Rigoletto

"Casta Diva" is the main soprano aria from Vincenzo Bellini's opera Norma. It takes place in Act 1, shortly after the title's character first entrance. The part is considered one of the most challenging roles in the opera for a variety of reasons but particularly the music. This piece requires perfect vocalism, a wide range voice, skill at sculpting long curving phrases, and steady technical control. Many sopranos have recorded this aria, including Maria Calla and Anna Netrebko. It is a prayer to the Druid goddess of the moon, and the literal translation of " Casta Diva" means " Chaste Goddess". What makes "Casta Diva" so memorable is the light and lifting accompanying orchestration contradicting with the long melodies and powerful yet smooth…

learn further from Rigoletto, that “the crucial if unpleasant lesson that awaited him in the shifting economics of opera, however, was that until royalties were included, financial independence would remain a mirage.” Il Corsaro would prove to be quite a lesson for Verdi as ill health started to plague Verdi and eventually abandoned the opera and contract because of…

sequence of an act. The aria format, involved three sections, a slow introduction, marked typically cantabile or adagio, known as the cavatina, a tempo di mezzo that might involve chorus or other characters, and a cabaletta, an opportunity for bravura singing. This was known as solita forma. The duets were also following the same format. Finales, covering climaxes, used the various forces of soloists, ensemble and chorus, usually culminating with an exciting stretto section. Verdi also develops…

representatives of the Habsurgs were relatively lenient. 2.3.3 The French Censorship The censorship problem continued as long as Italy was divided. In France, the censors suppressed Victor Hugo`s play Le Roi s`amuse (1832), for supposed reference to Louis-Philippe, the play that later become the basis for Verdi's Rigoletto. Despite the French Constitution`s guarantee of freedom of expression, the censors banned the play declaring its subject to be immoral, obscenely trivial, scandalous, and…

It was while working on his second opera, 'Un giorno di regno', that Verdi's wife died. This opera, which was given in 1840, was a not well received and Verdi decided to give up composing, but Merrelli persuaded him not to give up his music. Verdi then composed two new, four-part operas in 1842 and 1843, 'Nabucco' and 'I Lombardi alla Prima CrociataIt'. Both of these pieces earned Verdi a great amount of success. The years between 1855 and 1867 Verdi composed over a dozen great Operas. Some…

period also saw the the development of the German songs “Lied”(German for song, or art song). This was music performed by a single singer accompanied by a piano player. Later on, in chapter eighteen, the authors explain about the Romantic Opera, this was the golden age of opera. From Italy to France, from Germany to Russia, this was another evolution in the history of music. During this period, the world saw for the first time famous operas such as Ivanhoe, The Lady of the Lake, Les Miserables,…

repetitions of large sections. Foster: Jeanie with the light brown hair Parlor Song: A song accompanied by piano, intende for home entertainment, particualr to 19th century America. Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique IV Program Music (compare to abs music): A compositional style in which a composer selects a simple musical idea and repeats it over and over, as its gradually changed or elaborated upon. Program Symphony: Idee Fixe: “fixed idea”. term coined by Berlioz for a recurring musical idea…

played a major role in the types of opera composed by this Italian master. He explored the ideas of romanticism creating flamboyant over the top productions that were frequently censored for religious and political content. Giuseppe used the political unrest and violence of the day to create entertainment for the masses. His first major success was called Nabucco (Nebuchadnezzar), which enjoyed great success in Milan. The song “Va, pensiero”, the song of the Hebrew slaves, became a national…

burden free and independent world many individuals care to experience. However, much of technology either simultaneously separates or exclusively separates individuals, and can also create further issues that need to be resolved. One technological component we have available today is the television. Television resembles a past activity. As Borgmann describes, technology: now mimics the great breakthroughs of the past, assuring us that it is an imposition to have to open a garage door, walk…

Brahms, Sonata in E-flat major op.120 No.2 Max Reger, Sonata in A-flat major op.49 No.1 Max Reger, Sonata in F-sharp minor op.49 No.2 Robert Schumann, Fantasy Pieces for Clarinet and Piano op. 73 Louis Théodore Gouvy, Sonata for Clarinet and Piano Above sonatas are important works during middle or late romantic period. The techniques in these works are relatively less difficult, but they are more emphasized on how musical thing is expressed during performing. The third…