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4th Quarter
 UNIT 4: WESTERN CLASSICAL PLAYS AND OPERA
OVERVIEW:
Does art define one's culture? Does art have boundaries? When is art essential to our
lives? How can one's work of art communicate different messages to different people? What
life skills can we learn from the art of drawing, painting, sculpting, printmaking, and craft
making? How can we integrate and synthesize these visual art processes with literature,
dance, and music?
This unit focuses on how theatrical elements such as sound, music, gesture,
movement, props, and costumes affect the creation and communication of meaning in
Western Classical plays and operas as influenced by history and culture. These performances
can be considered as the syntheses of the beauty of the arts.
SUMMARY OF LESSON NUMBER, TITLES AND COMPETENCIES.

MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING

LESSON NUMBER TITLE
COMPETENCY
• identifies selected theatrical forms from
Lesson 1 Arts and History of different art periods
Greek and Roman • researches on the history of the
Theaters theatrical forms and their evolution;
• identifies the elements and principles of
Lesson 2 Arts and History of the arts as manifested in Western Classical
Renaissance Theaters plays and opera;
• defines what makes selected western
classical plays and operas unique
through visual representation;
Lesson 3 Arts and History of the • designs the visual elements and
Romantic Theaters components of the selected Western
classical theater play and opera through
costumes, props, etc.;
• analyzes the uniqueness of each group’s
performance of its selected Western
classical theater play and opera;
• shows the influences of the selected
Western Classical play or opera on
Philippine theatrical performance in
terms of form and content of story;
• choreographs the movements and
gestures needed in the effective delivery
of a selected piece from Western
Classical plays and opera.

SOURCE
BOOK TITLE AUTHOR/S
Quennie S. Miranda
Laura R. Jugueta
Guinevere E. Sacdalan
Maria Teresa R. San Jose
MAPEH for today’s learner 9
Coordinator:
MARIA TERESA C. BAYLE

Project Director
SR. JOSEFINA F. NEBRES, ICM
 Let’s check!

I. PRE-ASSESSMENT. Write down your understanding of the following terms. Explain your
answers briefly.
1. THEATER
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_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. DRAMA
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_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________

II. PRE-ASSESSMENT. Write down the description of the three forms of Renaissance Drama.
Fill the table with the necessary information.

Form of Renaissance Drama Description

1. Tragedy

2. Comedy

3. Pastoral
 Lesson Arts and History of

1 Greek and Roman

Theaters

Let’s start!
GREEK THEATER
Theater is where the playwrights write scripts; directors oversee and lead the
rehearsals; prop, stage, and costume designers, and technical crew work behind-the-scenes;
and actors perform on stage. These people work collaboratively and act each one's important
roles in a theater. Theater will never be completed until an audience is there to experience
the combined arts as an output of these people.
On how exactly theater began during the prehistoric era is still unknown. Some
believed that prehistoric hunters acted out stories about their hunting expeditions.
The first recorded form of European theater started in Athens, Greece. It began around
the sixth century BCE during religious festivals in honor of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine
and fertility. It is believed that a poet named Thespis won a dramatic play competition at the
festival. Thespis was considered as the first actor, which is why actors are sometimes referred
to as thespians. He also introduced the use of masks in Greek theaters. These masks depict
the expressions of age and emotions. During those times, women were not allowed to perform.
Men wore female masks and playa their parts.
There were two types of Greek plays: comedy and tragedy. The comedy had a broad
definition: it was any sort of play that made people laugh. The ancient Greek comedies had
different distinct phases.
The tragedy, on the other hand, was an influential and popular form of drama. The
most famous playwrights of this genre were Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Most of
their works were still performed for centuries. Greek tragedy led to Greek comedy. These
genres formed the groundwork upon which all modern theater is based. In a Greek theater,
the tragedy is the most admired type of play.
The Greek Tragedy was performed in an open-theater called theatron. The plot of a
tragedy was almost always inspired by episodes from Greek Mythology. The stories usually
dealt with moral rights and wrongs.
Parts of a Greek theater

PARTS OF A GREEK THEATER DESCRIPTION

✓ Broad curving latitudinal passageways and
Diazomata
walkways that intersect with vertical stairways

Kerkides ✓ Divider of the seating areas into sections

✓ Cavea means “enclosure”
✓ Seating area that was organized in different
sections that corresponded to the social class of
Theatron/Koilon/Cavea the viewers
✓ Originally referred to as the audience space.
✓ Entire auditorium for audience and performance
✓ Influenced the Roman Cavea
✓ Root word: Proherdriai, which means in front of or
around the orchestra.
Prohedia
✓ Most honored seats reserved especially for priests,
notably the priests of Dionysus and dignitaries
✓ Constructed in a circular manner, semi-circular
Orchestra for Roman theater
✓ Stage for performance
✓ Tent behind the orchestra where the backdrop is
Skene hung and where the actors can hide and change
their costumes.

