The parallelism of music and literature were clearly evident in almost all forms of vocal music during

the Romantic Period. Composers interpret, mood, atmosphere and imagery into music. Like all
program music, art song has its inspiration from poetry in this period. Mood is often set at the
beginning with piano introduction and concluded with a piano postlude.
Romantic Artist their subjects were traditional myths, legends, and folklore that usually deal with
the supernatural, grotesque, and less ordinary
Vocal Music this period require singers to perform a greater range of tone color, dynamics and pitch.
Opera became an important source of musical expressions. It was the place where all the arts
converged not only music, but poetry, painting, architecture, and the dance as well.

OPERA COMPOSERS OF THE ROMANTIC PERIOD

FRANZ PETER SCHUBERT

 The proper name for franz Schubert’s songs is actually “Lieder” which is the German word for
“Song”
 Shubert developed lieder so that they had a powerful dramatic impact on the listeners
 He is considered the last of the Classical composers and one of the first Romantic ones
 His famous vocal music works/lieder “Gretchenam Spinnrade” “Erlkonig” “Ellens gesang III”
“Ave maria” and Schwanenge Sang” “Swan Song”
 He also wrote piano pieces, string quartets, operatta and symphony no.8 in B Minor
“unfinished symphony”
 Schubert was born on the 31st January 1797 in Himmefortgrund, Austria and died in 1828 in
Vienna, Austria at age 31

GUISEPPE VERDI

 His characters are ordinary people and not those of the royal family like those found in
German operas
 He insisted on a good libretto and wrote operas with political over tunes and for middle-class
audience
 Verdi was born in Parma, Italy on October 9, 1813. He studied in Busseto and later went to
Milan where his first opera “Oberto” was performed in La Scala
 He completed 25 Operas throughout his career
 Some of his famous operas are still being produced and performed worldwide
 His works “La traviate” “Rigoletto” “Falstaff” “Otello” and “Aida”
 He died in Milan Italy on January 27,1901

GIACOMO PUCCINI

 Giacomo Pucinni was born in a poor family on December 22,1858 in Lucca, Italy
  Puccini real name is Giacomo Antonio Domenicano Michele Secondo Maria Puccini in Lucca
Italy. He was nine of nine children of Michele Puccini and Alnina Magi.
 He studied at the Milan Conservatory. He belonged to a group of composers who stressed
realism. He drew material from everyday life. Rejecting heroic themes from mythology and
history
 Puccini’s early work was rooted in traditional late-19th-century romantic Italian oper. Later, he
succesfully developed his work in the realistic Verismo style, of which he became one of the
leading exponents.
 Puccini’s works: “La Boheme” (1896) “Tosca” (1900) “Madame Butterfly”(1904)and
“Turandot” (1924)

RICHARD WAGNER

 Wilhelm Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany on May 22,1813

 He attended Leipzig University. He was very much inspired by Ludwig Van Beethoven
 Wagner education in Leipzig University St. Thomas school, Leipzig Kreuzschule
 Wagner introduced ideas in harmony and inform include extremes of chrematistic
 He advocate of a new form of opera which he called “music drama” where musical and
dramatic elements were fused together
 The expressiveness is aided standing for a particular by the use of leitmotis or musical
sequences “Tanhauser” “Parsifal” “The Flying Dutchman”
 His works would later influence modern film scores including those of “Harry Potter and
“Lord of the Rings” film series
 Wagner died of a heart attack on February 13,1883 at age of 69

GEORGE BIZET

 George Bizet was registered with the legal name Alexandre-Cesar Leopold Bizet, but was
baptized George Bizet and was always known by their latter name
 He was born October 25,1838 in Paris France
 His most famous opera is “Carmen” first opened in Paris, the reviews were terrible. The
shows were criticized in horrible ways that resulted in poor audience attendance
 Bizet marriage to Genevieve Halevy was intermittenly happy and produced one son.
 After his death his work apart from carmen was generally neglected. Manusript were given
away or lost, and published version of his works were frequenltyrevised and adpted by
other hands.
 Bizet died June 3, 1875. He was only 36
 Bizet won many prizes, including the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1857
 He was recognised as an outstanding pianist, thought he chose not to capitalise on this skill
and rarely performed in public.