chapter 27 Romantic Opera and Musical Theater
to Midcentury
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Consider the quote: “the composer [has not] made the least concession to passing fashion or to the even more
imperious demands of singers and their vanity. He was as proudly himself, as true, as original, as hostile to formula,
as resolute in integrity, as incapable of compromise for the sake of applause, as great. . . . The poetic invention . . . is
full of energy, passion and contrast; the supernatural element in it gives rise to strange and startling effects. Melody,
harmony and rhythm alike are tremendously vivid and powerful; everything combines to arouse the listener. In
addition, the characters, being drawn from life, are more obviously appealing; the representation of their feelings
and the world they live in has naturally prompted a less rarified, more accessible style; yet it is treated with such
exquisite skill that the most austere spirit cannot resist its charm, while for this same quality the Mass of the people
deem it the very perfection of art and a miracle of invention.” This writer was especially critical of
a.
the style of French grand opera.
b.
folk song in German Romantic opera.
c.
the status of singers in Italian bel canto opera.
d.
spoken dialogue in opera.
e.
supernatural themes in opera.
2. Literary sources for popular operas of the 1820s and 1830s included works by all the following authors EXCEPT
a.
Sir Walter Scott.
d.
William Shakespeare.
b.
Friedrich Schiller.
e.
Émile Zola.
c.
Victor Hugo.
3. In the first half of the nineteenth century, nationalism in Italy and Germany emerged differently
than in France mainly because
a.
neither Italy nor Germany were cohesive nation-states until the second half of the century.
b.
France was ruled by a stable monarchy during this period, while Germany and Italy experienced
frequent political upheavals.
c.
Italy and Germany were fighting French occupation until 1848, and so had no opportunity to foster
native unification movements.
d.
France had been a republic since 1793, while Italy and Germany were ruled by hereditary
monarchies during this period.
e.
until 1848, the politics of Italy and Germany were controlled by the Holy Roman Empire, which
governed from Vienna.
4. The main function of the tempo di mezzo in a typical Rossinian opera scene is to
a.
return to the tonic key of the scena.
b.
introduce a change in the character’s circumstances or a plot twist.
c.
introduce a section of choral music.
d.
provide the soloist an opportunity to sing a lyrical, contemplative aria expressing his or her
emotions at that moment.
e.
provide orchestral accompaniment for the soloist’s exit.
5. The principle musico-theatrical strength of the early nineteenth-century Italian scene form is its
a.
ability to depict character and plot development through contrasting musical themes and affects.
b.
development of a continuous arioso style of singing accompanied by orchestral music.
c.
capacity to accommodate modulations between keys.
d.
emphasis on the orchestral development of thematic material.
e.
continuous succession of orchestrally accompanied recitatives, solo arias, duets, ensembles, and
choruses.
6. Rossini’s Una voce poco fa and Bellini’s Casta Diva both
a.
come from comic operas.
b.
are based on real historical subject matter.
c.
contain cantabile and cabaletta sections.
d.
lack a tempo di mezzo section.
e.
include prominent choral sections.
7. A typical Rossini overture comprises a
a.
two-part form, with a slow introduction followed by a fast binary pair resembling an exposition and
recapitulation.
b.
two-part form, with a slow, ceremonial section dominated by dotted rhythms followed by a fast
imitative polyphonic section.
c.
three-part sonata form, with an exposition, development, and recapitulation.
d.
three-part form, with a fast sonatina section; a lyrical slow section; and a fast, dancelike section in
triple meter.
e.
multisection orchestral suite comprising no less than four or five important themes that are heard
later in the opera.
8. The libretto of Guillaume Tell was censored in several locales because the story dealt with
a.
sexual themes.
b.
anticlerical, atheistic ideas.
c.
the assassination of a Holy Roman Emperor.
d.
a popular uprising against an occupying power.
e.
women’s rights.
9. All of the following Italian operas were written specifically for performance in Paris EXCEPT
a.
Don Carlos.
d.
Guillaume Tell.
b.
La favorite.
e.
Lucia di Lammermoor.
c.
Don Pasquale.
10. In contrast to Rossini’s operas, Donizetti’s operas
a.
make more flexible use of the multisection Italian scene form.
b.
comprise only serious operas, and no comedies.
c.
abandon the multisection Italian scene form in favor of amorphous continuity of music and drama.
d.
dispense with choruses, featuring only solo and small ensemble singing.
e.
have plots that are based only on literary fiction and do not deal with real historical events.
