PHILIPPINE OPERA

LA LOBA NEGRA, NOLI METANGERE, EL FILI BUSTERISMO

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OPERA
Do you have any idea about Opera?
OPERA
art and music form in which singers and
musicians perform a dramatic work
combining text (called a libretto) and a
musical score, usually in an elaborate
theatrical setting (opera house)
Dialogue is entirely sung and not spoken.
 Have you ever watched an example of an Opera play?
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What can you say about the
performance of the actors in the
opera play?
What do you notice about the
elements of the opera play?
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
1. Music
Music moves the action of a story,
expresses emotions and moods,
and deepens our understanding of
the characters.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?

 Orchestra: In most cases, operas are accompanied by

a group of musicians. Led by a conductor, an orchestra
is an ensemble that is comprised of string, woodwind,
brass, and percussion instruments.
 Score: Musicians read from a score which is a notated
piece of music showing each voice or instrumental part
on its own staff.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
 Overture: An overture is an orchestral piece that may be
played at the very beginning of the opera before any action
takes place on stage (not all operas have overtures).
 Musical themes: Musical themes are complete ideas that
are crafted to be memorable to the listener. They are heard
throughout operas and are associated with a particular
character or characters, a situation , an idea, object, or
emotion.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
A. Musical Themes
Below are four types of musical forms
composers use to help them describe
how characters are feeling during the
course of an opera.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
Recitative: Composed to sound like
natural patterns of speech, a recitative is
singing that has the rhythm of talking. It is
used for conversation between characters
or to move the plot of the story.
Aria: A vocal solo expressing personal
emotion or reflection.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
 Ensemble: A piece that is sung by two or more
characters at the same time (duet for two characters, trio
for three characters, quartet for four characters, etc).
Different melodies are sung simultaneously by each
character involved in the ensemble.
 Chorus: Often providing background music for the
above, a chorus is a group of people singing together in
parts or in unison. Each musical form is sung by singers in
one of the six basic vocal categories which are listed
below:
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
B.Vocal Types
All classical singers fall into one of the
categories listed below. A singer cannot choose
his/her voice-type – it is something they are
born with. Composers usually assign a voice
type to a character based on his/her
personality or age.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
 Soprano-This is the highest female voice and has a range similar to a
violin. In opera, the soprano most often plays the young girl or the
heroine (sometimes called the Prima Donna), since a high bright voice
traditionally suggests femininity, virtue and innocence. The normal range of
a soprano is two octaves up from middle C, sometimes with extra top
notes. Most women are sopranos.
 Mezzo-Soprano-Also called a mezzo, this is the middle female voice and
has a range similar to an oboe. A mezzo’s sound is often darker and
warmer than a soprano’s. In opera, composers generally use a mezzo to
portray older women, villainesses, seductive heroines, and sometimes
even young boys (like Hansel). This is a special operatic convention called
a “trouser role” or a “pants role.”
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
 Contralto-This is the lowest female voice and has a range similar to a
clarinet. Contraltos usually sing the roles of older females or special
character parts such as witches and old gypsies. The range is two octaves
from F below middle C to the top line of the treble clef. A true contralto is
very rare.
 Countertenor-This is the highest male voice, which was mainly used in
very early opera and oratorio (a genre of classical vocal music similar to
opera but generally based on a religious topic and accompanied by a choir).
The voice of a countertenor sounds very much like a mezzo-soprano’s voice
and they often sing the same repertoire. Like the contralto, true
countertenors are very rare.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
 Tenor-This is usually the highest male voice in an
opera. It is similar to a trumpet in range, tone, color,
and acoustical ring. The tenor typically plays the hero
or the love interest in an opera.
 Baritone-This is the middle male voice and is close
to a French horn in range and tone color. In opera
buffa (comedic opera), the baritone is often the ring-
leader of the comedy, but in opera seria (serious or
tragic opera), he is usually the villain.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
Bass-This is the lowest male voice and is
similar to a trombone or bassoon in range
and color. Low voices usually suggest age and
wisdom in serious opera. In comic opera they
are generally used for old characters who are
foolish or laughable.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
2. Drama
Operas unfold a dramatic or comic story involving
a protagonist, antagonist, and/or a hero/heroine.
Actors that portray these roles must be very good
at both singing and acting. Certain character
tendencies often exist for each vocal category. They
include the following:
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
Soprano: most often the heroine
of the opera
Mezzo-Soprano: mothers, older
women, villains, servants, women
playing men
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?

Contralto: old women, witches,

comic roles
Tenor: most often the hero of
the opera
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?

Baritone: helpful companions,

villains, sometimes heroes
Bass: kings, villains, priests
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
Operas usually feature primary and secondary characters who figure in the
dramatic flow of the story:
 Principals: The primary roles of an opera. These may be heroes/heroines,
villains or other strong characters. Principal roles are sung by the more
experienced artists who have already made a name for themselves in
smaller roles.
 Comprimarios: The secondary roles of an opera. Comprimario roles are
often confidantes, maids, servants, messengers, or medical personnel. They
are usually sung by younger or lesser known artists. Similar to a play, opera
tells a story that is divided into acts and scenes.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
Each scene is further divided into
numbers, each representing a different
musical form (i.e. aria, recit., chorus
number, or ensemble). In contrast to
plays, the text is written with the
intention of being accompanied by music.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
Each scene is further divided into
numbers, each representing a different
musical form (i.e. aria, recit., chorus
number, or ensemble). In contrast to
plays, the text is written with the
intention of being accompanied by music.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?

Libretto: The text of an opera.

Librettist: The artist who
arranges the text of a story to fit
the accompanying music.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
3. Spectacle
The spectacle of an opera encompasses
sets, costumes, special effects, props and
staging. These elements are combined to
tell the story in a multi-dimensional
manner.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
 Set: The place where the action will occur on
stage. Operas often have large, spectacular sets that
reflect the time and place of the story being told.
 Costumes: The outfits worn by each actor to
reflect the time and place of an opera as well as the
personality of each character.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
 Props: Items that may be carried onstage in an
actor’s hands or that “dress” the set (such as
furniture or decorative accessories).
 During the course of an opera, it is not uncommon
to have a large number of people on stage. Many of
these people will be chorus while the others will
appear as supernumeraries or extras.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
 Super/Supernumerary: A performer who appears in
a non-singing role; a “super” might have a solo walk-on
to deliver a message, or might be included as part of a
large procession, for example. The stage director impacts
how the action is conveyed by assigning various blocking.
 Blocking: The patterns of movement of the people
onstage as the opera progresses.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
Stage Right/Stage Left: The division
of the stage from the performer’s
point of view; thus when a singer goes
stage right, he moves to his/her right
but to the audience’s left.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?
 Upstage/Downstage: The position on stage
farthest or nearest the audience; because of the
raked stage which was so prevalent in early opera
houses, the farther “back” a signer went on the
stage, the “higher” he seemed to become in stature,
thus the distinction of being “up”-stage. Downstage,
then, would be lower and closer to the audience.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF OPERA?

 BRAVO!
Audience members may shout this Italian word after
an exciting aria, scene, act, or performance. It is
pronounced “brah-voh”. A female performer would
be accorded a “brava” (the feminine form of bravo).
GROUP ACTIVITY:
The group will be given assign opera
work from the teacher's discussion,
either Noli Metangere or El Filibusterismo,
and they will describe how an idea or
story in musical play is presented in a live
performance or video.
 If you will be a part of Noli Metangere or in El
Filibusterismo, what will be your role and feelings?
What is Opera?
What are the elements of
Opera?
Presentation of group output describing
how a story is presented in an operatic
style.
THANK YOU!