Theater in
Venice (1837) Between the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, the foundations of the contemporary society were laid, marked in the political field by the end of absolutism and the establishment of democratic governments. -an impulse initiated with the
French Revolution – and, in the economic field, by the
Industrial Revolution and the consolidation of
capitalism, which would have a response in
Marxism and the
class struggle. In the field of art and music, an evolutionary dynamic of styles began to follow one another chronologically with increasing speed, culminating in the 20th century with an atomization of styles and currents that coexist and oppose, influence and confront each other. Music was a reflection on numerous occasions of these artistic movements, which occurred not only in art and music, but also in literature, theater, dance and other artistic manifestations. In music, the most outstanding aspect was the progressive independence of composers and performers from the patronage of the aristocracy and the Church. The new addressee was the public, preferably the bourgeoisie, but also the common people, in theaters and concert halls. The new situation gave the musician greater creative freedom, but also deprived him of the previous security provided by his patrons, as he was subject to the ups and downs of success or failure. Opera developed in this century in an increasingly grandiloquent manner, on large stages and with large scenographic stagings, with larger and larger orchestras performing more powerful and sonorous music. This forced vocal performers to increase their singing power, to fill the entire theater and to be heard above the instruments. To this end, new techniques of voice enhancement appeared and new registers emerged, such as the "robust tenor", the "
tenore di forza" and the "
dramatic soprano". and
Napoleon III at the
Royal Opera House in London on 19 April 1855 In the second half of this century, the
operetta was established as a minor genre of opera, based on a theatrical piece with dances and songs alternating with dialogues, with light music of popular taste. It became established in France as a derivation of
opéra-comique, in small theaters such as the
Bouffes-Parisiens sponsored by the composer
Jacques Offenbach. It was also well established in Vienna, where it was nourished by the traditional German
singspiel. During this century numerous innovations and advances were introduced in the scenographic field, especially in lighting: in 1822 the
gas light was introduced for the first time at the Paris Opera, in the performance of
Aladin ou La lampe merveilleuse by
Nicolas Isouard; in 1849 the
electric light was premiered in
Le Prophète, by
Giacomo Meyerbeer. One of the best scenographers was
Pierre-Luc-Charles Cicéri, creator of large and ingenious sets with the latest technologies of the time, as well as special effects, fireworks and other novelties. He invented a moving panorama composed of a curtain that was rolled up on a cylinder and, when unrolled, produced movement effects on the scene. On the other hand, the pioneer of photography
Louis Daguerre introduced the double-painted sets, which thanks to lighting effects caused a sensation of movement. The most prestigious theater was – along with La Scala in Milan – the
Paris Opera, which, after various venues, was located in 1821 in the hall on rue Le Peletier, where it enjoyed the golden age of the
grand-opéra. Destroyed by fire in 1873, two years later the
Opéra Garnier, designed by architect Charles Garnier, was inaugurated, with seating for 2600 spectators.
Romanticism theater in
Milan in the 19th century Romantic music survived for almost the entire century, until the appearance of the musical avant-garde of the 20th century. It was characterized, as in the rest of the arts, by the predominance of feeling and passion, of the subjectivity and emotionality of the artist, with exaltation of national and popular music. The orchestra was enlarged, to fully satisfy the expressiveness of the artist, the new feelings that nested in him (the sublime, the
pathetic). Romanticism emphasized individuality, irrationality as a reaction to enlightened reason. The protagonism was won by the human being and his heroic actions, as opposed to mythological gods and baroque
deus ex machina interventions. A new interest in nature and its sounds arose, which were imitated in numerous compositions: storms, fire, avalanches, volcanic eruptions, etc. The ideal instrument to reflect the romantic passions was the piano, from which numerous virtuosos emerged, such as
Franz Liszt and
Frédéric Chopin. Alongside it were gaining importance the percussion instruments —especially timpani and
cymbals—, in search of more expressive sounds. New instruments were also incorporated to the orchestra, such as the
harp, the
piccolo, the
contrabassoon and the
English horn. At the same time, movements that expressed more emotions were sought, such as
prestissimo,
molto agitato or
adagio lamentoso. The figure of the conductor became more important and many composers were at the same time conductors; one of them,
Carl Maria von Weber, introduced the baton for conducting. This period saw a remarkable development of opera, especially in Italy, where it was the golden age of
bel canto. It stood out for the brilliance of its voices, the
coloratura, the ornamentation, gaining importance the role of the soprano, while for the tenor it became fashionable from 1840 the
do de pecho. Romantic opera had two aspects: the comic – or
buffa – and the dramatic, based on the great romantic literary dramas. The difference between recitative and aria was diluted, predominating the
cantabile melody over the rest of the elements. In this period the librettos varied in themes and plots, but had few structural transformations, so that conventional language and the simplification of dialogues and situations predominated as in previous eras. One of the most successful novelists of the period was
Walter Scott, nineteen of whose novels were adapted into sixty-three operas. Fifty-six operas were also composed on texts by
Friedrich von Schiller. Other writers who also inspired numerous operas were
Victor Hugo and
Aleksandr Pushkin.
France , Paris The germ of romantic opera arose in France, where opera seria and opera buffa tended to converge, at the same time that the Gluckian reform was coming to fruition. The recitatives with harpsichord were discarded and became orchestral. The plots based on the Greco-Latin classics were abandoned to set the new romantic dramas to music, with a preference for medieval settings (bards, troubadours) or popular legends. At this time the so-called
grand-opéra developed in France, characterized by the exuberance of its large stage productions, with large orchestras and numerous characters, with generally historical and epic themes, aimed at a bourgeois audience. The
opéra-comique genre also continued, which in 1805 was established at the Salle Feydeau and, in 1840, at the Salle Favart. Here unconventional, new or foreign works were premiered, which were rejected at the more conservative Paris Opera. The beginnings of French romantic opera are situated in the post-revolutionary environment. The change of regime entailed the replacement of classical mythological themes, linked to the aristocracy, by new themes and characters based on popular heroism, with a series of works that were called "salvation opera", including
Les rigueurs du cloître (1790) by
Henri-Montan Berton and
Le siège de Lille (1792) by
Rodolphe Kreutzer. Paradoxically, among the first exponents of French romantic opera were two Italian composers established in France:
Luigi Cherubini and
Gaspare Spontini. The former settled in Paris in 1787, when he had already composed thirteen operas in Italy. In
Démophon (1788) he began the course of what would become French romantic opera, which he would put on track with
Lodoïska (1791), where he introduced more real characters and more dramatic situations, with a richer and more powerful orchestration, and effects based on nature, in this case a fire. His masterpiece was
Médée (
Medea, 1797), based on a tragedy by
Pierre Corneille. Spontini moved to Paris in 1800, where he preferentially cultivated the tragic genre. His first success was
Milton (1804), which was followed by
La vestale (1807). He was the introducer of numerous components of the
grand-opéra, such as large choirs, processions or bands on stage, culminating in his
Fernand Cortez (1809), about the Spanish conquistador
Hernán Cortés, which included a cavalry charge and fleet fire. '' (1835), by
Fromental Halévy Cherubini had several pupils, among whom
Daniel-François-Esprit Auber and
Jacques Fromental Halévy stood out. Auber was the master of
opéra-comique, in which he began with
La bergère châtelaine (1820) and
Emma (1821). In 1823 he teamed up with the playwright
Eugène Scribe, with whom he created
Leicester (1823),
La neige (1823),
Léocadie (1824),
Le Maçon (1825) and
Fra Diavolo (1830). He also tried
grand-opéra with
La muette de Portici (
La muette de Portici, 1828). Halévy suffered several failures until he had his first success with
Clari (1828), which he wrote for the Spanish mezzo-soprano María Malibrán. His masterpiece was
La Juive (
La judía, 1835), of which
Wagner praised the
feeling of its great lyric tragedy. He alternated
opéra-comique (''L'éclair
, 1835; Le lazzarone
, 1844) with grand-opéra
(Guido et Ginevra
, 1838; Charles VI'', 1844). Among the earliest exponents of French romanticism was also
François-Adrien Boieldieu. He composed his first opera,
La fille coupable (1793), at the age of eighteen. Established in Paris, he triumphed with his comic operas, but he also tried other genres, as in
Le Calife of Baghdad (1800), of exotic and oriental taste. After a stay in Russia, on his return he renewed his success with
Jean de Paris (1812). His greatest success was
La dame blanche (1825).
, from Act III of Robert le diable'' by
Giacomo Meyerbeer (1831), painting by
Edgar Degas (1876) The greatest champion for the beginning of the
grand-opéra was the German
Giacomo Meyerbeer. He settled in Paris in 1831, when he had his first success with
Robert le diable, set in medieval
Sicily. His masterpiece was
Les Huguenots (1836), about the persecution of French Protestants (
Huguenots) in the 16th century, which was notable for its lavish staging. His third major success was
Le Prophète (
The Prophet, 1849).
Robert le diable included a ballet – the
Ballet of the Nuns — in which the dancers, in the role of spirits rising from the tombs, were dressed in white
tulle, which became the classic ballet costume (the
tutu); this work is considered the first modern ballet in history. '' by
Hector Berlioz, by
Philippe Chaperon Hector Berlioz devoted himself to epic opera. He began five operas, of which he completed only three:
Benvenuto Cellini (1838), about the life of
Renaissance sculptor, based on his autobiography;
Les troyens (
The Trojans, 1856–1858), with a libretto by Berlioz himself based on
The Aeneid by
Virgil, a full-length work that was divided into two parts for its premiere; and
Béatrice et Bénédict (1862), also written by the composer himself from Shakespeare's
Much Ado About Nothing. He was also the author of
La Damnation de Faust (
The Damnation of Faust, 1846), a musical work for orchestra, solo voices and choir usually performed also in opera houses. '' (1875), by
Georges Bizet In a second generation —sometimes referred to as late Romanticism— stood out
Georges Bizet, a composer who died prematurely at the age of thirty-six, so he could only complete six operas, although he projected about thirty. He was a disciple of Halévy, who wrote him his first libretto, the operetta
Le Docteur Miracle (1857). He resided for three years in Italy, where he premiered
Don Procopio (1859), a comic opera. His next project was
Les pêcheurs de perles (
Les pêcheurs de perles, 1863), set in
Ceylon, which reflected the taste for exoticism of the time. In 1865 he made
Ivan IV for the Théâtre Lyrique. In the same theater he premiered two years later
La jolie fille de Perth (
The Beautiful Girl of Perth), based on a play by Walter Scott. Another bet for exoticism was
Djamileh (1872), based on a play by
Alfred de Musset, set in
Egypt. In 1875 he premiered his masterpiece,
Carmen, based on a novel by
Prosper Mérimée, set in the folkloric Spain of gypsies and bandits. It was an
opéra-comique which, however, introduced realistic elements, according to the literary naturalism of the time, a phenomenon that in Italy would give the
verismo. He introduced popular Spanish music and dances, such as a seguidilla, as well as a
habanera (''
L'amour est un oiseau rebelle''), a genre of Cuban native provenance. Bizet died three months after the premiere.
