used myth at first and plots about historical figures later. It was their aim to promote the principle of monodic musical declamation, i.e., a single melodic line with modest accompaniment inspired by the example of ancient Greek drama accordingly, the earliest operas took their plots from mythology, the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice being one of the most popular.īecause the story hinges on the expressive power of music and solo song, the early composers referred to their work as dramma per musica, and operas of the 17th and 18th cent.

It began in Florence, Italy, fostered by the camerata, a group of scholars, philosophers, and amateur musicians that included the librettist Ottavio Rinuccini (1562–1621) and the composers Vincenzo Galilei, Emilio del Cavaliere (c.1550–1602), Jacopo Peri, and Giulio Caccini. How many different opera plots have been invented in the world, correspondingly, the same number of opera librettos exist.Although musical drama, such as The Play of Daniel (12th cent.), had previously existed, it was in the year 1600 that opera came into being. Because, in fact, there is no one true operatic form. For almost five centuries of its existence, the opera genre has undergone a colossal historical, stylistic and conceptual evolution and, of course, it is impossible to unify such contradictory data about the opera libretto or give any general recipes suitable for all its varieties.

In this historically continuous “dispute” between music and the word, the tendency to win invariably remained on the side of music, which every time led the opera to stage absurdities, to faster aging, to the inevitability of new reforms. Thus, the art of song was combined with dramatic narration, which, under the conditions of an opera performance, since then, have constantly been in rivalry with each other, although, it would seem, they were called to serve the same goal. But the fully formed concept of opera appeared later, in 1639, in Venice, as opera in musica (musical work), or, in short, opera (in Latin, it means action, work, creation). The year 1594, when the premiere of this work entitled “Daphne”, written by the composer-singer Jakob Peri, was historically marked by the beginning of the existence of the Opera. As a result of creative searches, the members of the Florentine community created the first musical and dramatic work. It was a commonwealth of artists, humanists, lovers of music and literature. By 1580, a society was formed in Florence that called itself Camerata (a diminutive of the Italian word camera – room, in this context it means – circle, salon). As a special kind of dramatic art, opera developed towards the end of the 16th century in Italy, the classical country of the Renaissance. In the medieval folk and cult (“sacred”) performances that anticipated it, as well as in ancient tragedy, the role of music was always great. Musical theater has a long history and deep extensive origins. The Development of the Opera Libretto through the Prism of the History of the Opera Genreġ Moldova State University, 2 Institute of Cultural Heritage Patrimoniul cultural: cercetare, valorificare, promovare Ediția 14, R, 2022Ĭonferința 'Patrimoniul cultural: cercetare, valorificare, promovare' 14, ISBN 978-8-0.ĮXPORT metadate: Google Scholar Crossref CERIF DataCite Dublin Core Chișinău: Institutul Patrimoniului Cultural, 2022, Ediția 14, R, p. In: Patrimoniul cultural: cercetare, valorificare, promovare, Ed. The Development of the Opera Libretto through the Prism of the History of the Opera Genre.

Development of opera