The Invention of Opera

Opera was invented.  It's an odd story, actually.

Everything about it was suddenly new. To give you an idea, here is a contemporary madrigal by Carlo Gesualdo.



This is what European music sounded like before opera. It is very important to notice how sometimes the different voices sing the same melody one after the other, sometimes in different keys. Soprano sings it, baritone sings it, etc. This is the standard style of the Renaissance and was invented in the Netherlands.  This piece is relatively modern for Renaissance music, so often they all sing together.

Florentine Camerata

Something I cannot find in any book is that if you are walking along a street in Florence and happen to notice it, there will be this sign.

It stands on the side of this unassuming building where met the famous Florentine Camerata.  This is a rough translation:  "In this house of Bardi, Giovanni, conte di Vernio, who fought with great valor against Siena and Malta, held a studio on science and letters, especially poetry and music.  They studied the stories from ancient Greek drama which were set to music, and they invented the sung recitative and reformed melody, creating the musical art of modern times." 

Here is the building in Florence where the sign stands.
 

Count Bardi founded the group in about 1573.  Among the members were the theorist Vincenzo Galilei (father of Galileo Galilei), the composer Giulio Caccini, the poet Ottavio Rinuccini, the musician Emilio de' Cavalieri  and the composer Jacopo Peri.  Bardi collaborated with these and other Florentine musicians in court entertainments from 1579 to 1608. 

Briefly, they were trying to recreate Greek drama.  The word camerata was newly minted to refer to Bardi's group.  The Camerata read everything available at the time and speculated on the actual experience of Greek drama.  They concluded that in a proper play in ancient Greece all the words were sung.  They also concluded that there was no place for counterpoint in such a drama, and composed their own pieces with simple chordal accompaniment.

Hit Tunes

This piece by Caccini from Le Nuove Musiche is in the new style and should be compared to the piece above.



Here is another example.



You can hear how different this sounds from the Gesualdo. There are broken chords and small ornaments, but no counterpoint during the singing.  The point was to emphasize the words.

I apologize for this long sample with no visuals. There are words in Italian and English and some pretty fantastic singing.  I want to try to include a complete opera in every chapter.  The story is of the lost Euridice and Orfeo's brave attempt to rescue her from hell.  It is the first complete surviving opera, but not the first written one.   Caccini's version (some of the numbers are supposed to be by Peri) of Euridice was first performed at the Pitti Palace in Florence on 5 December 1602. This is across the Arno from the Duomo and the Casa di Bardi, and in summer you can sit in the same courtyard and hear music today.



It is strange and unusual but arguably the greatest thing ever invented by a committee.  The words are very clear.  You are unlikely to ever see this piece performed.



Had enough?  Go to Puccini.

Love it and want more?  See the Venetian operas later in the century.

I love Baroque but most people only know Bach and Handel.  Jump to Handel.