotan, Philip II, Boris James Morris, , Thomas Godunov, Hans Sachs Quasthof Buffa (comic) bass Leporello, Baron John Del Carlo Ochs, Lyric Bass Colline, Sarastro Rene Pape Dramatic (basso Hagen, Claggert, The Samual Ramey, Matti Salminen profundo) Grand Inquisitor