12. Baroque Opera, Part 2

Overview

Jacopo Peri’s new stile rappresentativo (recitative) was markedly more expressive of emotion than the prevailing madrigal style. Early opera was based on recitative, which moves the dramatic action forward rather than allowing the singer to reflect on the action. Claudio Monteverdi’s recitative is the most dramatically expressive and melodically interesting ever written. His opera Orfeo is a magnificent synthesis of virtually every musical style and technique available during his time. The operatic aria evolved in the 1660s and soon became the focal point of opera, to the eventual debasement of recitative. The aria functions as a passage of reflection, to express feelings, and as a means of character development. The aria “Dido’s Lament” from Henry Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas is one of the great examples of operatic expressivity in the Baroque Era.

Cast