The
last few days we have focused our attention on operas sung in Italian. Did
opera exist in other languages at this point in history? Certainly! Today,
let’s look at a few examples of opera in neighboring nations and see how they
compare to what we have seen so far.
Comic
opera sung in French was known as opera comique. Early in the century, opera
comique pulled selections from popular tunes of the time. After Italian opera
styles began growing in prominence, however, opera comique gradually began
adding newly-written arias. Unlike opera buffa, this type of comic opera uses
spoken dialogue rather than recitative.
In
England, the common type of opera at that time was known as ballad opera. This
type of opera was sung in English and, like opera comique, used spoken dialogue
in place of recitative. It also set new words to old tunes that people would
recognize as folk songs or dances of that region.
Singspiel
is the term used to describe opera in Germany at that time. These operas often
used a comic plot and, like the other opera types we’ve looked at today,
consisted of spoken dialogue alternating with musical sections. Be sure to
check back later this month for a great Singspiel example from Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart!