Charles Gounod began in church music, until he turned to opera, with a total of twelve works in his career. His first works were of the
grand-opéra genre (
Sapho, 1851;
La nonne sanglante, 1854), but were not very successful, so he switched to
opéra-comique. He chose a play by Molière,
Le médecin malgré lui, which he premiered in 1858. It was followed by
Faust (1859), his masterpiece. His later works include
Mireille (1864) and
Roméo et Juliette (1867). (1866), oil painting inspired by the opera
Faust by
Charles Gounod Ambroise Thomas was a classicist, a fervent detractor of Wagner and "modern" music. He composed nine operas, strictly based on the French tradition. His first success was
La double échelle (
The Double Staircase, 1837). He treated the comic genre with ''Le songe d'une nuit d'été
(The ground of a summer night
, 1850), not based on Shakespeare despite the title. He was influenced by Gounod, as seen in Mignon (1866) and Hamlet'' (1868).
, from Les Contes d'Hoffmann'' (1881), a play by
Jacques Offenbach Another German,
Jacques Offenbach, excelled in the comic genre. He began his musical career as a cellist, until he switched to composition. Endowed with a keen sense of dramatic art and well acquainted with the tastes of the French public, he devoted himself to operetta, for which he rented the Théâtre Marigny, which he renamed Bouffes-Parisiens, where he premiered works by himself and other composers. In 1858 he composed
Orphée aux enfers (
Orpheus in the underworld), an irreverent reinterpretation of classical Greek myths, which scandalized the purist
grand-opéra public. It was followed by
La belle Hélène (1864) and
La vie Parisienne (1866). With ''
Les Contes d'Hoffmann'' (1881) he attempted something more serious, but died during rehearsals. He counted as librettists
Henri Meilhac and
Ludovic Halévy, nephew of composer Fromental Halévy – authors also of the libretto of Bizet's
Carmen. and
Alexandre Charles Lecocq (
La fille de Madame Angot, 1872;
Le petit duc, 1878)
, from the opera Lakmé'' by
Léo Delibes (1883)
Camille Saint-Saëns was a child prodigy as a pianist and began composing at the age of six. He was a prolific composer, who wrote thirteen operas, as well as orchestral and vocal music. His first success was with the operetta
La Princesse jaune (
The Yellow Princess, 1872). After that he switched to
grand-opéra, with which he had his greatest success with
Samson et Delilah (1877), based on the biblical story. In 1883 he premiered
Henri VIII, about the relationship between
Henry VIII of England and
Anne Boleyn. '' by
Jules Massenet Léo Delibes excelled especially in operetta and ballet. His first success,
Deux vieilles gardes (1856), already denoted his facility for composing melodies. His masterpiece was
Lakmé (1883), set in colonial India, which was notable for its exoticism.
Jules Massenet was a pupil of Ambroise Thomas, a fact that turned him towards opera. His first success was
Le roi de Lahore (1877). It was followed by
Hérodiade (1883) and
Manon (1884). After receiving a commission from the Paris Opera he composed
Le Cid (1885). After
Esclarmonde (1889) he had several failures, until reaching success again with
Werther (1892), on Goethe's work. He enjoyed equal fortune with
Thaïs (1894), of orientalist taste, whose
Meditation is one of his best known melodies. His next success was
La Navarraise (1894), which included cannon sounds. His later works include
Sapho (1897),
Cendrillon (1899),
Chérubin (1905) and
Don Quichotte (1909). '' (1894), opera by
Jules Massenet Emmanuel Chabrier studied law, but eventually turned to his greatest hobby, music. A great admirer of Wagner, in 1886 he premiered
Gwendoline, where he used the Wagnerian
leitmotif. He later turned, however, toward light music of comic tone, with which he achieved his greatest success,
Le roi malgré lui (
The King in spite of himself, 1887). Other composers of French Romanticism were:
Adolphe Adam (
Le Chalet, 1834;
Le Postillon de Lonjumeau, 1836;
Le toréador, 1849; ''
Si j'étais roi, 1852), Félicien David (La perle du Brésil
, 1851; Lalla-Roukh, 1862; Le Saphir'', 1965),
Vincent d'Indy (
Le Chant de la cloche, 1886;
Fervaal, 1897; ''L'Étranger
, 1903), Ferdinand Hérold (Zampa
, 1831; Le Pré aux Clercs
, 1832), Nicolas Isouard (Cendrillon, 1810; Jeannot et Colin
, 1814), Édouard Lalo (Le Roi d'Ys
, 1888), Jean-François Lesueur (Ossian, ou les Bardes
, 1804) and Ernest Reyer (Sigurd, 1882; Salammbô'', 1890).
Italy In Italy, Romanticism had a markedly populist and nationalist component, in which opera was a means of political vindication for the
unification of the peninsula, which would take place in 1870. It was the era of the
bel canto, of the showcasing of voices, especially soprano voices. Composers such as Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti were staunch defenders of
bel canto, at a time in Europe in general when the orchestra was becoming more and more prominent. However, classical
bel canto came to a virtual end with Rossini, while Bellini and Donizetti introduced some innovations, such as the substitution of the
canto fiorito for the
canto declamato, and the reservation of bel canto passages for moments of intensity, as in the
cabaletta or the so-called
madness arias, in any case with less vocal ornamentation.
, aria from Il barbiere di Siviglia'' (1816), by
Gioachino Rossini The first great name of the period was
Gioachino Rossini, a composer between classicism and Romanticism. He studied at the
Bologna Lyceum. Following in the footsteps of Paisiello and Cimarosa, he enriched the orchestra with more wind instruments. In 1810 he premiered in Venice
La cambiale di matrimonio, a
comic farce in one act, indebted to the Neapolitan opera, but with the new romantic spirit, more dynamic, with a more marked rhythm and with the tonal gradations introduced by the Mannheim school. This work pleased both the traditionalists and the supporters of innovation, who liked its timbral agility and its lively rhythm. It was followed by ''
L'equivoco stravagante (1811), L'inganno felice (1812), La scala di seta (1812), L'occasione fa il ladro (1812) and Il signor Bruschino (1813). After a serious opera, Ciro in Babilonia (1812), in Tancredi, premiered the following year at the La Fenice theater in Venice, he abandoned the classical schemes and gave the structure of the opera buffa to the serious, with arias, cabalette
and recitative with orchestra. He also introduced changes to the usual structure of opera buffa, in La pietra del paragone (1812) and L'italiana in Algeri (1813). Il Turco in Italia (1814) is a theatrical farce, where the librettist appears pretending to write the opera as it unfolds. That year he composed his last serious opera in the traditional style: Aureliano in Palmira, which still included a castrato
in its cast, which added various ornamentations that did not please the composer, so from then on he composed the musical ornaments himself, closing the doors to improvisations by the singers. With this work, Rossini abandoned the historical and mythological themes typical of traditional opera seria and began to elaborate works of contemporary cut, based on the new romantic literature; a first case would be Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra'' (1815). In 1816 he premiered at the
Teatro Argentina in Rome
Il barbiere di Siviglia (
The Barber of Seville), based on the play by Beaumarchais, one of his greatest successes, of buffo genre, as well as
La Cenerentola (1817), based on the story
Cinderella by
Charles Perrault. La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie, 1817) was a semi-serious opera, with a romantic plot, but with comic elements; he cultivated the same genre in
Matilde di Shabran (1821). With
Mosè in Egitto (1818) he elaborated a new hybrid, which he called azione sacrotragica. In serious genre he elaborated
Otello (1816),
La donna del lago (1819),
Maometto secondo (1820, reconverted in 1826 into
Le Siège de Corinthe),
Zelmira (1822) and
Semiramide (1823). He then began a journey of several years that took him to Vienna, Paris, London and again Paris, where he premiered
Le comte Ory (1828) and
Guillaume Tell (1829). In his works, Rossini eliminated the recitative without musical accompaniment, so they were set to music from beginning to end. He introduced the so-called "crescendo Rossini", a gradual crescendo in which the same theme was repeated successively increasing in intensity. He also introduced choirs, which became fashionable, generally placed between the aria and the cabaletta and between the two parts of the cabaletta. He stopped composing at the age of thirty-six and lived on his earnings ever since. performing
The Somnambulist by
Vincenzo Bellini The next figures of Romanticism were
Vincenzo Bellini and
Gaetano Donizetti. Bellini produced more sentimental and melancholic works, of dreamlike evocation, with choppy, irregular phrases, the voice floating above the melody. He is considered the master of
bel canto, for his long, lyrical vocal melodies. After two operas for which he began to be recognized (
Adelson e Salvini, 1825; and
Bianca e Fernando, 1826), he reaped his first success with
Il pirata (1827), performed at La Scala in Milan. In 1830 he premiered in Venice
I Capuleti e i Montecchi (
Capulets and Montagues), a lyric tragedy with libretto by
Felice Romani. His following works were fully romantic, with the common plot of the death of one of the lovers and the sublimation of love.
La sonnambula (1831) was a semi-serious opera, based on a script for a pantomime-ballet by
Eugène Scribe. From the same year is
Norma, his most famous work, with libretto also by Romani, which includes the famous aria
Casta Diva. In 1833,
Beatrice di Tenda did not reap the expected success. His last work,
I Puritani (1835), he composed and premiered in Paris, where it was a great success. He died at the age of thirty-four. He also tackled the serious genre with
Emilia di Liverpool (1824) and
Il castello di Kenilworth (1829). With
Anna Boleyn (1830) he had his first international success, and initiated a plot line based on characters of human character —especially women in the role of heroine— treated psychologically. This work opened doors for him to other cities: thus, he composed for Milan ''
L'elisir d'amore (1832), a sentimental comedy with libretto by Felice Romani, where he humanized in the same way the characters of the opera buffa; it includes the aria Una furtiva lagrima, one of the most famous of the opera. He then tried his hand at the dramatic genre with the somber Lucrezia Borgia (1833), based on a story by Victor Hugo. It was followed by Parisina d'Este (1833), Torquato Tasso (1833) and Maria Stuarda
(1834). Shortly thereafter he was inspired by the French grand-opéra
for Lucia di Lammermoor (1835), based on a novel by Walter Scott (with libretto by Salvatore Cammarano). It was followed by Il campanello (1836), Belisario (1836), Pia de' Tolomei (1837), Roberto Devereux ossia il conte d'Essex (1837), Maria di Rudenz (1838) and Poliuto (1838). He traveled to Paris, where he premiered La Fille du régiment
(1840) and La favorite (1840), in which he introduced the do de pecho and initiated the golden age of tenors. He went to Vienna, where he was appointed Kapellmeister. In 1841 he premiered Maria Padilla and, the following year, Linda di Chamounix. It was followed by Maria di Rohan (1843). Back in his country he returned to the comic genre with Don Pasquale (1843). His later works include Caterina Cornaro (1844) and Dom Sébastien, roi de Portugal
(1843). He composed a total of sixty-seven operas. In his works the musical embellishments of bel canto'' are present, but he composed vibrant dramatic scenes, where the music enhances the effect of the voice. His melodies were crystalline, lively, with a magnetism that is still valid today.