11. The crucial difference between the repertoires of the Paris Opéra and that city’s
Opéra-Comique was that
a.
the Paris Opéra produced only operas based on French history or French classical drama, while the
Opéra-Comique permitted operas based on an unrestricted range of topics.
b.
the Paris Opéra performed only operas composed by native Frenchmen.
c.
the Opéra-Comique performed only comic operas.
d.
spoken dialogue was permitted in works performed at the Opéra-Comique, but not in works
performed at the Paris Opéra.
e.
ballet scenes were permitted in works performed at the Opéra-Comique, but not in works
performed at the Paris Opéra.
12. Important examples of grand opera include all the following EXCEPT
a.
Les Huguenots.
d.
L’elisir d’amore.
b.
La muette de Portici.
e.
La favorite.
c.
Guillaume Tell.
13. Both Lucia di Lammermoor and Der Freischütz
a.
lack spoken dialogue.
b.
use reminiscence motives.
c.
use plots based on historical events.
d.
use the orchestra as the predominant vehicle for expression.
e.
abandon the Rossinian scene structure.
14. Eugène Scribe was
a.
a librettist of several grand operas.
b.
the composer of Robert le diable.
c.
the director of the Paris Opéra in the 1830s.
d.
a composer of opéras comiques.
e.
Bellini’s favorite librettist.
15. The composer most responsible for establishing the conventions of grand opera was
a.
Giacomo Meyerbeer.
d.
Mikhail Glinka.
b.
Gaetano Donizetti.
e.
Vincenzo Bellini.
c.
Hector Berlioz.
16. In Les Huguenots, historical events are connoted by
a.
eighteenth-century dances.
b.
nineteenth-century folk songs.
c.
a sixteenth-century Lutheran chorale melody.
d.
a sixteenth-century eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
e.
stage sets that depict fifteenth-century Scotland.
17. Rossini spent his last four decades in Paris mainly
a.
writing several important grand operas.
b.
teaching composition at the Paris Conservatoire.
c.
in comfortable retirement, mostly withdrawn from composing.
d.
composing his last operas, for which he returned to the style of his early Neapolitan opere buffe.
e.
as director of the Paris Opéra.
18. The emergence of a new Romantic style of ballet in the 1840s was much influenced by
the work of
a.
Jenny Lind.
d.
Charles de Bériot.
b.
Marguerite de Valois.
e.
William Fry.
c.
Marie Taglioni.
19. A distinguishing feature of early nineteenth-century German opera was its
a.
nationalistic expurgation of foreign—especially French—musical elements.
b.
emphasis on lyrical and coloratura vocal technique and subordinate accompanimental role for the
orchestra.
c.
lack of spoken dialogue.
d.
cutting-edge treatment of contemporary political and social subject matter.
e.
integration of folk or folklike melodies.
20. Consider the quote: “the composer [has not] made the least concession to passing fashion or to the even more
imperious demands of singers and their vanity. He was as proudly himself, as true, as original, as hostile to formula,
as resolute in integrity, as incapable of compromise for the sake of applause, as great. . . .The poetic invention . . . is
full of energy, passion and contrast; the supernatural element in it gives rise to strange and startling effects. Melody,
harmony and rhythm alike are tremendously vivid and powerful; everything combines to arouse the listener. In
addition, the characters, being drawn from life, are more obviously appealing; the representation of their feelings
and the world they live in has naturally prompted a less rarified, more accessible style; yet it is treated with such
exquisite skill that the most austere spirit cannot resist its charm, while for this same quality the Mass of the people
deem it the very perfection of art and a miracle of invention.” The critic is likely explaining his admiration for
a.
Der Freischütz.
d.
Les Huguenots.
b.
Il Barbiere di Siviglia.
e.
Leonora.
c.
Norma.
21. The Wolf’s Glen scene from Der Freischütz has a musical design that features
a.
a principal tonic key of F-sharp minor, whose dominant key C-sharp major is used for the central
section of the scene.
b.
a sonata-like exposition of motives, followed by their development and recapitulation.
c.
a systematic modulation through the complete circle of fifths.
d.
no coherent tonal organization at all, appropriate to the chaotic drama of the scene.
e.
a referential harmony whose pitches are represented by important key areas throughout the scene.
22. German Romantic opera is distinguished most sharply from contemporary French and Italian
opera by its
a.
use of spoken dialogue.
b.
focus on natural and supernatural landscapes as important dramaturgical elements.
c.
use of orchestral color and diverse instruments.
d.
use of large performing forces and the absence of stagecraft.
e.
use of recurring motives identified with situations or characters presented earlier.
23. All of the following are true of nineteenth-century minstrel shows EXCEPT
a.
white performers who blackened their faces with burnt cork imitated the dances, songs, and
dialogue of African Americans.
b.
white musicians borrowed from the music of African Americans.
c.
