Summary of an open music lesson on the topic: "First journey to musical theater. Opera." (5th grade)

All about opera music lesson plan (5th grade) on the topic

Lesson topic: “Opera as an art genre”

Target:

the concept of genre specificity.
the essence of opera
diverse embodiment of various forms of music

Tasks:

Educational: consolidate the concept of genre: opera.
Educational: the main thing in opera is human characters, feelings and passions, clashes and conflicts that can be revealed by music.
Develop the ability to think about music and the works of composers from different eras.
Educational: to awaken students’ interest in the genre - opera, and the desire to listen to it not only in class, but also outside of it.

During the classes

1. Music is playing. J.B. Pergolesi.”Stabat Mater dolorosa”

Among the countless miracles that nature itself has given us, there is one, incomparable with anything, unfading through any years -

A living voice has enchanting power, That penetrates the heart without a barrier, When it flows, joyfully sparkling, Reminding us that happiness is nearby.

He gives the trembling delight of love and warms the soul in the rain and cold, returning to us sweet days, when every breath was full of hope.

Before him both the beggar and the king are equal - The singer’s fate is to give himself up, to burn. He was sent by God to do good - Death has no power over beauty! Ilya Korop

“The 18th century was the century of beauty, the 19th century was the century of feeling, and the finale of the 20th century was the century of pure drive. And the viewer comes to the theater not for a concept, not for ideas, but to feed on energy, he needs a shock. That’s why there is such a demand for pop culture – there is more energy there than in academic culture. Cecilia Bartoli told me that she sings opera like rock music, and I understood the mystery of the fantastic energy of this great singer. Opera has always been a folk art; in Italy it developed almost as a sport - a competition of singers. And it should be popular.” Valery Kichin

Genre

In literature, music and other arts, various types of works have developed during their existence. In literature, this is, for example, a novel, a story, a story; in poetry - poem, sonnet, ballad; in fine arts - landscape, portrait, still life; in music - opera, symphony... A type of work within one art is called the French word genre (genre).

Opera

– (Italian opera “work, work, work; opera”, Latin opera “work, product, work”) - a genre of theatrical performances in which speech, combined with music (singing and accompaniment), and stage action have a predominant importance. A major musical work that combines various forms of art. Opera, drama or comedy set to music. Dramatic texts are sung in opera; singing and stage action are almost always accompanied by instrumental (usually orchestral) accompaniment. Many operas are also characterized by the presence of orchestral interludes (introductions, conclusions, intermissions, etc.) and plot breaks filled with ballet scenes. Opera was born as an aristocratic pastime, but soon became entertainment for the general public. The first public opera house opened in Venice in 1673, just four decades after the birth of the genre. Then the opera quickly spread throughout Europe. As a public entertainment it reached its greatest development in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

2. Opera form.

Historically, certain forms of operatic music have developed. While there are some general principles of operatic dramaturgy, all its components are interpreted differently depending on the types of opera:

Grand opera (opea seria - Italian, tragédie lyrique, later grand-opéra - French), in grand opera, the most widespread type of operatic genre today, the entire text is sung.
Semi-comic (semiseria).
Comic opera (opera-buffa - Italian, opéra-comique - French, Spieloper - German), In comic opera, German and French, dialogue is allowed between musical numbers. There are also serious operas in which dialogue is inserted, for example. “Fidelio” by Beethoven, “Medea” by Cherubini, “The Magic Shooter” by Weber. In comic opera, singing usually alternates with spoken scenes. The name “comic opera” (opéra comique in France, opera buffa in Italy, Singspiel in Germany) is to a large extent arbitrary, since not all works of this type have comic content (a characteristic feature of “comic opera” is the presence of spoken dialogues). The type of light, sentimental comic opera, which became widespread in Paris and Vienna, began to be called operetta; in America it is called musical comedy. Plays with music (musicals) that have gained fame on Broadway are usually more serious in content than European operettas.
The offspring of comic opera should be considered operetta, which became especially widespread in the second half of the 19th century.
Romantic opera with a romantic plot.

3. The origins of opera.

The first example of the operatic genre that has come down to us is “Eurydice” J. Peri and his librettist O. Rinuccini set out the story of Orpheus and Eurydice with a recitative, which was supported by the chords of a small orchestra, rather an ensemble of seven instruments, and presented the play in the Florentine Palazzo Pitti. This was the second Camerata opera; the score of the first, “Daphne” by Peri (1598), has not survived. Their work was not a revival of ancient Greek tragedy. It brought something more - a new viable theater genre was born. However, the full disclosure of the possibilities of the genre of dramma per musica, put forward by the Florentine Camerata, occurred in the work of another musician - C. Monteverdi (1567–1643) increased the composition of the orchestra five times, giving each character its own group of instruments, and preceded the opera with an overture. His recitative not only voiced the text of A. Stridzho, but lived its own artistic life. Monteverdi's harmonic language is full of dramatic contrasts and even today impresses with its boldness and picturesqueness.