, aria from L'elisir d'amore'' (1832), by
Gaetano Donizetti, performed by
Enrico Caruso in 1911 At the beginning of Romanticism,
Saverio Mercadante and
Giovanni Pacini also stood out. Mercadante studied in Naples and was encouraged to compose operas by Rossini. His first success was ''L'apoteosi d'Ercole
(1819). It was followed by Elisa e Claudio
(1821) and Donna Caritea, regina di Spagna
(1826). In 1827 he settled in Spain, where he premiered Il posto abbandonato
that same year. Returning to his country in 1831, he obtained a great success the following year with I normanni a Parigi
. In 1837 he premiered in Milan Il giuramento'', his masterpiece. After Bellini's death and Donizetti's installation in Paris he was for a few years the most famous composer in his country, with works such as
Le due illustri rivali (1838),
Elena de Feltre (1838),
Il bravo (1839),
La Vestale (1840),
Il reggente (1843),
Leonora (1844) and
Gli Orazi e i Curiazi (
Horatii e Curiatii, 1846). Pacini scored a major success in 1824 in Naples with ''
Alessandro nell'Indie'', which earned him an appointment as director of that city's Teatro San Carlo. His masterpiece was
Saffo (1840). Other works of his were
La fidanzata corsa (1842),
Medea (1843), ''
Lorenzino de' Medici (1845) and Buondelmonte'' (1845). The brothers
Luigi and
Federico Ricci composed several works both together and separately, and are remembered as the authors of the last traditional opera buffa:
Crispino e la comare (1850). Late Romanticism was dominated in Italy by the figure of
Giuseppe Verdi. He began in romantic opera with a buffo air, with its recitative-aria-
cabaletta structure, with themes generally inspired by medieval Italy. His early work denoted the influence of Rossini and continued the typical forms of
bel canto. However, he gradually evolved towards the forms of the musical drama, de-emphasizing the aria – from which he did not manage to detach himself, as Wagner did – and enhancing the melody. Verdi's operas had a strong nationalist component, which turned his works into pleas against the foreign occupation of various regions of Italy, a fact that made him a symbol of the
Risorgimento, the process that led to the unification of Italy. interpreta
La donna è mobile, from the opera
Rigoletto by
Giuseppe Verdi (1908) After a first opera that was never performed (
Rocester, 1836), with
Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio (1839) he had a resounding success at La Scala in Milan. On the other hand, his next work,
Un giorno di regno (1840), failed. He repeated the success with
Nabucco (1842), with which his link with politics began: the plot based on the
Hebrew captivity in Babylon was compared to the Italians, under foreign domination in a good part of their territories. It includes the famous choir
Va, pensiero. It was followed by
I Lombardi alla prima crociata (1843).
Ernani (1844) was his most fully Romantic work, based on a play by Victor Hugo. The following operas he composed were:
I due Foscari (1844), ''
Giovanna d'Arco (1845), Alzira (1845), Attila (1846) and I masnadieri (1847). It was his first work based on Shakespeare, of whom he was a great admirer. With Luisa Miller (1849) and Stiffelio'' (1850) he abandoned Romanticism in search of greater realism. and
Maria Callas perform ''
Libiamo ne' lieti calici, from the opera La traviata'' by
Giuseppe Verdi Next came his three masterpieces:
Rigoletto (1851),
Il trovatore (1853) and
La Traviata (1853) are more realistic dramas, which stick more to the historical aspect. The former, based on Victor Hugo's play
The King Amuses Himself, revolved around a superstitious jester who is cursed. It includes a
motiv or
evocative motif, a passage associated with some aspect of the opera, an antecedent of the Wagnerian
leitmotif, which appears for example in the famous aria
La donna è mobile.
Il trovatore was based on a play by
Antonio García Gutiérrez about a medieval troubadour. Composed in only thirty days, it contains a wide range of melodies, including the famous gypsy choir with its anvil strikes.
La Traviata was based on Alexandre Dumas'
The Lady of the Camellias, a work controversial for having a tubercular courtesan as its protagonist, with which Verdi anticipated fin-de-siècle verismo. It includes the famous duet ''
Libiamo ne' lieti calici'', also known as the "toast.". and
Enrico Caruso performing
La forza del destino by
Giuseppe Verdi His next work was
Les vêpres siciliennes (
The Sicilian Vespers, 1855), premiered in Paris, based on a libretto of an opera that Donizetti left unfinished at his death (''Le duc d'Albe
). It was followed by Simon Boccanegra (1857), also based on a work by García Gutiérrez, an obscure opera that was not liked by the public. Un ballo in maschera (1859) was inspired by the assassination of Gustav III of Sweden during a masked ball; containing a regicide it was censored in Naples, so he had to premiere it in Rome. La forza del destino (1862), based on texts by Ángel de Saavedra and Friedrich von Schiller, was commissioned by the Imperial Theater of St. Petersburg, where it was premiered. Don Carlo'' (1867) was based on Schiller's drama
Don Carlos, about the tragic fate of first-born son of
Philip II of Spain.
Aida (1871), set in
Ancient Egypt, was one of his grandest productions. It was commissioned by the khedive of Egypt,
Ismail Pasha, to inaugurate the Royal Opera House in
Cairo, built to commemorate the opening of the
Suez Canal; however, Verdi did not arrive in time and it was not premiered until two years later. His last two operas were based on Shakespeare plays:
Otello (1887) and
Falstaff (1893), both with librettos by
Arrigo Boito. The former was the culmination of his great operas, while
Falstaff — based on
The Merry Wives of Windsor and
Enrich IV — he composed as entertainment, his second comic work after the failure of
Un giorno di regno. Verdi worked with several librettists (
Temistocle Solera,
Salvatore Cammarano,
Francesco Maria Piave,
Eugène Scribe), with whom he often had conflicts, as he was very demanding with the texts he set to music. He sometimes wrote his own plots, which he would then pass on to a librettist alone to versify. After Verdi, the work of three composers who already foreshadowed a certain change of style that would materialize at the end of the century with verismo was outstanding:
Arrigo Boito,
Amilcare Ponchielli and
Alfredo Catalani. Boito was a composer and librettist, author of the librettos of Verdi's last operas. His first opera was
Mefistofele (1868), based on Goethe's
Faust, which failed, so he temporarily abandoned composition and devoted himself to writing. However, after some revisions and thanks to Verdi's support, in 1875 he revived it, and this time it was a success. Two years later he began
Nerone, on which he worked for forty years until his death. Completed by
Vincenzo Tommasini and
Arturo Toscanini, it was premiered in 1924. Ponchielli composed nine operas, although he succeeded with only one,
La Gioconda (1876), based on a play by Victor Hugo adapted for libretto by Arrigo Boito. His first work,
I promessi sposi (1856), had little success.
I Lituani (1874) was well received, but did not remain in the operatic repertoire. He tried orientalism with
Il figliuol prodigo (1880) and the comic genre with
Marion Delorme (1885). Catalani evolved from an early Wagnerian influence towards verismo. His first opera,
La falce (1875), was to a libretto by Arrigo Boito. It was followed by
Elda (1880), transformed ten years later into
Loreley. His greatest success was
La Wally (1892), in a Germanizing style, with libretto by Luigi Illica. Other Italian composers of the period were:
Luigi Arditi (
I briganti, 1840;
Gulnara, 1848;
La spia, 1856),
Giovanni Bottesini (
Cristoforo Colombo, 1848;
Marion Delorme, 1864),
Antonio Cagnoni (
Don Bucefalo, 1847;
Papà Martin, 1871),
Carlo Coccia (
Maria Stuarda, 1833;
Caterina di Guisa, 1833),
Filippo Marchetti (
Ruy Blas, 1869),
Francesco Morlacchi (
Il barbiere di Siviglia, 1816;
Tebaldo ed Isolina, 1820;
La gioventù di Enrico V, 1823),
Carlo Pedrotti (
Fiorina, 1851;
Tutti in maschera, 1869),
Errico Petrella (
Mario Visconti, 1854;
Jone, 1858),
Lauro Rossi (
I falsi monetari, 1846;
Il dominò nero, 1849;
La sirena, 1855;
Lo zingaro rivale, 1867) and
Nicola Vaccai (
Giulietta e Romeo, 1825).
Germanic countries ,
Berlin (1832) In Germany, musical activity was distributed among the various states into which the nation was divided, until the unification of the country in 1871, which brought greater cultural patronage from the reigning house, the
Hohenzollern, until then kings of
Prussia. During this century, the hitherto predominant Italian influence was gradually abandoned, especially thanks to the work of Richard Wagner. '' by
Carl Maria von Weber (1822)
Carl Maria von Weber is considered the creator of German national opera. He was director of the Dresden Opera House, from where he promoted several reforms in opera, such as the arrangement of the orchestra and choir, and a rehearsal schedule that encouraged performers to study the drama rather than the music. He wrote his first opera at the age of twelve,
Der Macht der Liebe und des Weins (
The Power of Love and Wine, 1798), which was followed by
Das Waldmädchen (
The Woodland Girl, 1800, which he later remodeled and retitled
Silvana, 1810),
Peter Schmoll und seine Nachbarn (
Peter Schmoll and His Neighbors, 1803) and
Abu Hassan (1811). Notable in early German Romanticism were the works of
Johann Simon Mayr,
Ludwig Spohr and
Heinrich Marschner. Mayr studied in Italy, where Piccinni encouraged him to compose opera. His first success was
Saffo (1794), which was followed by
Ginevra di Scozia (1801). His masterpiece was
Medea in Corinto (1813), after which his operas were performed throughout Europe and in New York. His work influenced Rossini. Spohr first achieved success with
Faust (1816), the first operatic adaptation of Goethe's play. Musical director of the
Frankfurt Opera, he premiered there
Zemire und Azor (1819). He then moved to
Kassel, where he developed the rest of his career:
Jessonda (1823),
Der Berggeist (
The Spirit of the Mountain, 1825),
Pietro Albano (1827),
Der Alchymist (
The Alchemist, 1830). Marschner was fortunate that Weber premiered his first opera in Dresden: ''Heinrich IV und d'Aubigné
(1818). After some failures, he reaped a great success with Der Vampyr (1828), based on The Vampire'' (1819) by
John William Polidori, which denotes the influence of Weber's
Der Freischütz. His third success was
Hans Heiling (1833), based on a Bohemian legend. He also composed
Die Heimkehr aus der Fremde (
The Return of the Stranger, 1829), a
liederspiel, a minor genre of
singspiel based on songs (
lieder). Schumann, who excelled primarily as a symphonic musician, composed a single opera,
Genoveva (1850). Liszt, of Hungarian origin, was in addition to being a composer a virtuoso pianist and conductor. He also produced a single opera,
Don Sanche (1825), in one act. The novelist
Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann, also a composer, made several
singspiele, such as
Dirna (1809),
Aurora (1813) and
Undine (1816). '' (1847) by
Friedrich von Flotow The following figures of the period were
Albert Lortzing,
Carl Otto Nicolai and
Friedrich von Flotow. Lortzing was a composer and conductor, almost self-taught. His first work was
Ali Pascha von Janina (1824). In 1837 he premiered two comic operas:
Die beiden Schützen (
The Two Squires) and
Zar und Zimmermann (
Tsar and Carpenter). From 1839 he composed one opera per year, including
Hans Sachs (1841),
Der Wildschütz (
The Forest Hunter, 1842),
Undine (1845) and
Der Waffenschmied (
The Master Gunsmith, 1846). His work was still largely heir to Mozart. Nicolai was an organist in Rome, where he became fond of opera. He combined his activity as a composer with that of conductor, mainly at the Vienna Hofoper. His first success was
Enrico II (1839). In 1849 – the year of his death – he achieved his masterpiece:
Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor (
The Merry Wives of Windsor), based on Shakespeare's