Greek Actors’ costumes and props

1. Mask
• Constructed out of lightweight materials such
as wood, linen, cork, and sometimes real hair.
• Helped define the characters of the actors
through exaggerated expressions
• Allowed the actor to play more than one role or
other gender
• Helped audience in the far seated areas see and
even hear the characters better by projecting
sound somewhat like a small megaphone.
• Could be life-like (tragedy) or ugly and funny (comedy)
 2. Costumes
• Helped indicate the social status, gender,
and age of a character
• Made more elaborate and decorated than
everyday clothing, such as a tunic or
overgarment known as peplos, for Athenian
characters
• Could be buskins or raised platform shoes
symbolizing superior status (tragic actors) or
plain socks (comic actors)
• Could be body stockings to make actors'
bodies appear feminine when depicting women
or even animal costumes when depicting
wildlife
3. Props
• Could be a crown to represent a king; a lyre for a musician; a walking stick to suggest
age; a caduceus for a messenger; spears and helmets to suggest military men
• Created and provided by a props-maker (skeuopoios) to the actors
• Used for symbolism
Oedipus Rex: A Greek Drama
Oedipus Rex or Oedipus the King is a Greek drama of
Athenian tragedy by Sophocles. It was initially performed
around 429 BCE. It was the second to be written in the
trilogy, preceded by Oedipus at Colonus (401 BCE) and
followed by Antigone (441 BCE). However, in the chronology
of the events, Oedipus Rex came first.
When King Laius learned from the oracle that he will
be killed by his own son, he tightly bound Oedipus' legs and
ordered Queen Jocasta to kill their son. Jocasta was hesitant
so she ordered a servant to do it for her. Instead of killing
young Oedipus, the servant took him to the mountain top
and let him die. A shepherd rescued and named him
Louis Bouwmeester Oedipus, which means “swollen feet.” The shepherd took
as Oedipus in a Dutch Oedipus to Corinth. King Polybus of Corinth was childless so
Production of he adopted Oedipus and raised him as his own.
Oedipus the King (1896
Oedipus, already a young man, heard a rumor that he
is not the true son of the king of Corinth. He went to an oracle to know the answer, but the
oracle just ignored the questions and instead told Oedipus that he will marry his own mother
and kill his father. Oedipus believed the oracle. To avoid his fate, he left Corinth and went to
Thebes to cause no harm to his parents.
While traveling, he had a quarrel with a stranger who happened to be King Laius, his
real father. Laius stroke Oedipus with his scepter but Oedipus was much stronger than him.
He threw Laius from his chariot that instantly killed him. In that moment, Oedipus had
unknowingly fulfilled his fate:
Before passing through Thebes, he successfully solved the riddle of the Sphinx.
According to Greek mythology, the Sphinx guarded the entrance of the city of Thebes. As a
reward, he won the hand of Queen Jocasta, his real mother.
A man arrived from Corinth and told Oedipus that his father was dead. Oedipus began
his search for the murderer of his father to end the ravaging plague in · Thebes, unmindful
that the murderer he was looking for was no other than himself.
At the end of the story, Jocasta hung herself. Oedipus, horrified, gouged out his eyes
out of misery.
 Oedipus Rexis a psychological murder mystery and a political thriller. In the allegorical
story, Sophocles highlighted the irony of a man determined to track down, expose, and
punish an assassin. It was regarded as a masterpiece of ancient Greek tragedy. Based on
Aristotle's analysis, a tragedy must be an imitation of life in the form of a serious story that
is complete—it must be realistic and in focus.
ROMAN THEATER
In 300 BCE, the Romans were inspired by the arts and culture of the Greeks, which
includes its form of theater. Unlike the Greeks, comedy plays were more popular among the
Romans.
In Roman theater, slaves acted as performers. Women were also permitted to appear
on stage but were not given any significant roles. The Roman theater was also used for chariot
races, gladiator and animal contests, and even public executions. For two centuries, they
built about 125 structures and eventually, their theaters staged violence and offensive
humor. Christians disapproved and closed all the theaters.
In the Roman world, tragedy plays were translated and imitated in Latin. The genre
gave rise to a new form of art from the first century BCE.
Parts of a Roman Amphitheater
The ancient Romans performed their plays in an
amphitheater. Amphitheaters during those times consisted
of two separate structures: a horse-shoe-shaped seating
area and a free-standing stage building. These buildings
were semicircular and possessed certain natural
architectural structures with minor differences depending
on the area or region in which they were constructed. The
horseshoe shape type of amphitheater was characterized by
an elliptical seating area enclosing a flat performance space.
The two structures were entirely different with specific
layouts that lend events they held.
Amphitheater was derived from the Greek words
amphi, which means "two," and theatros, which means
"theater." However, the result is two semicircular plans and
not an oval shape. The Romans changed the idea to enlarge
the area for performance: the arena.

