A Night at the Opera String Quintet

Transcription

1 A Night at the Opera String Quintet Ensembles in the Schools sponsored by With additional support by the Tucker Foundation, Hamico Foundation, Solomon Spector Education Fund, and other contributors. The CSO is a funded agency of Rossini - The Barber of Seville Puccini - La Boheme Verdi - La Traviata Puccini - Gianni Schicchi Rossini - William Tell Delibes Lakme Mozart - The Magic Flute Bizet Carmen Puccini - Madama Butterfly Gounod Faust *program subject to change

2 CHATTANOOGA SYMPHONY & OPERA HISTORY The Chattanooga Symphony traces its roots to an enterprising group of young people looking for an opportunity to play classical music together. Led by Melvin Margolin, several recent graduates and students from Chattanooga High School, joined by a few adult musicians in town, gave the first concert of the Chattanooga Symphony on November 5, The season marked the first for CSO's new Music Director & Conductor, Kayoko Dan. Music Director Kayoko Dan is the youngest conductor in the CSO's history, as well as the first female to serve in this role. In order to become a member of the orchestra, musicians must be the winner of a rigorous audition in front of their peers. Preparation for this level of competition can take years of study and most of the musicians have a college degree in music. The ability to perform some of the most difficult music ever written in near perfect synchronization with other musicians takes the better part of a lifetime to master. Principal Quintets The String and Wind Quintets of the CSO are composed of principal members from the orchestra. The CSO quintets regularly perform in over 60 schools annually for over 20,000 students and perform in a variety of other community locations including libraries, hospitals, public parks, community centers, and Chattanooga businesses. Recently, the quintets have also been engaged to perform regular series performances at the Creative Discovery Museum (PopTots Series) and Warehouse Row (Warehouse Row Series). The musicians of the quintets are some of the finest musicians in the area, performing and teaching regularly throughout the community. For individual biographies, please visit the Musicians page at Inspire Engage Enrich The mission of the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera is to inspire, engage, and enrich the greater Chattanooga community through music and music education. It is our hope that the CSO Ensembles in Schools program will be an engaging and imaginative experience for each young person who attends. For more information, please contact: Sarah Marczynski Community Engagement and Education Manager smarczynski@chattanoogasymphony.org x2100

3 Educational Goals Music Standards: 2.0 Students will perform on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. 6.0 Students will listen to, analyze, and describe music. 7.0 Students will evaluate music and music performances. 8.0 Students will understand relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts. 9.0 Students will understand music in relation to history and culture. CSO Guiding Principles for Education programs: Youth under the age of 18 or enrolled in a college, university, or higher education setting are involved Programs are aligned with age appropriate state and local standards and curriculum models Program includes relevant, high artistic quality opportunities for participants to create, experience, or otherwise engage with music or another art form Program increases awareness, knowledge, understanding, or engagement of the particular topic, the musician or artist, or the organization Program increases a particular skill or skills (musical or other) of the participant, contributing to their intellectual, personal, or musical growth Programs nurture and encourage participation by new, non-traditional, and or/underserved audiences This performance will: 1. Demonstrate differences in musical styles from various cultures. 2. Introduce the instruments and opera vocabulary. 3. Offer experience of a string quintet performance with informal conversation (questions and answers) with performers. 4. Introduce music of famous classical composers. 5. Reinforce concert etiquette.

4 What is opera? Opera is a presentation of a story. It has costumes, sets, and dances like a play, but in opera, the story is told by people who sing for almost the entire time they are performing. There is almost always an orchestra and a conductor that plays with them or accompanies them from the pit. The first opera ever written was Dafne by Jacopo Peri in The opera was lost, but another of Peri s operas Euridice (your-a-dee-chay) is the first opera to survive. Dafne and Euridice brought back many ideas from the music of the ancient Greeks which composers were using during the Renaissance. These operas were the first written, but aren t usually performed. The first opera to be regularly performed was Claudio Monteverdi s Orfeo. In the 1600 s composers wrote many operas for the courts of the monarchs. Because of the Renaissance, the Italian court had a lot of money and talented performers, so opera developed in Italy. Operas were originally performed during a season called Carnival. The Italian composers wrote two different types of opera opera buffa and opera seria. Kayoko Dan, CSO s conductor Jacopo Peri France, like Italy, had many talented performers and composers, so the French people developed their own style of opera, rivaling the Italians. Jean-Baptiste Lully created a type of opera called tragédie en musique. The English and German people didn t want to be left out, so they came up with their own styles of opera too! The Germans developed a style called singspiele. Many German composers did speak German, but they still wrote their operas in Italian. One of the first English operas was Dido and Aneas by Henry Purcell. Because England is further away from Italy than the other countries, the English style of opera is different than those of Germany, France, and especially Italy. The English came up with ballad opera. Jean Baptiste Lully Since the beginning of opera, composers have changed how it is performed and so the operas of the 1600s are different than the operas written today. There are a lot of modern operas by people like Benjamin Britten, Phillip Glass, Leonard Bernstein, and Gian-Carlo Menotti. People are still singing opera too! The singing is the most important part of an opera. The first singers (in the 1600s) were singing what they thought the ancient Greeks sang like. Later, as the orchestra grew, the singers voices had to get louder too so they could be heard. Since they didn t have microphones, the singers had to use a technique called bel canto. Today, opera singers practice for many years to develop their singing voice. Henry Purcell Phillip Glass

