What is “Opera”
Opera is an Italian word that means “work.” In the case of music, opera is a musical story in which all or most of the words are sung.
Why do you think the word “work” was chosen to name this musical creation?
Opera Terms
Teamwork!
Playing a sport takes talent, skill and lots of practice! Putting an opera performance together is the same. Everyone must work together as a team.
When you see the opera, look for the things below. How do they help tell the story?
- Singers train and practice their parts just like any dedicated athlete. They attend rehearsals with the director, conductor and other singers to put the story together.
- Costumes – The clothes each character wears.
- Props – The objects they use (medicine bottle, money, broom, etc…).
- Lights – Define time of day, location and weather.
- Sets – The buildings and furniture that define the location.
Voice Types
| Listen for these voices in the opera. Can you tell what voice type each singer is? |
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| Soprano (soh-prah-noh) is the highest female voice. | Mezzo-soprano(med-zoh) is a medium high female voice. | Contralto (kohn-trahl-toh) is the deepest female voice. |
| Listen for these voices in the opera. Can you tell what voice type each singer is? |
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| Tenor (teh-nor) is the highest male voice. | Baritone (bare-ih-tohn) is a medium high male voice. | Bass (base) is the deepest male voice. |
Musical Terms
A Conductor is the person that leads the orchestra and singers through the opera, using musical gestures that help everyone stay together.
A Recitative (reh-sih-tah-teev) is sung dialogue. The term comes from the Italian word recitare (reh-chee-tar-eh), which means “to act.” The vocal range and rhythm resemble speech patterns, and the words forward the story.
An Aria (ah-ree-ah) is a solo song. In an opera, each aria highlights a specific emotional situation for the character.
Activity
| Ask your teacher a question. Now sing the question. Your teacher will sing the answer back to you. You have created your own recitative! |