Colosseum (Façade) Colosseum (Aerial Shot)

Colosseum was coined to refer to the amphitheater. Colosseum Coliseum is an oval
amphitheater built in the center of Rome, Italy. It was built of concrete and sand. It is the
largest amphitheater ever built by Flavian dynasty. It was named in Latin for its association
with their family name Flavius. Thus, it is also named as Flavian Amphitheater.
Roman Theater Costumes and Props
The Roman theater costumes mirrored the traditional Greek clothing. They had a
standard design called chiton, a long robe that was derived from the Greek tunic. A heavier
drape or a cloak called himation was usually worn over a chiton. The costumes were often
colored to depict the gender and rank of the character.
The audience can identify the actors' role through the color of their costumes and props.
Color Character’s Description
Purple Rich man, Emperor
Red Poor Man
Yellow Woman
Yellow Tassel God

To depict the character of a boy, the actors wore togas while the soldiers wore short
cloaks. Short tunics indicated the role of a slave. Roman actors wore sandals called boxa.
Woven leaves of palms were used to make the bottom of the shoe. It was somehow like the
modern day flipflops.
 Lesson
Arts and History of the
2 Renaissance Theaters

Let’s start!
RENAISSANCE THEATER AND OPERA
During the sixteenth century, the
rebirth and growth in every area of arta were
evident. In this era, varied theoretical
approaches set the guidelines for
playwrights to follow. The Renaissance
artists and architects designed new
theaters—from seating arrangements, stage
design, even the mechanics of shifting
scenes. Unlike the Classical era, women
could already perform onstage for the entire
show. This practice spread throughout
Europe During the Classical era, there were
only two forms of drama. During the
Renaissance, there were already three. They
were:
1. Tragedy – Examples are Sofonisba (1524) by Gian Giorgio Trissino and Orbecche
(1541) by Giovanni Batista Giraldi or Cinzio.
2. Comedy – The styles of the comedy were originally copied from the Roman or Greek
settings. However, around in 1540, comedy also evolved to Italian subjects and
settings.
3. Pastoral – The form exhibited a love story that featured romanticized characters such
as shepherds and shepherdess, nymphs, and satyrs in a romantic rural setting.
Toward the end of the sixteenth century, the Florentine Camerata, a group of
humanists, attempted to recreate Greek tragedy with chorus, music, dance, and plots from
mythology. However, the Camerata believed that Greek tragedies were sung or chanted. As a
result, the audience during this era loved and appreciated the arts present in the theatrical
productions: The first opera was Dafne in 1594. The first known great operatic composer was
Claudio Monteverdi who highlighted the musical aspect and pioneered the development of
opera, example of which was the L'Orfeo in 1607. BY 1650, opera's popularity grew
throughout Italy and other parts of Europe.
Development of the Italian Stage
The revival of the theater building was first sponsored during the sixteenth century
courts and academies in Northern Italy. This action was part of the general renewal of interest
by the Italians in the classical heritage of Greece and Rome. During those times, every duke
that ruled an Italian state had a theater. These dukes were very competitive. They even fought
for the services of the painters, sculptors, architects, and innovators stagecraft. Artists like
Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael; musician like Monteverdi; and poets like Tasso
strove to please the patrons.
The Classical era's architectural styles of theaters extended to the Renaissance era's
development of architecture. The ruins of Classical theaters were studied as models.
However, there were new conditions that basically affected some changes in the Classical
theater designs. The Renaissance theaters were moved indoors, giving rise to problems of
lighting and acoustics. They also formulated theories on the laws of perspective painting. The
perspective painting's application to stage and scenic design brought an intense change in
the effect of the stage on an audience viewpoint.
One of the first results of these changes was the Terence Stage, which was built
between the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century. The theater has a continuous wall
façade that was divided into a series of curtained openings. Each one represented the house
of a different character. The façade was at the back of the platform that served as the acting
space. They soon added a perspective painting. This is evident in Ariosto's The Casket in
1508. Conventionalized stage setup was employed.