Elizabeth Greenfield, an emancipated slave, was the first African American to join the Christy
Minstrels.
d.
their popularity continued into the twentieth century; “The Black and White Minstrel Show” aired
on British television from 1958 to 1978.
e.
minstrel shows were the most popular form of musical theater from the 1830s through the 1870s.
24. British composers largely neglected opera in the nineteenth century due to
a.
an already-established and dominant tradition of English spoken drama that native opera could not
displace.
b.
British nationalist rejection of Italian culture.
c.
Britain’s lingering resentment of France after the Napoleonic wars.
d.
the lack of theaters in England’s major cities in which to perform opera, a problem since the time of
Cromwell.
e.
prohibitions against vocal music in London theaters.
25. European opera was first cultivated in the United States in the city of
a.
Boston.
d.
New Orleans.
b.
New York.
e.
San Francisco.
c.
Philadelphia.
TRUE/FALSE
1. By the 1830s, opera in Italy and France had become an elite, exclusive genre, divorced from the market for popular
music.
2. Early nineteenth-century operas were the source of much popular music, with selections propagated as piano
transcriptions and even humorously parodied in popular theater.
3. Italian opera plots of the 1820s and 1830s were mainly derived from Italian history and Italian literary classics.
4. Because of the speed at which they were forced to meet deadlines, bel canto composers generally composed without
knowing what singers would perform their works and expected singers to adapt their parts to suit their vocal
requirements.
5. Italian opera composers of the 1820s and 1830s were motivated to produce a large body of works partly because
their works lacked copyright protection.
6. The career of Maria Malibran demonstrates that bel canto singers were expected to master both serious and comic
operatic roles.
7. French opera composers flourished in Paris in the early nineteenth century in part because
they did not have to compete with Italian or German operas, which remained largely unknown
to French audiences.
8. Following the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, the restored French monarchy immediately closed opera houses because
of their potential for political subversion.
9. Early nineteenth-century Russian opera borrowed extensively and widely from French, Italian, and German operatic
styles and techniques.
10. Because of its racist implications, the American genre of so-called Ethiopian opera remained localized in the United
States and was rejected by European audiences.
SHORT ANSWER
1. The operatic style of the early nineteenth century that emphasized fluent vocal technique, beauty of tone throughout
a singer’s range, agility, and the ability to sing sustained lyrical as well as florid lines is now known as ________.
2. The concluding, rhythmically lively, virtuosically florid aria section of a typical Rossini opera scene is called the
________.
3. The accelerated concluding section of an ensemble finale in an Italian opera is called a(n) ________.
4. The style of singing words to extremely rapid rhythms with much repetition, commonly used in the depiction of
comic situations or emotions, is called ________.
5. The first aria sung by a principal character in an Italian opera is sometimes called a ________.
6. The enduring popularity of the early nineteenth-century opera titled ________ is evidenced by the use of one of its
themes in the 1950s television show The Lone Ranger.
7. The operatic genre that emphasized romantic love in the context of historical conflicts, augmented by ballet,
elaborate staging, and large casts of soloists and choral singers, is known as ________.
8. An outstanding example of epic opera in the nineteenth century is Berlioz’s ________.
9. The late-eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century genre of musical theater popular in French– and German-speaking
areas in which dialogue is spoken over orchestral accompaniment is called ________.
10. A musical theatrical genre that emerged in the United States in the 1830s that featured white performers caricaturing
African Americans was called ________.
MATCHING
Match each composer to the minstrel song.
a.
Dan Emmett
d.
George Washington Dixon
b.
James A. Bland
e.
Stephen Foster
c.
“Daddy” Rice
1. Old Kentucky Home
2. Zip Coon
3. Carry Me Back to Old Virginny
4. Jump Jim Crow
5. Dixie
Match each figure to the concept or genre strongly associated with his or her work.
a.
Eugène Scribe
d.
Stephen Foster
b.
Carl Maria von Weber
e.
Marie Taglioni
c.
Vincenzo Bellini
6. French grand opera
7. bel canto
8. minstrel songs
9. Singspiel
10. ballet
ESSAY
1. Identify, describe, and contrast the principal European opera styles in the early nineteenth century. What are their
performance conventions and requirements? What are their similarities and differences with respect to subject
matter, dramaturgy, formal conventions, and vocal and orchestral styles? To illustrate your points, discuss a
representative example of an opera from each principal style that you identify.
2. Explain how European opera in the mid-nineteenth century was related to contemporary social, economic, and
political issues and circumstances. What role did opera serve in European society? What conflicts and crises were
explicitly or implicitly addressed in operas? How, in particular, was opera connected to emerging ideas of
nationhood and national identity? Discuss a variety of operas that illustrate these relationships.