MUS 15 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Recitative, Ballad Opera, Johann Christoph Pepusch
Unit 5: Public and Public: G.F. Handel and John Gay in London
- Setting the stage
o 1720s
o London
- Castrato
o Plural = castrati
o Castrated male singers
o Preserve child-like range of voice
o Common in 17th and 18th century
o Poor family
o Sing soprano part in church music (women not in church)
o Lots of physical effects
o Highly prizes as singers
- Francesco Bernardi
o “SENESINO” (1685-1758) stage name
- Alessandro Moreschi (1858-1922)
o Singer in Papal Chapel
o Recorded in early 1900s
o Become castrato when it was outlawed
o Not a popular singer
- George Frideric Handel
o 1685-1759
o German
o Composed first operas in Hamburg
o Spent about 3 years in Italy (want to write more opera; birthplace of opera Italy)
o Appointed Court Music Director at Hanover in 1710
o Moved to London in 1721
▪ Become the most popular composer in London
▪ Famous for writing Italian opera
• Main occupation for 13 years
- Italian Opera
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
o Drama in music
o Typically sung out, no spoken dialogue
o Libretto – text of opera (usually written first)
o Originally private, aristocratic
o Most prestigious genre of music
o First public theaters:
▪ Rome (1632)
▪ Venice (1637)
- The business of opera
o Operatic business model is mixed
▪ Selling tickets (expensive)
▪ Guaranteed by nobility (don’t make any money)
o Economy of boxes (box seats)
▪ Most money made from these people
o Had to cater to its audience
▪ Visually and aurally striking
▪ Spectacle!
- Italian opera in London
o 18th century London is thriving
o Taste for Italian music
o The royal academy of music
▪ Founded as joint-stock company in 1719
▪ Handel was music director
- Italian Opera? In London?
o Why???
o Public entertainment
o BUT still an icon of aristocracy (trying to be seen)
▪ Most don’t understand Italian
▪ Want (super good) Italian singer
▪ Spectacle (both the audience want to be seen and the singer)
▪ Display incredible virtuosity
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