But on the scale of the entire history of opera, singing still played a dominant role.

4. Opera is a synthetic genre

, combining various types of arts in a single theatrical action: drama, music, visual arts (scenery, costumes), choreography (ballet). An operatic work is divided into acts, scenes, scenes and numbers. There is a prologue before the acts, and an epilogue at the end of the opera. Parts of an operatic work - recitatives, arioso, songs, arias, duets, trios, quartets, ensembles, etc. From symphonic forms - overture, introduction, intermissions, pantomime, melodrama, processions, ballet music. The characters' characters are most fully revealed in solo numbers (aria, arioso, arietta, cavatina, monologue, ballad, song). Recitative has various functions in opera - musical, intonation and rhythmic reproduction of human speech. Often he connects (plotwise and musically) individual completed numbers; is often an effective factor in musical dramaturgy. In some genres of opera, mainly comedic, colloquial speech is used instead of recitative, usually in dialogues. Let's listen to fragments of G. Rossini's opera “The Barber of Seville”.

Assignment for students

. Identify the parts of an operatic work:

● overture ● recitatives ● songs ● duets ● quartets

●acts ● arioso ● arias ● trio ●ensembles

The opera ensemble includes: soloist, choir, orchestra, military band, organ.

Opera voices: (female: soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto; male: countertenor, tenor, baritone, bass).

5. Singers.

During the 18th century. The cult of the virtuoso singer developed - first in Naples, then throughout Europe. At this time, the role of the main character in the opera was performed by a male soprano - a castrato, that is, a timbre whose natural change was stopped by castration. Castrati singers pushed the range and mobility of their voices to the limits of what was possible. Opera stars such as castrato Farinelli (C. Broschi, 1705–1782), whose soprano was said to be superior in strength to the sound of the trumpet, or mezzo-soprano F. Bordoni, about whom it was said that she could sustain the sound longer than any singer in the world, completely subordinated to their mastery those composers whose music they performed. Some of them composed operas themselves and directed opera troupes (Farinelli). It was taken for granted that singers decorated the melodies composed by the composer with their own improvised ornaments, without paying attention to whether such decorations suited the plot situation of the opera or not. The owner of any type of voice must be trained to perform fast passages and trills. In Rossini's operas, for example, the tenor must master the coloratura technique no worse than the soprano. The revival of such art in the 20th century. made it possible to give new life to Rossini's diverse operatic work.

Opera singers are usually divided into six types according to their voice range. Three female voice types, from high to low - soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto (the latter is rare these days); three male - tenor, baritone, bass. Within each type there may be several subtypes depending on the quality of the voice and singing style. The lyric-coloratura soprano is distinguished by a light and exceptionally agile voice; such singers are able to perform virtuosic passages, fast scales, trills and other embellishments. Lyric-dramatic (lirico spinto) soprano is a voice of great brightness and beauty.

The timbre of a dramatic soprano is rich and strong. The distinction between lyric and dramatic voices also applies to tenors. There are two main types of basses: “singing bass” (basso cantante) for “serious” parts and comic bass (basso buffo).

Let’s listen to the types of voices using the example of the opera: Rimsky-Korsakov’s “The Snow Maiden”

Assignment for students

. Determine what type of voice performs:

Santa Claus part – bass
Spring Part – mezzo-soprano
Snow Maiden part – soprano
Lelya’s part – mezzo-soprano or contralto
Mizgir part – baritone

The chorus in opera is interpreted in different ways. It can be background, unrelated to the main storyline; sometimes a kind of commentator on what is happening; its artistic capabilities make it possible to show monumental pictures of folk life, to reveal the relationship between the hero and the masses (for example, the role of the choir in the folk musical dramas of M. P. Mussorgsky “Boris Godunov” and “Khovanshchina”).

Let's listen:

Prologue. Picture one. M. P. Mussorgsky “Boris Godunov”
Picture two. M. P. Mussorgsky “Boris Godunov”

Assignment for students

. Determine who is the hero and who is the mass.

The hero here is Boris Godunov. The mass is the people. The idea of writing an opera based on the plot of Pushkin’s historical tragedy “Boris Godunov” (1825) was given to Mussorgsky by his friend, the prominent historian Professor V.V. Nikolsky. Mussorgsky was extremely fascinated by the opportunity to translate the topic of the relationship between the tsar and the people, which was acutely relevant for his time, and to bring the people into the role of the main character of the opera. “I understand the people as a great personality, animated by a single idea,” he wrote. - This is my task. I tried to solve it in opera."

