Art Song and

Opera of the
Romantic Period
 "Floating, falling, sweet intoxication.
Touch me, trust me, savor each
sensation. Let the dream begin, let your
darker side give in to the power of the
music of the night. "
-Charles Hart, The Phantom of the Opera
 Opera
The opera is described as an entertainment where "intellect and
every noblest sentiment are fascinated at one and the same
moment by the most delectable art ever devised by human
genius" (Gasta,2013). There are so many disciplines included in
an opera such as literature, acting, dancing, costumes, scenery,
and singing in solo and chorus and instrumental music.
The aria forms a very significant part, giving an
opportunity for the leading characters to express
deep feelings of love, farewell, and the like. When
the explanations and storytelling parts are half-
spoken or half-sung, the solo is called the
recitative. The choruses generally express moods
of the opera, depicting stories of abundant love,
joy, grief, or nationalism.
The story of an opera used to be based on the
plays of ancient Greeks, written in verse with
definite metrical patterns. It is arranged in acts and
scenes contained in what is called the libretto or
"little book. When the composer sets the music on
this libretto, the work is called an opera score. A
long opera with a serious story is called grand
opera, while the one with a humorous subject is
called opera comique.
Opera production is very expensive on
account of the involve many experts: the
librettist, the composer, the conductor, the
orchestra players, the singers, the stage
designers, the managers, the technicians,
among others. They must all be persuaded or
compelled to work together harmoniously. A
big theater with all kinds of special
equipment is needed in its presentation.
 Operatta
An operetta is a small opera wherein the characters speak
between songs, unlike in an opera where the entire drama is
set to music. Since the operetta is meant mainly to entertain,
there are lovely cheerful melodies, comic situations, and
light romance. There is no such thing as a tragic operetta,
unlike operas that are mostly tragic.
 Art Song
In the nineteenth century, the art song began with Franz Schubert,
whose extraordinary works for voice and piano along with his
prodigious song output revolutionized the German lied. Thus, a
new intimate genre of short compositions-romantic miniatures-was
born. It is a union of poetry and music. The art song flourished
during the Romantic era.
It is a living musical language that draws on the contemporary
traditions of poetry and song of each country. In Germany and
Austria, where the influence of folk song is exceptionally strong,
the lieder often tell a story through melody and chromatic
harmony. Some famous composers of the early Romantic period
greatly contributed to the art song genre: Robert Schumann,
Johannes Brahms, Felix Mendelssohn, Richard Wagner, Hugo
Wolf, Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler, and Arnold Schoenberg.
 Broadway Music
Broadway theater, commonly known as Broadway, means the theatrical
performances presented in the 41 professional theaters of New York. It has 500
or more seats located in the Theater District and Lincoln Center along
Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The great majority of
Broadway shows are musicals. In Romantic operas, the majority of the songs
are sung, unlike in Broadway musicals. There are also obvious differences in
the style of voice articulation of the performers in opera and Broadway. One
major difference is the use of vibrato or operatic voice in the opera.
Summary of
Class Composers of
the Romantic
Period
The incorporation of drama, visual arts, and music
completes the Romantic expression of music in theatrical
form. Opera, sonata, symphony, lieder, and concerto were
the ideal art form for the people of this era. The Romantic
composers wrote a wide variety of serious and comic opera
styles. To be a composer in this era was to be a composer
of opera. These composers regarded opera compositions as
an important component of their creative output. They were
opera prodigies of the Romantic era.
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
- Richard Wagner was a poet-
musician that dominated the German
music theatre in the late nineteenth
century.
- He was born in Leipzig and came
from a theatrical family. His dream was to
become a poet, but he was overwhelmed
byHIIHII
Beethoven's music and decided to
become a composer. He wrote many
operas, especially German operas. He
called his works music damas, rather than
opera. The music and the drama were of
equal interest.
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
- He had little formal education in
music. He wrote his own librettos, and
applied emotional effects in writing music
to his dramas and composed almost
exclusively for the stage. One of his most
famous works are Tristan and Isolde. This
composition was based on a medieval
romance. His dramas often depended
upon supernatural intervention, which
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dealt completely with human conditions.