homonymous comedy. In a second generation, the figure of
Richard Wagner stood out. He was a composer, conductor and music critic in the
Gazette musicale. He gave to the opera heights of great brilliance, with the pretension of making a
total work of art (
Gesamtkunstwerk) that united music, poetry, drama, philosophy, scenography and other arts, theory that he embodied in his essay
Opera and drama (1851). Wagner disliked the term opera, preferring
musical drama (
Musikdrama). He abandoned the
singspiel for the symphony orchestra, following the model of Giacomo Meyerbeer's grandiloquent opera. He renewed the operatic orchestra, to which he added the Wagnerian tuba. In his
Nibelungen tetralogy he went so far as to form an orchestra of one hundred and fifteen instruments. Such orchestral power presented serious difficulties for the human voice to live up to, so his performers needed special training, which led to the appearance of two new vocal figures: the Wagnerian soprano and the heroic or Wagnerian tenor (
heldentenor). Critical of Italian opera, which he considered contrived and conventional, in his works he suppressed the aria, as well as the concept of "closed numbers", of episodes isolated from the rest, creating instead works of a continuous flow, an integrated whole running from beginning to end with a single musical concept; even the intermissions were connected to the rest of the composition. This system is called "transcomposition" (), and was used by numerous composers since Wagner. He was so meticulous with his performances that he was the first to darken the hall and focus the spectator's attention on the stage. Likewise, he forbade applause during the performance, which was allowed only at the end. Wagner wrote his own librettos, so he controlled all aspects of the work. After a first attempt at an unfinished opera (
Die Hochzeit [
The Wedding], 1832) and another that he did not premiere (
Die Feen [
The Fairies], 1833), his first premiere,
Das Liebesverbot (
The Prohibition of Love, 1836), was a failure. After traveling in Norway, London and Paris, he composed
Rienzi (1842) and
Der fliegende Holländer (
The Flying Dutchman, 1843). This opera began a series of Germanic-themed works generally set in the Middle Ages, with romantic loves featuring a recurring moral: redemption by love through death. In 1843 he was appointed chapel master in Dresden. After participating in the
Liberal Revolution of 1849, he was forced into exile, so he settled in
Zürich (Switzerland). , performed by the
American Symphony Orchestra His next project was the tetralogy
Der Ring des Nibelungen (
The Ring of the Nibelung), consisting of
Das Rheingold (
Rhine Gold, 1851–1854),
Die Walküre (
The Valkyrie, 1851–1856),
Siegfried (
Siegfried, 1851–1857 and 1864–1871) and
Götterdämmerung (
Twilight of the Gods, 1848–1852 and 1869–1874), which he was able to develop thanks to the patronage of
Ludwig II of Bavaria. Based on the medieval epic
Song of the Nibelungs, the initial approach for a single opera was extended to four due to the vastness of the plot. Wagner moved away from the legendary tale and adapted it to his
anarchist ideal, in which myth equated to social change, to the universal struggle between reactionary forces and humanist evolution. For this he was also inspired by the Nordic
Eddas, from which he took the
alliterative verse stabreim. The tetralogy took him twenty-six years of work, and its performance brought him serious difficulties because of the enormity of the works: it was not until 1876 that he premiered the complete cycle at the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth, a new theater sponsored by him for the reproduction of his operas. '',
Bayreuth Festspielhaus (1876) He combined this project with
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (
The Master Singers of Nuremberg, 1868), described as a comedy, but not in the ordinary sense of the term, but as an evocation of the
bitter human comedy. His last work was
Parsifal (1882), about the
character of the
Arthurian cycle, which was notable for a diaphanous music that anticipated to some extent musical
impressionism. Notable among the latter figures was
Peter Cornelius. He was an admirer of Wagner, but rejected his influence and was determined to find a path of his own. He focused on comic opera, intending to create a new German comic genre more serious and profound than the traditional
singspiel. Inspired by the traditional Arabian tales of
The Thousand and One Nights he composed and wrote
Der Barbier von Bagdad (
The Barber of Bagdad, 1858), which failed. He later made the historical drama
Der Cid (
The Cid, 1865). to
Die Leichte Kavallerie (
Light Cavalry, 1866), by
Franz von Suppé It is also worth naming among the composers of romantic opera from the Germanic sphere:
Franz Joseph Gläser (
Des Adlers Horst [''The Eagles' Nest
], 1832), Karl Goldmark (Die Königin von Saba
[The Queen of Sheba
], 1875), Conradin Kreutzer (Das Nachtlager in Granada [The Inn at Granada''], 1834) In the second half of the century, especially in Austria, there was a revival of operetta, which enjoyed great popularity in Viennese society. Its most prominent representative was
Johann Strauss II, violinist, conductor and composer, a member of a family of musicians famous above all for their specialization in
waltzes. He attempted the serious genre with
Ritter Pásmán (1892), but was most famous for his operettas:
Indigo und die vierzig Räuber (
Indigo and the Forty Thieves, 1871),
Die Fledermaus (
The Bat, 1874),
Eine Nacht in Venedig (
A Night in Venice, 1883),
Der Zigeunerbaron (
The Gypsy Baron, 1885) and
Wiener Blut (
Viennese Blood, 1899). The Austro-Hungarian
Franz Lehár was a conductor at the
Theater an der Wien. He excelled in operetta with a witty, energetic and imaginative style:
Wiener Frauen (
Viennese Women, 1902),
Der Rastelbinder (1902),
Die lustige Witwe (
The Merry Widow, 1905).
Franz von Suppé, of Croatian origin, was a composer and conductor, author of operettas some of which remembered especially for their overtures:
Die Schöne Galathée (
The Beautiful Galatea, 1865),
Die Leichte Kavallerie (
Light Cavalry, 1866),
Fatinitza (1876),
Boccaccio (1879). Other exponents were:
Carl Millöcker (
Der Bettelstudent [
The Beggar Student], 1882)
Robert Stolz (
Schön Lorchen [
The Beautiful Lorchen], 1903),
Oscar Straus (
Der tapfere Soldat [
The Chocolate Soldier], 1908) and
Carl Zeller (
Der Vogelhändler [
The Bird Seller], 1891).
Other countries and Malwine Schnorr von Carolsfeld as
Tristan und Isolde,
Munich (1865) In Spain, opera was directly influenced by Italy, to the point that the production of local authors was in Italian. The work of
Ramón Carnicer, author of operas of Rossinian influence, although with some Mozartian reminiscence, stood out:
Adele di Lusignano (1819),
Elena e Costantino (1821),
Don Giovanni Tenorio (1822),
Elena e Malvina (1829),
Cristoforo Colombo (1831),
Eufemio di Messina (1832),
Ismailia (1838). Likewise,
Marià Obiols was a disciple of Saverio Mercadante and wrote in Italian
Odio ed amore (1837), which he premiered at La Scala in Milan. He was later director of the
Conservatory of the Liceu de Barcelona and composed
Laura Debellan and
Edita di Belcourt (1874).
Baltasar Saldoni was the last composer to use librettos by Metastasio:
Ipermestra (1848),
Cleonice, regina di Siria (1840). Mention should also be made of:
Vicenç Cuyàs (
La Fattuchiera, 1838),
Eduard Domínguez (
La dama del castello, 1845),
Nicolau Manent (
Gualtiero di Monsonís, 1857) and
Nicolau Guanyabens (
Arnaldo di Erill, 1859). The English John Fane, founder of the
Royal Academy of Music in London, left works in Italian:
Fedra (1824),
Il torneo (1829), ''L'assedio di Belgrado'' (1830). in his debut at
La Scala in Milan in 1876 In Russia, where during the reign of Catherine II the taste for Italian opera had predominated, with
Alexander I it was French opera that was in vogue. Even so, the Italian
Catterino Cavos, installed in the country, was appointed director of the Imperial Theater of St. Petersburg and premiered several operas, such as
Ilya Bogatyr (1807) and
Ivan Susanin (1815). Russian composers include:
Stepan Davydov (
Lesta, 1803), Alekséi Titov (
Yam, ili Pochtovaja stancija [
Yam, or the Post Office Station], 1805) and Alekséi Verstovski (''Askol'dova mogila
[Askold's Tomb''], 1835). In Poland,
Józef Ksawery Elsner, a teacher of
Frédéric Chopin, was the author of some operas, including
Andromeda (1807), composed in honor of
Napoleon Bonaparte.
Karol Kurpiński was director of the Warsaw Opera from 1824 to 1840. He composed more than twenty operas, most notably
Zamek na Czorsztynie (
The Castle of Czorsztyn, 1819). The Czech
Vojtěch Jírovec (also called in German Adalbert Gyrowetz) developed his work between Vienna, Naples, Paris and London. He composed in Italian
Il finto Stanislao (1818) and, in German,
Agnes Sorel (1806),
Der Augenartz (
The Oculist, 1811) and
Hans Sachs im vorgerückten Alter (
Hans Sachs at an Advanced Age, 1834).
Romantic Singers Among the lyrical interpreters of Romanticism it is worth remembering: •
Isabella Colbran, Spanish mezzo-soprano, Rossini's wife, in many of whose operas she performed, considered one of the first "divas" •
Giovanni Davide, Italian tenor, for whom Rossini wrote some roles •
Gilbert Duprez, French tenor, leading artist of the Paris Opera for twelve years and first tenor to ever sing a
chest high C in public •
Cornélie Falcon, French soprano of short but brilliant career •
Manuel del Pópulo Vicente García, Spanish tenor and composer, creator of many roles in Rossini's works, patriarch of a family of singers •
Maria Malibran, Spanish soprano, famous for her remarkable vocal versatility and fervent artistry. Daughter of Manuel García •
Pauline Viardot, Spanish mezzo-soprano known for her beautiful and flexible voice and for her artistic sense . Daughter of Manuel García. •
Julián Gayarre, Spanish tenor with a wide international career •
Giulia Grisi, Italian soprano of international success •
Jenny Lind, Swedish soprano and
prima donna, one of the most famous of the century •
Jean-Blaise Martin, French baritone who for his register of one octave more in falsetto gave name to the so-called
baritone Martin •
Giuditta Pasta, Italian soprano considered one of the best exponents of
bel canto •
Adelina Patti, Italian soprano and diva, considered the best of the last quarter of the 19th century •
Fanny Persiani, Italian soprano of light and attractive voice. Most remembered for creating the title role in
Lucia di Lammermoor •
Jean de Reszke, Polish tenor of attractive physique and elegant artistry perfectly suited to romantic roles •
Giovanni Battista Rubini, Italian tenor of sweet, but powerful voice •
Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld, German tenor, the first
heldentenor Wagnerian •
Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient, German soprano who was noted for her sentimentality •
Teresa Stolz, Czech soprano who excelled especially in Verdi roles •
Francesco Tamagno, Italian tenor famous for his remarkably powerful high notes •
Enrico Tamberlick, Italian tenor with a powerful voice and vibrant tone •
Giovanni Battista Velluti, the last
castrato of renown
Nationalism in Moscow (1856) In the second half of the 19th century—especially since the
liberal revolutions of 1848—numerous nations that had not previously excelled in music experienced a musical renaissance, enhanced by the nationalist sentiments associated with Romanticism and political liberalism. In general, most of these compositions were linked to musical Romanticism, though often with a national component based on the folk and popular tradition of each of these countries. Most plots were historical and national—Rimsky-Korsakov devoted thirteen of his fifteen operas to Russian themes—and vernacular languages were introduced into the operatic texts. Several of these nations did not enjoy political autonomy at the time, so that opera —and culture in general— were identity factors of national vindication. These movements lasted in many cases until the beginning of the 20th century.