6. Orchestra.

In the musical dramaturgy of the opera, a large role is assigned to the orchestra; symphonic means of expression serve to more fully reveal the images. The opera also includes independent orchestral episodes - overture, intermission (introduction to individual acts). Another component of an opera performance is ballet, choreographic scenes where plastic images are combined with musical ones. If the singers are the leads in an opera performance, then the orchestral part forms the frame, the foundation of the action, moves it forward and prepares the audience for future events. The orchestra supports the singers, emphasizes the climaxes, fills gaps in the libretto or moments of scenery changes with its sound, and finally performs at the conclusion of the opera when the curtain falls. Let's listen to Rossini's overture to the comedy “The Barber of Seville.” The form of the “autonomous” operatic overture had fallen into decline, and by the time of Puccini’s “Tosca” (1900), the overture could be replaced by just a few opening chords. In a number of operas of the 20th century. There are no musical preparations whatsoever for the stage action. But since the essence of opera is singing, the highest moments of the drama are reflected in the completed forms of aria, duet and other conventional forms where music comes to the fore. An aria is like a monologue, a duet is like a dialogue; a trio usually embodies the conflicting feelings of one of the characters in relation to the other two participants. With further complication, different ensemble forms arise.

Let's listen:

Aria of Gilda “Rigoletto” by Verdi. Action 1st. Left alone, the girl repeats the name of the mysterious admirer (“Caro nome che il mio cor”; “The heart is full of joy”).
Duet of Gilda and Rigoletto “Rigoletto” Verdi. Action 1st. (“Pari siamo! Io la lingua, egli ha il pugnale”; “With him we are equal: I have the word, and he has the dagger”).
Quartet in “Rigoletto” by Verdi. Action 3. (Quartet “Bella figlia dell'amore”; “Oh young beauty”).
Sextet in Donizetti's “Lucia di Lammermoor”

The introduction of such forms usually stops the action to allow room for the development of one (or more) emotions. Only a group of singers, united in an ensemble, can express several points of view on current events. Sometimes the choir acts as a commentator on the actions of opera characters. In general, the text in opera choirs is spoken relatively slowly, and phrases are often repeated to make the content understandable to the listener.

Not all operas can draw a clear line between recitative and aria. Wagner, for example, abandoned completed vocal forms, aiming at the continuous development of musical action. This innovation was taken up, with various modifications, by a number of composers. On Russian soil, the idea of a continuous “musical drama” was, independently of Wagner, first tested by A.S. Dargomyzhsky in “The Stone Guest” and M.P. Mussorgsky in “The Marriage” - they called this form “conversational opera”, opera dialogue.

7. Opera houses.

The Parisian “Opera” (in Russia the name “Grand Opera” stuck) was intended for a bright spectacle (Fig. 1).
The “House of Ceremonial Performances” (Festspielhaus) in the Bavarian town of Bayreuth was created by Wagner in 1876 to stage his epic “musical dramas”.
The Metropolitan Opera building in New York (1883) was conceived as a showcase for the world's best singers and for respectable box subscribers.
“Olympico” (1583), built by A. Palladio in Vicenza. Its architecture, a microcosm of Baroque society, is based on a distinctive horseshoe-shaped plan, with tiers of boxes fanning out from the center - the royal box.
La Scala Theater (1788, Milan)
“San Carlo” (1737, Naples)
“Covent Garden” (1858, London)
Brooklyn Academy of Music (1908) America
San Francisco Opera House (1932)
Chicago Opera House (1920)
new Metropolitan Opera building in New York's Lincoln Center (1966)
Sydney Opera House (1973, Australia).

Rice. 1

Thus, opera ruled the whole world.

During Monteverdi's era, opera rapidly conquered the major cities of Italy.

Romantic opera in Italy

Italian influence even reached England.

Like early Italian opera, French opera of the mid-16th century. came from the desire to revive ancient Greek theatrical aesthetics.

If in France the spectacle was at the forefront, then in the rest of Europe it was the aria. Naples became the center of operatic activity at this stage.

Another type of opera originates from Naples - opera buffa, which arose as a natural reaction to opera seria. The passion for this type of opera quickly spread to European cities - Vienna, Paris, London. Romantic opera in France.

Ballad opera influenced the development of German comic opera - Singspiel. Romantic opera in Germany.

Russian opera of the Romantic era.

“Czech Opera” is a conventional term that refers to two contrasting artistic movements: pro-Russian in Slovakia and pro-German in the Czech Republic.

Homework for students.

