My genre-ation

La Traviata: The Opera Composition of Guiseppe Verdi Based on the lists of genre suggested, I am thinking to write and listen to the opera piece during the romantic period. I just want to share an insight on my research about opera. McCants defines opera as a theater piece that is performed by actors in the stage through music or singing (1). An opera could be staged as a drama or a comedy, which entirely depends on the composer’s choice. In the Romantic period, opera had been disguised as a stage act, but the stories were mostly based on the slice of life. Other sources of opera are folktales, history, mythology, literature, and fairy tales. Music is utilized to narrate the story. The theme may be about love, hate, life, death, or the essence of being good and bad. Thus, the theme of operas is mostly concentrated on the depiction of the human condition in a society. These are universal themes that connect with the audience.
One of the famous opera composers in this period is Guiseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi — an Italian composer. The most famous in his work is the La Traviata, which was translated as the Fallen Woman or literally, the women who strayed. Its popularity is remembered because of the ridicule it received before the audience, which thinks that the actor’s voices do not fit with their roles. However, it is considered as a successful opera of Verdi because it was based on the true story (Kapilow). The audience appreciates his composition because the operas are focused on the human drama, which is intense, emotional, honest, and melodious. The opera composition of Verdi is still used in today’s era because of its universal theme that everyone can relate. According to Kapilow, the reason for the great master piece of Verdi was his direct involvement during the pre-production, production, and post production. The actors were encouraged to feel the emotion in the drama and then listen to the intensity of music because Verdi believes that words and drama are learned first so that music will come naturally.
La Traviata is sourced from the play of Alexander Dumas entitled The Lady of the Camellias (Verdi, Piave, and Dumas). The genre is chosen because of its effect to the audience. In most cases, compositions in the opera significantly reflect the characters of human beings, which differentiate the good from evil. Moreover, opera teaches a lesson in life, the choices made by a person, sacrifices for the sake of someone you love, and history that allows the audience to understand and reflect on the information taught.
This seemed to be a substantial piece to be compared with the opera composition in the twentieth century. Here is the rhapsody in case you want to listen:
http://www. rhapsody. com/artist/giuseppe-verdi/album/la-traviata-living-stereo
I have already identified the genre in the romantic period, but I am worried on which opera piece in the twentieth century that is worth comparing with Verdi. If you have interesting suggestions in mind, I would appreciate it very much if you share it in our posting.
Reply to the Post:
Lieder is the German plural form of art song, which is translated in English for us to comprehend the meaning of the lyrics. Based on my initial research, there are other composers of art songs such as Johannes Brahms and Hugo Wolf. The decision whether it is possible to select other Leider collections depends on the instruction of our professor, but I believe it is probable because the two composers covered in our discussion are Germans.
Art song is already a good choice, meanwhile, here are the possible pieces of art songs that you might want to consider: Meerfahrt (Sea Journey), Wir wandelten (We Wandered), Es schauen die Blumen (The flowers Look), Death is the cool night (Der Tod, das ist die kuhle Nacht) by Brahms. Er ist’s, Das Verlassene Magdlein (The Forsaken Girl), and Storchenbotschaft are songs of Wolf.
Works Cited
Kapilow, Rob. What Makes it Great: Short Masterpieces, Great Composers. New
Jersey, USA: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Print.
McCants, Clyde T. Opera for Libraries: A Guide to Core Works, Audio and Video
Recordings, Books, and Serials. USA: McFarland, 2003. Print.
Verdi, Guiseppe, Francesco Maria Piave, and Alexander Dumas. La Traviata (The Lady
of the Camellias) Opera in Three Acts. UK: Oxford University Press, 1944. Print.