• For comedy – regular houses

• For tragedy - palaces
• For pastorals - woods
Other stage design developments include various methods of changing scenery such
as groove system, chariot, and pole. The seating configurations that exist in the modern
theaters of today like box, pit, and gallery started during this era. By mid-seventeenth
century, Italian architecture and stage design practices were set and remained the standard
until the late of the nineteenth century.
English Renaissance Theater or Elizabethan Theater
The Elizabethan era took place from 1558 to 1603. Historians considered this era as
the golden age in English history. During this period, England experienced peace and
prosperity. Various fields of arts flourished during this period and popularized the theater
arts.
Instituting of large and profitable public theaters was a significant qualifying aspect in
the success of English Renaissance drama. The first permanent English theater, the Red
Lion, opened in 1567. However, it was short-lived and the success of English theater began
a decade later. The critical early development of building theaters was the building of The
Theater by James Burbage in 1576. It was followed by the Curtain Theater in 1577, the Rose
in 1587, the Swan in 1595, the Globe in 1599, the Fortune in 1600, and the Red Bull in
1604.

Globe Theater Fortune Theater Swan Theater

English Renaissance theaters were three stories high and centrally constructed around
an open space. The stage is essentially a platform surrounded on three sides by the audience.
Only the rear is restricted for the entrances and exits of the actors and seating for the
musicians. The balcony is the upper level behind the stage. This kind of design is used in
Romeo and Juliet, Anthony and Cleopatra, or a position in which an actor could rant a crowd
just like in Julius Caesar.
The styles of the English Renaissance theater were also derived from several medieval
traditions like the mystery plays that initiated a part of religious festivals in England. Some
also presented morality plays that attempted to recreate the Greek tragedy. This era may also
be called as early modern English theater or the Elizabethan theater.
This era endowed the humanity with the world's greatest artists in different fields of
arts such as painting, sculpting, architecture, stage and costume designing, and music as
well as in playwrights such as Christopher Marlowe who wrote Doctor Faust, William
Shakespeare who was known for his masterpieces like Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet; Macbeth,
Julius Caesar, Much Ado about Nothing, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night’s
Dream, and a lot more.
Costumes of the English Renaissance Era
The Elizabethan theaters did not make lavish stage
designs, instead they emphasized colors of the costumes. The
clothes in this era were emulated on stage as theater
costumes with inventive and visually enticing bright colors.
Their costumes were expensive. Elizabeth I, who reigned
supreme, had a sublime influence on the people's manner of
dressing especially on women.
With regard to the
performers' costumes,
occasionally, a lead character
would wear a conventionalized version of more historically
authentic clothing, but secondary lead actors would remain in
their ordinary outfit. A woman's garb included the inner
garments, the clothes, and the outer garments. The inner
garments consisted of a singlet corset that was made of
whalebone to pinch the waist, giving an appearance of an
appealing petite body frame.
They also went along with stockings, pantalets, and
underskirt, a stomacher that served as a filler for the deep
neck of dress that was commonly done with intricate
embroidery, and the forepart. The material of the gowns would
depend on the role. They were usually made of coarse cotton,
silk, and velvet.
The use of taffeta and brocade were also popular. Their
dresses were full skirted and sleeved. The Elizabethan era was
known for its high stiff collars. The sleeves were worn apart and
ensembled with shoes, capes, hats, and reticules.
The Men’s Costume, on the other hand, was shirts,
stockings, and even corset too. The outer garment were britches,
doublet, and separate sleeves. This was rounded off with a cape
and hat. Cravats were also an important part of Men’s attire.
 Lesson
Arts and History of the
3 Romantic Theater