Each student is given the task of familiarizing himself with the work of a composer (optional) in which opera flourished. Namely: J. Peri, C. Monteverdi, F. Cavalli, G. Purcell, J. B. Lully, J. F. Rameau, A. Scarlatti, G. F. Handel, G. B. Pergolesi, G. Paisiello , K.V.Gluck, W.A.Mozart, G.Rossini, V.Bellini, G.Donizetti, G.Verdi, R.Leoncavallo, G.Puccini, R.Wagner, K.M.Weber, L. Wang Beethoven, R. Strauss, J. Meyerbeer, G. Berlioz, J. Bizet, C. Gounod, J. Offenbach, C. Saint-Saens, L. Delibes, J. Massenet, C. Debussy, M. P. Mussorgsky, M.P. Glinka, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, A.P. Borodin, P.I. Tchaikovsky, S.S. Prokofiev, D. D. Shostakovich, Antonin Dvorak, Bedrich Smetana, Leos Janacek, B. Britten , Carl Orff, F. Poulenc, I. F. Stravinsky

8. Famous opera singers.

Gobbi, Tito, Domingo, Placido
Callas, Maria (Fig. 2).
Caruso, Enrico, Corelli, Franco
Pavarotti, Luciano, Patti, Adeline
Scotto, Renata, Tebaldi, Renata
Chaliapin, Fyodor Ivanovich, Schwarzkopf, Elisabeth

Rice. 2

9. Demand and modernity of opera.

Opera is a rather conservative genre by nature. This is due to the fact that there is a centuries-old tradition, determined by the technical capabilities of execution. This genre owes its longevity to the great effect it has on the listener through the synthesis of several arts that can produce an impression on their own. On the other hand, opera is an extremely resource-intensive genre; it is not for nothing that the word “opera” itself translated from Latin means “work”: of all musical genres, it has the longest duration, it requires high-quality scenery for production, maximum skill of singers for performance and a high level complexity of the composition. Thus, opera is the limit to which art strives in order to make the maximum impression on the public using all available resources. However, due to the conservatism of the genre, this set of resources is difficult to expand: it cannot be said that over the past decades the composition of the symphony orchestra has not changed at all, but the whole basis has remained the same. The vocal technique also changes little, due to the need for high power when performing opera on stage. Music is limited in its movement by these resources.

A stage performance in this sense is more dynamic: you can stage a classical opera in an avant-garde style without changing a single note in the score. It is generally believed that the main thing in an opera is the music, and therefore the original scenography cannot ruin the masterpiece. However, this usually doesn't work out that way. Opera is a synthetic art, and scenography is important. A production that does not correspond to the spirit of the music and plot is perceived as an inclusion alien to the work. Thus, classical opera often does not meet the needs of producers who want to express modern sentiments on the musical theater stage, and something new is required.

The first solution to this problem is a musical.

The second option is modern opera.

There are three degrees of artistic content in music.

Entertainment. This option is uninteresting, since to implement it it is enough to use ready-made rules, especially since it does not meet the requirements for modern opera.
Interest. In this case, the work brings pleasure to the listener thanks to the ingenuity of the composer, who found an original and most effective way to solve an artistic problem.
Depth. Music can express high feelings that give the listener inner harmony. Here we are faced with the fact that modern opera should not harm the mental state. This is very important, since, despite high artistic merit, music can contain features that imperceptibly subjugate the will of the listener. Thus, it is widely known that Sibelius promotes depression and suicide, and Wagner promotes internal aggression.

The significance of modern opera lies precisely in the combination of modern technologies and fresh sound with the high artistic merits characteristic of opera in general. This is one way to reconcile the desire to express modern sentiments in art with the need to maintain the purity of the classics.

Ideal vocals, based on cultural roots, refract in their individuality the folk school of singing, and can serve as the basis for the unique sound of modern operas written for specific performers.

You can write a masterpiece that does not fit into the framework of any theory, but sounds great. But to do this, it still must satisfy the requirements of perception. The stated rules, like any others, can be broken.

And the voice, from person to person, brings us a storm of different feelings, emotions, knowledge, century after century. And in that stream I learn. Elena Melnik

Homework for students.

Mastering the characteristic features of the compositional style of works by Russian composers, Western European and modern composers. Analysis of musical works (using the example of opera).

Used Books:

Malinina E.M. Vocal education of children. – M., 1967.
Kabalevsky D.B. Music program in secondary schools. – M., 1982.
True R. Series “Lives of Great Composers”. POMATURE LLP. M., 1996.
Makhrova E.V. Opera theater in the culture of Germany in the second half of the twentieth century. St. Petersburg, 1998.
Simon G.W. One Hundred Great Operas and Their Plots. M., 1998.
Yaroslavtseva L.K. Opera. Singers. Vocal schools of Italy, France, Germany of the 17th – 20th centuries. – “Publishing house “Golden Fleece”, 2004
Dmitriev L.B. Soloists of the La Scala Theater on vocal art: Dialogues on singing technique. – M., 2002.