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
- He was considered a master of
orchestration. The operas during his time
were on large scale, and sometimes took
four or five hours to perform. His
expressions involve more than spoken
language. Uniting into the texture are
melodic fragments and chords called
leitmotifs (leading motives). It recurs
throughout te work. Each one represents a
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particular character, emotion, idea, event,

or place.
Giuseppe Verde (1913-1901)
- He was a master of theater
techniques and the finest Italian composer
of the nineteenth century.
- He was born near Busseto in Parma,
in northern Italy. He was not a musical
prodigy, and was even rejected for
admission to the Conservatory of Music
in HIIHII
Milan due to his poor piano-playing
technique. Despite this, he stayed in
Milan to study composition. He returned
to Busseto as the town's bandmaster and
went back to Milan after four years to
earn his livelihood as a composer.
Giuseppe Verde (1913-1901)
- Majority of Verdi's works are
serious love stories with unhappy
endings. These characteristics are seen in
some of his famous opera compositions:
Rigoletto (1851), La Forza del Destino
(1861), La Traviata (1853), Otello (1887),
and Aida (1871).
- Otello is based on Shakespeare's
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tragedy. Aida was Verdi's grand opera,
written for the inauguration of the Suez
Canal.
DID YOU KNOW
THAT?
The Triumphal March form Aida is
used as background music during
graduation rites.
Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
- Giacomo Puccini was born in
Lucca, Italy. He came form a long line of
musicians, mostly composers and church
organists. He created some of the best-
loved operas like La Bohème, and
Madama Butterfly. He died before
finishing his last opera, Turandot, which
was completed by a colleague.
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- His excellent sense of theater has
given his operas lasting charm. One of his
musical characteristics was the use of
short melodies but memorable phrases
withi intense emotions.
Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
- The use of timbre was very
significant for him. He used the orchestra
to give emphasis to vocal melody to
suggest mood.
- His La Bohème (Bohemian Life)
was written in Paris in 1830. It is about
the love story of the poor poet Rodolfo
and the equally impoverished seamstress
HIIHII
Mimi.
Franz Schubert (1813-1883)
- Franz Schubert was a composer
who connected th Classical and Romantic
periods.
- He was born in Himmelpfortgrund,
Austria. He was the fourth surviving son
of Franz Theodor and Elisabeth Vietz.
- He and his siblings played string
instruments and formed a string quartet
where he played as violist.
Franz Schubert (1813-1883)
- He got the foundations of music
form his father and his brother Ignaz. He
continued music theory and organ playing
under the instruction of the parish church
organist.
- He also recieved education under
the famous composer Antonio Salieri.
- Aside from viola and organ
instruments, he was also a member of the
church choir and was able to play the
piano and violin. The latter instrument
appointed him to be the concert master of
an orchestra.
Franz Schubert (1813-1883)
- He continued enhancing his musical
gifts and wrote his earliest work, Fantasia
for Piano Duet. It gave him motivation to
write more compositions.
- He had compositions of different
genres, a song, several orchestral
overtures, various pieces of chamber
music, and three string quartets.
- An unfinished operetta on a text by
August von Kotzebue, Der Spiegelritter
(The Looking-Glass Knight), is also
among his works.
Franz Schubert (1813-1883)
- He is noted for the melody and
harmony in his songs (lieder) and
chamber music.
- Among his other works are
Symphony No. 9 in C Major "The Great"
(1828), Symphony No. 8 in B Minor
(unfinished; 1822), masses, and piano
works.
DID YOU KNOW
THAT?
A singspiel or "singing play" is a
musical comedy of light musical drama
that has much in common with a
Broadway musical. Mozart's The Magic
Flute and Beethoven's Fidelo are
singspiel compositions.
 "It is not a rock or a pop
opera. It's a new opera, it's
serious... well, it's an
-opera!"
Josefino "Chino" Toledo
Chino Toledo
Josefino "Chino" Toledo, a well-known
composer of modern pieces, creates the music
for San Andrea B., a Filipino opera in two acts.
It describes the nations transfromation and
evolution of happenings after the nineteenth
century. It was based on a libretto by National
Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario.
 The opera was presented by the resident theater
company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the
Tanghalang Pilipino, on November 29 - December 8,
2013 and was staged at CCP's Tanghalang Aurelio V.
Tolentino. It was directed by Floy Quintos and written for
the hero's 150th birth anniversary. The play has a duration
of 1 hr and 45 minutes.
Toledo created a passacaglia (variation
form), some opera convention, and songs
form used by older opera composers like
Verdi. His composotion, however, may not
be as meldodic as Verdi's works.
THANK YOU!