Russia as
Ivan Susanin in
Zhizn za tsaryá (
A Life for the Tsar, 1836), by
Mikhail Glinka The
Russian music was noted for the colorful timbres, the preference for brass instruments, the tendency to the
minor mode and a melancholic and expressive spirit, as well as a strong orientalist influence, especially Arabic and Chinese. They also liked ballets and folk dances. In the 19th century Russian opera went through three phases: during the absolutist reign of
Nicholas I, opera was to serve monarchical propaganda, as in Glinka's work; during the reign of
Alexander II, in which certain reforms were introduced, opera presented a more popular component and tended to social realism, whose paradigm was
Boris Godunov by Músorgski; the third, with the return to autocracy of
Alexander III, coincides with the work of Tchaikovsky. On the other hand, in Russia arose the
opéra dialogué, a genre of recitative singing occasionally elevated to arioso, but renouncing the aria, choruses and ensembles. The seat of the Imperial Opera was at the Bolshoi Kamenny Theater in
St. Petersburg, opened in 1783, until 1862 when it was moved to the
Mariinsky Theater. In 1825, the
Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow opened. In the business field, it is also worth noting the productions staged by
Sergey Diaghilev and the Theater of the Arts founded in 1898 by
Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko and
Konstantin Stanislavski, great innovators in the fields of acting and scenography.
Mikhail Glinka is considered the "father of Russian music." His first hit was
Zhizn za tsaryá (
A Life for the Tsar, 1836), the story of a Russian folk hero,
Ivan Susanin. It featured French and Italian influences, but introduced distinctly Russian melodies, based on folk folklore, as in the use of the
balalaika. In 1842 he premiered
Ruslan and Liudmila, on a poem by
Aleksandr Pushkin, which inaugurated the genre of the so-called Russian "magical opera". Aleksandr Dargomizhski, a friend of Glinka's, was similarly committed to creating a national opera grounded in Russian folklore. His first opera,
Esmeralda (1840), was based on
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by
Victor Hugo. His masterpiece was
Rusalka (1856), with lyrical melodies based on the patterns of the Russian language. He left unfinished his last opera,
Kámenni gost (
The Stone Guest), on a tragedy by Aleksandr Pushkin, which was completed by Cui and Rimski-Kórsakov, and premiered in 1872. César Cui was an engineer by profession. He was the author of several operas, such as
Kavkazski plénnik (
The Prisoner of the Caucasus, 1883) and
Kot v sapogaj (
Puss in Boots, 1915), not performed in the current operatic repertoire. Modest Músorgski, of aristocratic origin, began a military career, which he abandoned to devote himself to music. Between 1868 and 1869 he composed his masterpiece,
Boris Godunov, based on a text by Aleksandr Pushkin, in which he introduced his characteristic declamatory style based on Russian colloquial language. Between 1872 and 1880 he composed
Jovánschina (
The Jovanski Case), which was completed by Rimsky-Kórsakov. Both are operas of difficult performance, so they are often offered only in their orchestral version. His last opera was
Soróchinskaya yármarka (
The Sorochinets Fair, 1876–1881), of comic genre, which he also left unfinished. Rimsky-Korsakov was a naval officer and amateur composer. He was a pupil of Balakirev, and was noted for his mastery of the orchestra and his evocative harmonies, despite which he did not triumph much in the West. After operas like
Snegúrochka (
The Snow Maiden, 1882),
Mlada (1892),
Noch péred Rózhdestvom (
Christmas Night, 1895),
Mozart and Salieri (1898),
Sadkó (1898),
Tsárskaya nevesta (''The Tsar's Bride
, 1899), Tsare Saltane (Tsar Saltan
, 1900) and Skazániye o nevídimom grade Kítezhe (The Invisible City of Kítezh
, 1907), his greatest success was Zolotoi Petushok
(The Golden Cockerel'', 1909), based on a play by Pushkin, premiered after his death. '' (1878), by
Pyotr Tchaikovsky, performed by
Claudia Muzio (1920) Another outstanding exponent was
Pyotr Tchaikovsky, a character tormented by his homosexuality and with a tendency to depression, but of great sensitivity as a composer. His first opera was
Voivode (1868), of which he was not satisfied. With
Opríchnik (
The guard, 1874) and
Kuznets Vakula (
Vakula the blacksmith, 1876) he began his personal dramatic style, characterized by lyrical music, dances and folk melodies, with a certain orientalist taste. With these parameters he composed
Evgeni Onegin (1879), his masterpiece. It was followed by
Orleanskaya deva (
The Maid of Orleans, 1881),
Mazepa (1884),
Charodeyka (
The Sorceress, 1887),
Píkovaya dama (
The Lady in Spades, 1890) and
Iolanta (1891). Tchaikovsky was the most Europeanist of the Russian composers of the period, as well as the most Romantic – he is often referred to as
the last Romantic. Other exponents were: Aleksandr Aliabiev (
Burya, 1835;
Rusalka, 1843), Mikhail Ippolytov-Ivanov (
Ruth, 1887),
Anton Rubinstein (
The Demon, 1875) and Aleksandr Serov (
Judith, 1863;
Rogneda, 1865). In
Ukraine, belonging to Russia until 1991,
Mykola Lysenko was the leading Ukrainian-language composer:
Natalka Poltavka (1889),
Taras Bulba (1890). His work was admired by Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, but was not widely disseminated because he refused to have it translated into Russian.
Czechoslovakia In the 19th century,
Bohemia (present-day
Czech Republic) and
Slovakia were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The liberal revolutions of this period – especially that of 1848 – awakened the yearning for independence in these regions, which was stifled. It was not until the end of
World War I that the state of
Czechoslovakia, now divided between the Czech Republic and Slovakia, was formed. Czech opera started from the German
singspiel, with a popular and folkloric component. Its first exponent was
František Škroup, author of the first opera in Czech:
Dráteník (
The Boilermaker, 1829).
(The Bartered Bride'', 1870), by
Bedřich Smetana, performed by the
London Philharmonic Orchestra (1930) The father of Czech nationalism was
Bedřich Smetana. Director of the
Prague National Theater, he showed great gifts for orchestration and dramatization, and adapted the cadences of the Czech language to music. For this reason he is considered the first Czech national composer, a circumstance somewhat diluted, however, by his strong Wagnerian influence. His first opera was
Braniboři v Čechách (
The Brandenburgers in Bohemia, 1866). His main success was
Prodaná nevěsta (
The Sold Bride, 1866), of comic genre. It was followed by
Dálibor (1868),
Tajemství (
The Secret, 1878),
Libuše (1881) and
Čertova stěna (''The Devil's Wall'', 1882).
Antonín Dvořák was an outstanding symphonist, author of ten operas that continued the path begun by Smetana. He began with comic works, such as
Šelma sedlák (
The Sly Peasant, 1877). His masterpiece was
Rusalka (1901), with libretto by fellow composer
Jaroslav Kvapil, a lyrical love story far removed from the explosive realist dramas that triumphed at the time.
Leoš Janáček can be considered a late representative of Czech nationalism, although his work already enters modernity and, because of the quality of his works, he can be considered a universal composer. A native of
Moravia, he incorporated in his works the folk melodies typical of that region, with a preference for simple plots about ordinary people. His first success was
Jenůfa (1904), a story of rural atmosphere. After a few years of unsuccessful plays, his greatest successes came in the 1920s:
Káťa Kabanová (1921),
Příhody lišky bystroušky (
The Cunning Fox, 1924) and
Věc Makropulos (
The Makropoulos Case, 1926), inspired by his obsessive love for the young Kamila Stösslová. He died while working on his last work,
Z mrtvého domu (
From the House of the Dead, 1928). Other composers were:
Karel Bendl (
Černohorci [
The Montenegrins], 1881;
Karel Škréta, 1883),
Eduard Nápravník (
Nizhegorodski, 1868;
Harold, 1886;
Dubrovski, 1895;
Francesca da Rimini, 1902),
Vítězslav Novák (
Karlstejn, 1916;
Lucerne [
The Lantern], 1923) and
Otakar Ostrčil (
Vlasty Skon [
The Death of Vlasta], 1904;
Honzovo království [
The Kingdom of Johnny], 1934).
Hungary (National Opera) of
Budapest Hungary was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire during the 19th century and did not achieve independence until after the First World War. His political ties brought him into close contact with the operatic environment of Vienna, the capital of the empire. In 1884 the
Operaház (National Opera) in
Budapest was inaugurated. The first surviving Hungarian opera is
Béla Király Futása (
The Flight of King Béla, 1822), by József Ruzitska. Other pioneers were András Bartay (
Csel [
The Trick], 1839) and
Franz Doppler (
Benyovszky, 1847).
Ferenc Erkel is considered the father of Hungarian national opera. He was a conductor and pianist as well as a composer and, in 1853, founded the
Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra. His first opera was
Bátori Mária (1840), followed by
Hunyadi László (1844). In these works he incorporated folk dances (csárdás,
verbunkos) and adapted the recitatives to the inflections of the Hungarian language. His greatest success was
Bánk bán (1861), where he incorporated the címbalo, the Hungarian zither. Of his later works,
Brankovics György (1874) stands out. Later,
Béla Bartók combined his own style with traditional Hungarian folk melodies, to which he adapted the asymmetrical patterns of his country's language. He composed a single opera,
A kékszakállú herceg vara (
The Castle of Barbazul, 1918), based on a play by
Maurice Maeterlinck, one-act with prologue.
Zoltán Kodály triumphed in 1926 with
Háry János (1926), which was followed by
Székely fond (
The Spinners, 1932) and the
singspiel Czinka Panna (1948). Other members of the Hungarian national school were:
Emil Ábrányi (
Monna Vanna, 1907;
Paolo és Francesca, 1911;
Don Quixote, 1917), and
Mihály Mosonyi (
Szép Ilonka [
The Beautiful Elena], 1861).''
Poland Poland belonged at this time to Russia. The pioneer of modern Polish opera was
Stanisław Moniuszko. He composed several operettas until he moved to the big genre with
Halka (1847), his greatest success. In this, as in almost all his works, he showed the relations between the Polish nobility and the townspeople as victims of their cruelty. In his works he introduced Polish folk dances, such as the
mazurka or the
polonaise. After him, for a time the Wagnerian influence was felt, as in the work of Władysław Żeleński (
Konrad Wallenrod, 1885) and
Ludomir Różycki (
Meduza, 1912). After Poland's independence, which occurred after World War I,
Karol Szymanowski was the main architect of a Polish national music. He lived in
Zakopane, in the
Tatra Mountains, where he studied the syncopated rhythms played there. His first work was
Hagith (1913), which denoted German, French and Russian influences. His masterpiece was
Król Roger (
King Roger, 1924), an evocative, richly nuanced and colorfully orchestrated work, somewhat influenced by
Maurice Ravel's
Daphnis et Chloé. Other composers were:
Ignacy Jan Paderewski (
Manru, 1901),
Carl Nielsen (
Saul og David, 1902;
Maskarade, 1906) In Sweden, after the presence of German composers in the beginnings of Swedish opera in the late 18th century, the 19th century saw the emergence of the first national authors, such as
Kurt Atterberg, author of
Härvard Harpolekare (
Härvard the Harpist, 1919),
Bäckahästen (1925),
Fanal (1934),
Aladdin (1941) and
Stormen (1948);
Franz Adolf Berwald (
Ein ländliches Verlobungsfest in Schweden, [
A Country Wedding in Sweden], 1847);
Finland was tied to Sweden until 1808, when it was annexed by Russia, until it became independent after World War I. The first autochthonous works were written by
Finland. The first native works were written in Swedish:
Kung Carls jakt (
The Hunt for King Charles, 1880), by
Fredrik Pacius;
Jungfrun i tornet (
The Girl in the Tower, 1896), by
Jean Sibelius. The first works in Finnish appeared after independence, with composers such as
Oskar Merikanto (
Pohjan neiti [
The Girl from Botnia], 1908) and his son
Aarre Merikanto (
Juha, 1922), as well as
Leevi Madetoja (
Pohjalaisa [
The Botnians of the East], 1924).