Let’s start!
ROMANTIC THEATER OR OPERA
Romantic Theater or Opera
The Romantic period is also known as
the age of independence and the rise of the
middle class. This era went along with nature.
The context of this era exhibited that nature
was something to honor and that nature is
truth. In the past lessons, you have learned
that the Romantic era emphasized emotions
rather than the intellect.
The aristocrats tended to go to the opera
and ballet while the middle class during this period went to the theater. The theater practices
had changed. The sizes increased even more. In theaters and opera houses, visuals became
more important than hearing. In the past eras, the sound was so significant and detailed;
realistic sets were not the norm. The orchestra seats became cheaper. The upper galleries
became the cheapest. Sceneries included drops, flats, and ground rows that were carefully
and realistically painted with natural settings. The theaters and opera houses used candles
or oil lamps, but gaslights were used in 1830. The gaslights' increased illumination had a
better control of lights' intensity but still had wavering flames. Plays and operas produced
various special effects that include flying, trap doors, and water pump systems. Moving
panoramas gave illusion of travel, volcanic eruptions, fires, and the like. The stage presented
an illusion of reality, with various details, and was to be historically and geographically
accurate.
Acting, performance direction in set, costume, and lighting were attempted to be more
realistic as possible. Romanticism involuntarily paved the way for people to accept the
concept of Realism. The movement helped make theater more popular. Unlike in the past
eras, the theater during the Romantic era accepted ordinary people.
This era popularized the art of emotions, the opera. Opera is total art form that joins
music, singing, drama, poetry, painting, sculpting, stage designing, and sometimes dancing.
In each work, all the components of opera combine their expressiveness and beauty.
These components could make a show extraordinary where all human passions and feelings
are at work.
The staging was not an ordinary illustration of a certain work. It carried a concept of
meaning in one's life. The director proposed a view of an opera. This view may be close to the
libretto, and the author's interpretation was more personal. The director transposed the
action to another period or situation or in a timeless context. Example of such was the theme
during a Baroque era can be revealed as very actual.
Opera could recreate and reinvent itself naturally and constantly. Before the rise of the
curtain, nobody from the audience would know what will happen next on the stage, and that
made the show exciting. An example of an opera performed during this era was Carmen
 Carmen was written in four acts by French composer Georges Bizet. It was first
performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on March 3, 1875. The audience was shocked and
scandalized when it was initially shown. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludvic
Halevy. Carmen was based on a novella of the same title by Prosper Merimee.
Bizet died and was unaware that his Carmen would achieve international praises
within the following ten years. Carmen became one of the most popular and frequently
performed operas in the Classical canon.
The songs Habanera" and the "Toreador
Song" were among the best opera arias
ven to this present era. Carmen had been
recorded several times since his first
recording in 1908. The story has been the
subject of films and stage adaptations.
Performances in the theaters and
opera houses in the era of the Romantic
movement synthesized themes of
individualism and self-expression across
literature, art, and music.

Let’s take more!

Manila Grand Opera House

One of the well-known opera
houses in the country was the Manila
Grand Opera House (Maringal na
Bahay-Opera ng Maynila) located in
Santa Cruz, Manila. It was the home for
theater productions, operas, and
sarswelas until the onset of World War
II.
During the 1950s, it was
furnished with state-of-the-art
equipment for both theatrical and
cinematic productions, and was even
dubbed as the "Theater with a History."
It was initially built in the mid-
nineteenth century as a circular wooden structure with a nipa roof known as the H. T.
Hashim's National Cycle Track, which served as the center of Philippine culture and the
primary theater for plays, movies, and sarswelas in Manila before the construction of the
Cultural Center of the Philippines in the 1960s. Currently, it is replaced by the Manila Grand
Opera Hotel.
 Let’s do this!

I. MATCHING TYPE. Match the words in column B with the descriptions in column A. Write
the letter of the correct answer on the space provided before each number.
A B
_______1. It is a Collaborative art of live performers who present real a. Corset
or imagined event through music, dance, and speech before b. Romantic Era
an audience. c. Renaissance
_______2. It is a part of the Greek theater where the actors and chorus d. Amphitheater
perform. e. Orchestra
_______3. It is an open-air venue for sports, entertainment and f. Theater
performances g. Carmen
_______4. It is an enclosed area often circular or oval-shaped for h. Pastoral
theater, musical, performances, or sporting event. i. Arena
_______5. It refers to the divider of the seating areas into sections. j. Colosseum
_______6. A form of Renaissance Theater that exhibits a love story that k. Kerkides
featured romanticized characters.
_______7. It means Rebirth or revival.
_______8. An inner garment that gives an appearance of an appealing
petite body frame.
_______9. An opera written in four acts by the French composer
Georges Bizet.
_______10. It is also known as the age of independence and rise of the
middle class.

II. FILL IN THE TABLE. Fill in the table with the correct information about the color of the
costumes in Roman Theater
Color Character’s Description
1. Rich man, Emperor
2. Red
3. Woman
4. Yellow Tassel

III. Define and Describe the parts of a Renaissance Theater Costume.

Part of the Costume Definition/Description

1. Taffeta

2. Brocade

3. Britches or breeches

4. Doublet

5. Cravat