11. Baroque Opera, Part 1

Overview

Opera evolved from the late Renaissance intermezzi/intermedi that developed concurrently with the madrigal. Inserted between the acts of stage plays, these sung interludes, which commented in the same way as Greek choruses on the progress of the play, had, by the late 16th century, become an important genre in their own right. Intermezzi, unlike madrigals, tended to utilize solo rather than group singing. Such solo singing was seen as more expressive and more capable of evoking emotional response than group singing, a view adopted by the members of the Florentine Camerata. Equally inspired by their perception of ancient Greek drama, the members of this group invented opera, rejecting polyphony and word painting in favor of solo singing that attempted to evoke the emotions behind the words rather than merely paint the meaning of the words themselves. Jacopo Peri’s invention of recitative made the invention of opera possible.

Cast