Belgium and the Netherlands at the
organ The
Netherlands came into contact with opera thanks to French or Italian traveling companies. The first Dutch opera author was
Johannes Bernardus van Bree, author of
Sapho (1834) and
Le Bandit (1840). In general, opera has been of little interest to Dutch composers. Of note is the opera
Halewijn by
Willem Pijper (1933).
Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830. Precisely, it was the opera
La muette de Portici by
Daniel Auber, based on the
Neapolitan uprising against the Spanish in 1647, that prompted the population to
rise and proclaim independence. Early Belgian composers include
Albert Grisar (
Le Mariage impossible, 1833; ''L'Eau merveilleuse
, 1839), François-Auguste Gevaert (Quentin Durward
, 1858) and César Franck (Hulda, 1894). Paul Gilson wrote in Flemish: Prinses Zonneschijn
(1903). Jan Blockx reflected the folklore of his country in his plays: Herbergprinses
(The Inn Princess
, 1896), De Bruid der zeen
(The Bride of the Sea
, 1901), De kapel
(The Chapel'', 1903).
English-speaking countries '' (1885), by
Arthur Sullivan In United Kingdom we cannot speak of an opera of nationalist vindication in the political sense that it had in other countries, but there were attempts to create an English opera alien to Italian, French or German influences. In the field of serious opera this initiative did not take off, despite attempts by authors such as
Henry Rowley Bishop,
George Alexander Macfarren and the Irish
Michael Balfe. Bishop was director of Covent Garden, author of the opera
Aladdin (1826). Macfarren was director of the Royal Academy of Music; he composed, among others,
An Adventure of Don Quixote (1846) and
King Charles II (1849). Balfe, composer, singer and violinist, was first baritone in
Palermo, where he premiered his first opera,
I rivali di se stessi (1830). In 1835 he returned to England and joined the effort to create an English national opera. He composed twenty-nine operas, including
The Siege of La Rochelle (1835),
The Maid of Artois (1836) and
The Bohemian Girl (1843). Stanford studied in London and Germany. He was the author of several operas in English: ''Shamus O'Brien
(1896), Much Ado About Nothing
(1908), The Traveling Companion
(1925). Also worth mentioning among British composers are: Granville Bantock (Caedmar
, 1893; The Seal Woman
, 1924), John Barnett (The Mountain Sylph
, 1834; Fair Rosamond
, 1837), Julius Benedict (The Lily of Killarney
, 1862), and Ethel Smyth (The Boatswain's Mate'', 1916). In the field of comedic opera, however, there was more fortune, in keeping with the long-standing success of
ballad opera, which was renewed by a new type of operetta produced by the tandem
Arthur Sullivan (composer)—
W. S. Gilbert (playwright), which inaugurated a genre called
Savoy opera — after the theater where they were performed. In Ireland, during the 19th century, mostly Italian opera triumphed, as well as some in English. Composers such as Michael Balfe, Vincent Wallace and Charles Stanford settled in London and wrote in English. It was not until the 20th century that operas were composed in Irish, the first of which was by
Robert O'Dwyer (
Eithne, 1910). Later of note was
Geoffrey Molyneux Palmer (
Sruth na Maoile [''Moyle's Sea''], 1923). In the United States the fondness for European opera grew throughout the 19th century. In 1883 the Metropolitan Opera House opened in New York City, the most prestigious theater in the country, which in 1966 moved to a new building at
Lincoln Center. In the 19th century Italian opera predominated, despite attempts at English-language operas such as those by
George Frederick Bristow (
Rip van Winkle, 1855) and
Silas Gamaliel Pratt (
Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, 1882). In the 20th century, influences of popular music, especially
jazz were gradually introduced.
Frederick Converse was the author of
The Pipe of Desire (1906), the first American opera presented at the Metropolitan.
Scott Joplin, an African-American musician exponent of
ragtime rhythms, was the author of the opera
Treemonisha (1911). The following year,
Horatio Parker premiered
Mona, which passed without much significance.
Virgil Thomson was the author of what is considered the first great American opera,
Four Saints in Three Acts (1928), with libretto by
Gertrude Stein. The two collaborated again in
The Mother of Us All (1947), based on the life of the feminist
Susan B. Anthony. His third and final opera was
Lord Byron (1972).
Henry Kimball Hadley studied in
Boston and Vienna, and was conductor of the
Seattle Symphony. His operas include
Safie (1909),
Azora (1917) and ''
Cleopatra's Night (1919). In 1933 he premiered A Night in Old Paris'' on radio.
George Gershwin combined classical music with elements of American popular music, especially jazz and blues. In 1922 he premiered the jazz-opera
Blue Monday, which was not very successful. His next project was
Porgy and Bess (1935), a folk-opera incorporating jazz and blues rhythms, with a libretto by his brother,
Ira Gershwin, and
DuBose Heyward. It was not very well received initially, although over time it grew in prestige until it was considered one of the best American operas.
Baltic countries ,
Riga The current
Baltic republics had a period of independence between 1918 and 1940, to be then absorbed by the
Soviet Union, until they became independent again in 1991. In
Estonia, the first opera in the local language was
Sabina (1906), by
Artur Lemba. Notable in the interwar period was
Evald Aav, author of
Vikerlased (
The Vikings, 1928).
Latvia was in the Germanic cultural sphere, so this influence predominated in the origin of its operatic tradition. In 1919 the
Latvian National Opera (Latvijas Nacionālā Opera) opened in
Riga, where the Latvian opera
Banjuta by
Alfrēds Kalniņš premiered in 1920. His son Jānis Kalniņš was the author of
Hamlet (1936). Other exponents of Latvian opera were the brothers
Jānis Mediņš (
Uguns un nakts [
Fire and Night], 1921) and Jāzeps Mediņš (
Vaidelote [
The Vestal], 1927).
Lithuania, closer to Poland, received like Poland the initial influence of Italian opera. In 1922 the Lithuanian National Theater (Lietuvos Tautas Teatras) was founded in
Vilnius. The first Lithuanian opera was
Birutė (1906) by
Mikas Petrauskas. Subsequent highlights included
Antanas Račiūnas' (
Trys talismanai [
Three Talismans], 1936) and
Jurgis Karnavičius (
Gražina, 1932).
Balkan countries ,
Sofia Bulgaria became independent from the
Ottoman Empire in 1885. In 1908 the
Naroden Teatar (National Theater) in
Sofia was founded. The first opera in Bulgarian was
Shiromakhinya (
The Poor Woman, 1910), by
Emanuil Manolov. The main architect of the Bulgarian national opera was Georgi Atanasov, a pupil of
Pietro Mascagni in Italy. He was the author of
Borislav (1911),
Gergana (1917),
Zapustyalata vodenitsa (
The Abandoned Mill, 1923) and
Tsveta (
The Flower, 1923). Other exponents were
Ivan Ivanov, author of
Kamen i Tsena (
The Stone Pyramid, 1911); Dimitar Hadjigeorgiev (
Takhin Begovitsa, 1911); and
Pancho Vladigerov (
Tsar Kalojan, 1936).
Romania gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878, after which it joined European cultural life. The closeness of Romanian – a language of Latin origin – to Italian favored the spread of Italian opera. Among the pioneers was
Ciprian Porumbescu, author of the operetta
Crai nou (
New Moon, 1880). Later
Nicolae Bretan (
Luceafărul, 1921) and, mainly,
George Enescu, trained in France, where he was a pupil of
Gabriel Fauré and
Jules Massenet. In 1917 he composed his opera
Œdipe (
Oedipus), whose manuscript he lost during a trip, so he had to rewrite it and finally premiered it at the Paris Opera in 1936. It was a grandiloquent work, requiring three groups of timpani and machinery to simulate wind.
Croatia was an integral part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (since 1929,
Yugoslavia) was formed in 1918. It became independent in 1991. In 1895, the National Theatre in
Zagreb opened. The first composer to write in his language was
Vatroslav Lisinski:
Ljubav i zloba (
Love and malice, 1846). Later,
Krešimir Baranović was the author of comic operas, such as
Nevjesta od Cetingrada (
The Bride of Cetingrada, 1942). Other authors were:
Blagoje Bersa (
Der Eisenhammer [
The Iron Hammer], 1911;
Der Schuster von Delft [
The Shoemaker of Delft], 1914),
Jakov Gotovac (
Ero s onoga svijeta [
Ero from the Otherworld], 1935)
Slovenia had the same historical development as Croatia. In 1892, the
Ljubljana Opera was founded. The first opera in Slovenian is due to
Jakob Suppan (
Bellin, 1782), now lost. Throughout the 19th century some Slovene composers occasionally devoted themselves to opera, with poor results. In the transition to the 20th century,
Risto Savin stood out (
Lepa Vida [
Beautiful Life], 1907). In
Serbia, under Ottoman rule, opera was not introduced until the last quarter of the 19th century. It became independent in 1882, to become part after World War I of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later Yugoslavia. In 1894 the National Theater (Pozorište Narodno) of
Belgrade was founded. The pioneer of Serbian opera was
Petar Konjović (
Koštana, 1931). The
San Giacomo theater on
Corfu, began hosting a regular opera season as early as 1771 and in 1791, the Ionian-Greek composer
Stefano Pogiago premiered his opera
Gli amanti confusi there.
Greece became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1830. Soon several Italian companies were established and a taste for opera began. In the 19th century, several Greek cities established theatres that staged both drama and opera. In 1864, the
Apollon Theatre opened on the island of
Syros, followed in 1872 by Patras inaugurating its own Apollon Theatre. Later, in 1888 the
Greek Opera was founded in
Athens, since 1939 Royal Opera and, nowadays, National Opera. Finally, in 1895, the city of Piraeus introduced the Piraeus Municipal Theatre. In 1858, the Greek composer
Pavlos Carrer wrote his opera
Marco Bozzari, originally set to an Italian libretto and translated into Greek shortly thereafter. He later followed it with the operas
Kyra Frosini (premiered 1868) and
Despo (premiered 1882).
Spyridon Xyndas, composed some operas in Italian and also the first opera to be set originally to a Greek libretto called
O ypopfisios vouleftis [
The Parliamentary Candidate] (premiered 1888 in Athens). Greek composers frequently developed successful careers beyond the limited Greek opera scene. For example,
Spyridon Samaras operas, such as
Flora Mirabilis (1866) and
La Martire (1894) were well received in Italy and
Napoleon Lambelet who spent several years in London’s West End. In
Armenia, whose territory was divided between Turkey and Russia, opera enjoyed great popularity. The first Armenian opera was due to Tigran Chukhachean (
Arshak Erkrod, 1868). Subsequently, Armen Tigranian (
Anusha, 1912) and
Alexander Spendiaryan (
Almast, 1928) stood out. In Georgia, Italian opera was introduced in the mid-19th century. The first Georgian composer of some renown was
Meliton Balanchivadze, author of
Daredžan Tsviery (
Daredžan the Sly, 1898). Later,
Zakharia Paliashvili (
Abesalom da Eteri, 1919) and
Iona Tuskiya, author of
Rodina (
Homeland, 1939) stood out. In
Azerbaijan there was a traditional genre of sung music, the
mugam. Opera was introduced in the late 19th century: the first Azerbaijani opera
Leyli and Medzhnun (1908), by
Uzeyir Hajibeyov, is considered to be the first Azerbaijani opera. In 1910 the
Tagiyev's Theater (now
Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater) in
Baku opened, which promoted local opera, led by
Müslüm Maqomayev (
Shah Ismail, 1919).
Portugal In
Portugal, Italian opera predominated during the 19th century, with few local productions. In 1793, the
Teatro São Carlos in Lisbon was inaugurated. The first prominent composer was
José Augusto Ferreira Veiga (''L'elisir di giovinezza
, 1876; Dina la derelitta'', 1885).
Spain '' by
Vincenzo Bellini at the
Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona (1847) In Spain it is not possible to speak of nationalism as such: a Spanish nationality was not claimed against a foreign dominator, no patriotic identities or lost cultural essences were asserted, no formulas from the past were sought, neither popular legends nor traditional folklore were resorted to. On the other hand, the different regional modalities of popular music were used (
Andalusian,
Asturian, Aragonese,
Catalan, Basque, Galician), together with a certain orientalist influence fashionable in Europe and considered here as more genuine because of the
Andalusian past of the
Iberian Peninsula. During practically the first half of the century the influence of Italian opera, especially Rossinian opera, continued. Some composers followed that line, such as
Baltasar Saldoni and
Hilarión Eslava. In 1832 the
Teatro Principal in
Valencia was inaugurated, in 1847 the
Gran Teatro del Liceo in
Barcelona and, in 1850, the
Teatro Real in
Madrid. '' (1895), by
Tomás Bretón Other pioneers were
Ruperto Chapí and
Tomás Bretón. Chapí studied in Paris thanks to a scholarship obtained after composing the short opera
Las naves de Cortés (1874). In 1876 he premiered
La hija de Jefté at the Teatro Real. From then on he devoted himself mainly to zarzuela, but still composed several operas, such as
Roger de Flor (1878),
Circe (1902) and
Margarita la tornera (1909). Bretón studied in Italy and Vienna. He began with the short opera
Guzmán el Bueno (1878), which was followed by
Los amantes de Teruel (1889),
Garín (1892),
La Dolores (1895) and
Raquel (1900). In some of his works he introduced Spanish folk music, such as a
sardana in
Garín and a
jota in
La Dolores. '' (1916), by
Enrique Granados Among the great composers of the period are
Isaac Albéniz,
Enrique Granados and
Manuel de Falla. Albéniz began in zarzuela, until he signed a contract with an English banker to write operas, the fruit of which were
The Magic Opal (1893),
Henry Clifford (1895),
Pepita Jiménez (1896) and
Merlin (1897–1902), the latter on a cycle based on
King Arthur of which he only made this first title. Granados achieved fame with his piano pieces. In 1898 he premiered his opera
María del Carmen, close to zarzuela. Later, he adapted several compositions for piano in his opera
Goyescas (1916), which he premiered at the Metropolitan in New York. Falla, one of the best modern Spanish composers, combined musical nationalism —with some influence of the Norwegian
Edvard Grieg— with
impressionism, which he met during a stay in France. Although he was not very prolific in opera, he left two notable works:
La vida breve (1913) and
El retablo de Maese Pedro (1923). He began an adaptation of
La Atlántida by
Jacinto Verdaguer, which was completed by
Ernesto Halffter and premiered in 1962 as
Atlántida. Other exponents were:
Enric Morera, who began in opera with
La fada (1897), in Wagnerian style. In 1906 he premiered two works at the Liceo de Barcelona,
Bruniselda and
Emporium, followed by
Titaina (1912) and
Tassarba (1916).
Amadeo Vives was a pupil of Pedrell and, together with
Lluís Millet, founder of the
Orfeó Català. In 1897 he premiered his first opera,
Artús, followed by ''Euda d'Uriac
(1900), Colomba
(1910), Maruxa (1914) and Balada de Carnaval
(1919). Jesús Guridi was a professor of organ at the Madrid Conservatory. He composed two operas: Mirentxu
(1910, in Basque) and Amaya
(1920). Jaume Pahissa, a pupil of Enric Morera, wrote several operas in Catalan, such as Gal-la Placídia
(1913), La morisca
(1919), Marianela
(1923) and La princesa Margarida
(1928). Joaquín Turina met Falla and Albéniz in Paris, through whose influence he turned to Spanish national music, with a certain impressionist influence. His most relevant opera is Jardín de Oriente'' (1923). Also worth mentioning are:
Conrado del Campo (Fantochines, 1923; Lola, la piconera, 1950),
Óscar Esplá (La bella durmiente, 1909),
Joan Lamote de Grignon (Hesperia, 1907),
Juan Manén (Giovanna di Napoli, 1903; Acté, 1904),
Manuel Penella Moreno (
El gato montés, 1917;
Don Gil de Alcalá, 1932),
Emilio Serrano (
Doña Juana la Loca, 1890; Irene de Otranto, 1891) and
Eduard Toldrà (
El giravolt de maig, 1928). It was then differentiated into "
género grande" and "
género chico", the former divided into three acts and the latter composed of only one. It included sung and spoken parts, as well as popular dances, with a generally costumbrista theme —especially casticista— and comic tendency. Among its exponents are:
Cristóbal Oudrid (
Buenas noches, señor don Simón, 1852;
El postillón de La Rioja, 1856),
Emilio Arrieta (
El grumete, 1853;
Marina, 1855;
La suegra del Diablo, 1867;
Las fuentes del Prado, 1870),
Joaquín Gaztambide (
Catalina, 1854;
Los magiares, 1857;
El juramento, 1858), and
Ruperto Chapí (
La tempestad, 1883;
La bruja, 1887;
El rey que rabió, 1891).
Ruperto Chapí (
La Revoltosa, 1897;
El puñao de rosas, 1902),
Gerónimo Giménez (
El baile de Luis Alonso, 1896;
La boda de Luis Alonso, 1897;
La tempranica, 1900),
Amadeo Vives (
La balada de la luz, 1900;
Bohemios, 1903;
Doña Francisquita, 1923),
Vicente Lleó Balbastre (
La corte de Faraón, 1910),
Pablo Luna (
Molinos de viento, 1910;
Los cadetes de la reina, 1913;
El asombro de Damasco, 1916;
El niño judío, 1918),
José María Usandizaga (
The Swallows 1914),
Francisco Alonso (
La linda tapada, 1924;
Las Leandras, 1931),
Jacinto Guerrero (
Los gavilanes, 1923;
El huésped del sevillano, 1926;
La rosa del azafrán, 1930),
Jesús Guridi (
El caserío, 1926;
La meiga, 1928;
Peñamariana, 1944), After the
Spanish Civil War, zarzuela was in decline, until its virtual disappearance in the 1960s. Today, the classics of the genre are still performed, but there is no new production. Other authors were: Pascual De Rogatis (
Huémac, 1916), The first attempts in Portuguese were by composers such as
Francisco Braga (
O contractador de diamantes, 1901) and
Oscar Lorenzo Fernández (
Malazarte, 1921). In
Colombia, the first production was
Ester (1874), by
José María Ponce de León. In Chile,
Telésfora (1841), by
Aquinas Ried.
Cuba began in the operatic tradition while a Spanish colony. Throughout the 19th century, Italian opera triumphed above all. In 1875,
Laureano Fuentes Matons composed the first Cuban opera,
La hija de Jefté. Later,
Ignacio Cervantes (
Los Saltimbanquis, 1899) and
Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes (
El náufrago, 1901). There were also composers of zarzuelas, such as
Ernesto Lecuona (
María la O, 1930;
El cafetal, 1930) and
Eliseo Grenet (
Niña Rita, 1927;
La virgen morena, 1928). In
Guatemala, Italian opera was introduced in the early 19th century. In 1859 the Teatro Carrera, later called Nacional and, since 1886, Colón, was inaugurated. The first local opera was
La mora generosa (1850), by
José Escolástico Andrino. Already in the 20th century,
Jesús Castillo (
Quiché Vinak, 1924) stood out. Mexico had an operatic tradition from its colonial past: a Mexican opera,
La Parténope (1711), by
Manuel de Sumaya, was produced as early as the 18th century. The opera tradition was centered in
Mexico City (Palacio de Bellas Artes, inaugurated in 1934) and cities such as
Guanajuato and
Guadalajara. In the early 19th century Italian opera predominated, until the second half saw the first local productions with authors such as
Melesio Morales (
Romeo and Juliet, 1863;
Ildegonda, 1866;
Gino Corsini, 1877),
Aniceto Ortega (
Guatemotzin, 1871),
Felipe Villanueva (
Keofar, 1892),
Ricardo Castro (
Atzimba, 1900) and
Gustavo Campa (
El rey poeta, 1901). In
Nicaragua,
Luis Abraham Delgadillo was outstanding:
Final de Norma (1930),
Mabaltayán (1942). In
Uruguay, the
Teatro Solís in Montevideo, the country's main operatic center, was opened in 1856. Among its composers were:
Tomás Giribaldi (
La Parisina, 1878),
Alfonso Broqua (
Tabaré, 1888),
León Ribeiro (
Colón, 1892;
Liropeya, 1912),
Manuel M. Ponce (
El patio florido, 1913) and
Carlos Pedrell (
Ardid de amor, 1917;
La guitarra, 1924). Verist composers denoted the influence of Verdi and Wagner, although they broke with the Romantic tradition. The music was continuous, transcomposed in the Wagnerian style, without
cabaletta and with arias without a fixed standard. They eliminated overtures, but added
intermezzi, of a showy orchestration of dramatic tone. The voice was taken to the limit of its expressive possibilities. In verismo, leading roles were even given to villains and reprehensible characters, such as murderers, pimps, prostitutes and other characters of low extraction. However, over time, the didactic message that verismo sought to convey drifted into sensationalist plots, which together with colorful and gimmicky orchestration reflected the new tastes of the public. Leoncavallo composed his first opera at the age of nineteen (
Chatterton, 1876). Following a commission from the publisher
Giulio Ricordi, he undertook a trilogy in the Wagnerian style, which he never completed. After a time in which he devoted himself mainly to writing, the success of
Cavalleria rusticana encouraged him again and he composed his greatest success,
Pagliacci (1892), a tragic story about four itinerant actors, with libretto written by himself. His next works were not so successful:
I Medici (1893),
La bohème (1897) and
Zazà (1900).
, from Cavalleria rusticana'', opera by
Pietro Mascagni (1890) The most outstanding composer of this trend was
Giacomo Puccini. A pupil of Ponchielli, he had a great instinct for suggestive melodies and passionate plots, as well as for combining music and drama in perfect harmony, always with the voice as the central axis of his composition. An admirer of Wagner, he used the
leitmotiv in several of his works. He had a first success with
Le Villi (
The Willis, 1884), but for various reasons his next operatic work,
Edgar (1889), which was not well received, was delayed. He did achieve great success with
Manon Lescaut (1893), which brought him fame and fortune. In collaboration with librettists
Giuseppe Giacosa and
Luigi Illica he created his three most relevant operas:
La Bohème (1896),
Tosca (1900) and
Madama Butterfly (1904). The former, about Parisian bohemian life, blended tragedy, passion and humor, along with seductive music that greatly pleased audiences. Tosca
presented an equally tragic plot enhanced by musical dissonances and twisted harmonies, with one of the most complex female roles ever sketched. Her aria E lucevan le stelle ''is one of the opera's most famous, also known as the
Farewell to Life.
Madama Butterfly is set in Japan, in keeping with the exotic taste of the time. Although it was not well received at its premiere, over time its tonal coloring and harmonic language have been appreciated. It includes the famous aria
Un bel dì, vedremo.'' as
Madama Butterfly In 1910 he premiered in New York
La fanciulla del West (
The Girl from the West). After
La rondine (
La golondrina, 1917), his next project was
Il trittico (
The Triptych), a set of three operas to be performed in a single session:
Il tabarro (
The tabard),
Suor Angelica and
Gianni Schicchi (1918). His last opera was
Turandot, on which he worked between 1920 and the year of his death (1924), and which was completed by
Franco Alfano and premiered in 1926. In this work he synthesized his musical style: conjunction of drama and music, real characters of great emotional force and music of great symphonic intensity. It includes the famous aria
Nessun dorma. Other prominent composers of verismo were
Umberto Giordano and
Francesco Cilea. Giordano began in Sanzogno's competition with the one-act opera
Marina (1889). It was followed by
Mala vita (1892) and
Regina Diaz (1894). He achieved his greatest success with
Andrea Chénier (1896), with libretto by Luigi Illica. He repeated success with
Fedora (1898), which was followed by a series of failures, until he renewed fame with
La cena delle beffe (
The Supper of Mockery, 1924). in which he combined verismo with a certain bel canto.
, aria from Tosca'' (1900), by Giacomo Puccini Otros exponentes fueron:
Franco Alfano (
Resurrection, 1904),
Alberto Franchetti (
Christopher Columbus, 1892;
Germany, 1902),
Franco Leoni (
The Oracle, 1905;
Francesca da Rimini, 1914),
Giacomo Orefice (
Chopin, 1901;
The Moses, 1905) and
Antonio Smareglia (
Istrian Wedding, 1895;
The Moth, 1897). '' (1900), by Gustave Charpentier Close to verismo, but with a more personal style is
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari. A student of Arrigo Boito, he was an inconstant composer, who seemed not to find his own style. He made veristic works, as well as serious and comic operas, among which stand out:
Cenerentola (1900),
Le donne curiose (1903),
I quatro rusteghi (1906),
Il segreto di Susanna (1909) and ''
L'amore medico'' (1913), which have not lasted in the operatic repertoire. In the 1910s this style evolved towards a so-called post-Verismo, characterized by the strong influence of the writer
Gabriele D'Annunzio and a stronger link to
Italian nationalism. Prominent in this current were
Italo Montemezzi and
Riccardo Zandonai. The former, a largely self-taught composer and conductor, had great success with his first two operas,
Giovanni Gallurese (1905) and ''
L'amore dei tre re (1913). He later produced La nave (1918), La notte di Zoraima
(1931) and L'incantesimo (1943). Zandonai attracted the attention of the publisher Ricordi with La coppa del re
(1907), so he commissioned an opera, Il grillo del focolare
(1908), based on a Dickens short story. His first great success was Francesca da Rimini (1914), based on an episode of the Divine Comedy by Dante. He developed a more original style in Giulietta e Romeo
(1922), which was followed by I cavalieri di Ekebù (1925). He left his last opera, Il bacio unfinished. Mention should also be made of Alfredo Casella, a composer of cosmopolitan style who was also influenced by post-Romantic and impressionism, author of La donna serpente'' (1929). Outside Italy, the veristic influence is denoted in the work of the French
Gustave Charpentier. He was a pupil of Massenet and, in 1887, won the Rome prize. It was in that city that he was infected by the verist atmosphere and composed his most famous opera,
Louise (1900), the love story of two young people from
Montmartre, with libretto by
Saint-Pol-Roux. Also in France,
Alfred Bruneau set to music several texts by Émile Zola, such as
Le rêve (1891), ''L'Attaque du moulin
(1893), Messidor (1897), L'Ouragan
(1901) and L'Enfant roi
(1905). Henry Février was the author of Monna Vanna'' (1909), on a text by
Maurice Maeterlinck, a semi-Viverist work of symbolist inspiration. In Germany,
Eugen d'Albert was a prolific composer, author of some twenty operas, including
Die Abreise (
The Departure Journey, 1898) and
Tiefland (1903), the latter based on
Lowland by
Ángel Guimerá. The Greek
Spyridon Samaras was the author of operas in Italian in the veristic style:
La martire (1894),
La furia domata (1895),
Rhea (1908).
Post-romanticism Between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries there was the post-Romanticism, which as its name suggests was an evolution of Romanticism based on more modern premises, but maintaining the same spirit that characterized that movement. The main influence of this style was Wagner, so it is sometimes also called post-Wagnerism. Its main representative was
Richard Strauss, who was noted for his harmonic creativity and mastery of orchestration. Under Wagner's influence he started in opera with
Guntram (1894) and
Feuersnot (
The Need for Fire, 1901), which failed. On the other hand, he enjoyed public favor with
Salome (1905), based on the play of the same name by
Oscar Wilde, despite the scandal caused by the erotic charge of the plot. Since then he began a collaboration with the Austrian playwright
Hugo von Hofmannsthal, who wrote most of his librettos. Their first joint work was
Elektra (1909), which was followed by
Der Rosenkavalier (
The Knight of the Rose, 1911),
Ariadne auf Naxos (1912),
Die Frau ohne Schatten (
The Woman Without a Shadow, 1919),
Die ägyptische Helena (
The Egyptian Helen, 1928) and
Arabella (1933). He later counted on
Stefan Zweig for
Die schweigsame Frau (
The Silent Woman, 1935) and on
Joseph Gregor for
Friedenstag (
Day of Peace, 1938),
Daphne (1938) and
Die Liebe der Danae (''Danae's Love
, 1940). His last opera was Capriccio'' (1942). In these works he introduced a new harmonic language that crossed traditional tonal boundaries, with passionate sounds that could include screams and other guttural sounds, thus anticipating later
expressionism. '' (1905), by
Richard Strauss Other exponents were
Engelbert Humperdinck,
Alexander von Zemlinsky and
Hans Pfitzner. Humperdinck was a gifted student, who in 1881 met Wagner, who took him on as an assistant for the production of
Parsifal. However, his production was oriented towards a simpler line, as in
Hänsel und Gretel (1893), his first and most successful opera, based on the fairy tale by the
Brothers Grimm. He chose the same authors for his next project,
Die sieben Geißlein (
The Seven Children, 1898), which was not so successful. After several more failures, he succeeded with
Königskinder (''The King's Children
, 1910), more Wagnerian in style. Pfitzner was influenced by Schumann and Wagner, noticeable in his early operas: Der arme Heinrich (Poor Heinrich
, 1893) and Die Rose vom Liebesgarten
(The Rose in the Garden of Love
, 1900). His greatest success was Palestrina (1917), a major work on the position of the artist in society. His next works, Von deutscher Seele
(Of the German Soul
, 1921) and Das dunkle Reich
(The Dark Kingdom'', 1929), expressed his ideas about a "pure" German music. '' (1893), by
Engelbert Humperdinck The Austrian
Erich Wolfgang Korngold was considered a child prodigy, and aroused the admiration of Mahler, Puccini and Strauss. His first operas were
Der Ring des Polykrates (
The Ring of Polycrates, 1916),
Violanta (1916) and
Die Tote Stadt (
The Dead City, 1920), of late romanticism.
Das Wunder der Heliane (
The Miracle of Heliane, 1927) was a work of a certain eroticism with a score conceived on an epic scale that creates great difficulty for the performers. With the establishment of the
Anschluss in 1938, he emigrated to the United States, where he composed film scores and won two Oscars. In the Germanic field it is also worth mentioning:
Wilhelm Kienzl (
Der Evangelimann [
The Evangelist], 1895),
Max von Schillings (
Moloch, 1900;
Mona Lisa, 1915),
Siegfried Wagner —son of Richard Wagner— (
Der Bärenhäuter [
The Bearskin], 1899;
Der Kobold [
The Goblin], 1904;
Der Schmied von Marienburg [
The Blacksmith of Marienburg], 1923) and
Hugo Wolf (
Der Corregidor, 1895). The British
Rutland Boughton attempted to establish an "English-style Wagnerism", with operas such as
The Immortal Hour (1922),
Alkestis (1922),
The Queen of Cornwall (1924) and
The Lily Maid (1934). In France,
Gabriel Fauré showed a clear Wagnerian influence in his opera
Pénélope (1913).
Jean Nouguès was the author of
Quo Vadis? (1909), on
Henryk Sienkiewicz's novel, a work of an ambitious staging that included
circus animals. In Italy,
Luigi Mancinelli showed a clearly Wagnerian style, although with a more cosmopolitan component, not as Germanized as that of other followers of the German composer. His two best works were
Ero e Leandro (1897) and
Paolo e Francesca (1907).
Impressionism in a performance of
Pelléas et Mélisande by
Claude Debussy (1908) Like his
pictorial homologue,
impressionism arose in France, with a desire to modernize musical conception, which developed between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. As in painting, it was intended to capture the sensations that the artist produced the surrounding world, with a basis of reality, but interpreted subjectively. Influenced by symbolist poetry (
Verlaine,
Baudelaire,
Mallarmé), they also sought a new language confronting both the formal purism of classicism and the passionate violence of Romanticism. To this end,
Claude Debussy, its main representative, resorted to a scale of tones not used until then, whole tones and complex intervals from the ninth onwards, as well as intervals of parallel fourths and fifths. Claude Debussy began several operatic projects that he left unfinished-a couple on stories by
Edgar Allan Poe and one on
Cid entitled
Rodrigue et Chimène—until he found a project that fascinated him:
Pelléas et Mélisande (1902), on a work by
Maurice Maeterlinck. It was his only opera, but a masterpiece. Despite its simple plot – a love rivalry between two brothers and a young girl – Debussy created a profound and moving work, evocative and suggestive, that is still novel today. With this work he initiated the genre of
literary opera (
Literaturoper), a type of opera based on literary texts respected in their integrity which, while they can be reduced, cannot be altered in their essence, and which are declaimed in the style of the Russian
opéra dialogué and presented in transcomposed form. , one of the most famous tenors of all times In France,
Maurice Ravel and
Paul Dukas also stood out. Ravel was a convinced anti-Wagnerian, who eagerly searched for his own style. He was very meticulous and nonconformist in his work, so he continually revised his works, which explains his scarce production. With a Basque mother, he felt great attraction for Spanish culture, which is evident in his first opera, ''L'heure espagnole
(La hora española
, 1911), a one-act comic work, with sound effects of machines and clocks. His next opera was L'enfant et les sortilèges
(1925), with a libretto by Colette. Dukas initially accused Wagnerian influence, as denoted in Horn et Riemenhild
(1892) and L'arbre de science
(1899), which he left unfinished. He completed only one opera, Ariane et Barbe-bleu
(1907), based on the text by Maurice Maeterlinck, where he mixed Wagnerian chromaticism with the pentatonic scale used by Debussy. His first two operas were of comic genre: Re Enzo
(1905) and Semirâma
(1910). He subsequently produced Belfagor
(1923), La campana sommersa
(1927), La Fiamma
(1934) and Lucrezia'' (1937). British
Frederick Delius approached impressionism departing from Wagnerian influence. He only turned to opera early in his career:
Koanga (1904),
A Village Romeo and Juliet (1907),
Fennimore and Gerda (1919). The Swiss
Ernest Bloch brought together the influence of Debussy with that of Richard Strauss. He produced a single opera,
Macbeth (1910). In 1916 he emigrated to the United States, where he began an opera that he left unfinished,
Jezebel == 20th century ==