5 Opera vocabulary Alto: the lowest of the female voices Aria: a song for solo voice with orchestral accompaniment, generally expressing intense emotion Ballad opera: a type of opera in England. Spoken dialogue is mixed with contemporary songs Ballet: a dance form featuring a staged presentation of a group or solo dancing, usually with music, costumes, and scenery Bass: the lowest of the male voices Bel canto: a type of singing with smooth lines and lyrical phrasing which started in the 1800s. Chorus: large group of singers who perform together Conductor: the person who leads a musical group Libretto: the text or script of an opera, prepared by a librettist Orchestra: a performing group of diverse instruments. In the US and Europe, orchestras typically have multiple string, woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments Opera buffa: a type of Italian opera that is funny and is about humorous things Opera house: a theatre designed specifically for the performance of operas Opera seria: a type of Italian opera that is dramatic and serious and is often based on ancient history or mythology Overture: a piece of music at the very beginning of an opera that often has melodies from other arias Recitative: a style of singing that is close to the rhythm of natural speech. In opera, it is often used for dialogue between characters Score: the music of the opera, written out, showing what notes all the different instruments are performing Singspiele: a type of opera from Germany with singing and spoken dialogue Soprano: the highest of the female voices Stage director: someone who supervises the actors and directs the action in the production of a stage show Stage manager: someone who supervises the physical aspects of an opera and who is in charge of the stage when the show is being performed Tenor: the highest of the male voices Tragedie en musique: a type of opera from France which usually included a ballet

6 It takes a lot of people to put on an opera production. Read more about each different job! Chorus: people who are not the main characters, but sing and act on stage with the other actors. Conductor: a musician who directs the orchestra and the singers. Stage Director: responsible for the whole production. They direct the actors and work with the designers. Singers & Actors: as the main characters, they sing and act on stage making the story come to life. Make-Up and Wig Master: designs hair and make-up and helps singers put those on. Jobs in Opera Costume designer: designs and creates the costumes for the characters. Set Designer: sketches and creates the set. Stage Manager: is in charge of the stage during the production, telling people when to run lights or when to close the curtain. Production Manager: works with the stage manager, costume designer, and helps with administrative jobs. Technical Director: works with all designers and the stage crew to make sure the set, props, and lights work.

7 Gioachino Rossini ( ) Selections from The Barber of Seville and William Tell Gioachino Rossini was born in a small town, Pesaro, Italy on February 29, He was born to a musical family and when he was six was playing the triangle in his father s band. He learned to play cello and horn and sang in the church choir. When he was about 14, he wrote his first opera! By the time he was 20, he was already known as a famous Italian opera composer. His most famous opera, The Barber of Seville, was first performed in Rome, Italy when he was only 24 years of age and was written in only 2 weeks! The Barber of Seville is an opera buffa and tells the story of Figaro, a barber to Count Almaviva. The Count has fallen in love with Rosina, but because of Bartolo, her guardian, he can t marry her. He disguises himself as a music student of Bartolo s friend and with Figaro, they enter Bartolo s house and convince Rosina to marry him. The Barber of Seville Rossini moved to Paris and wrote thirty operas, the last of which was William Tell, the story of a Swiss folk hero who split an apple in half by shooting an arrow at it! The opera has a very famous overture, storm scene, and a final March of the Swiss Soldiers. Giacomo Puccini ( ) Selections from La Boheme, Gianni Schichi and Madame Butterfly Puccini was born in Italy and came from a long line of musicians his father was a choirmaster and organist and Giacomo took over his positions when he was only six years old! After studying composition at the Milan Conservatory, Puccini began to write operas. He is most famous for his operas and is considered the greatest opera composer after Giuseppe Verdi. La Boheme One of his most well-known operas is La Boheme which tells the story of a group of artists in Paris during the 1800s. They are not very rich but they have many friends. Two of the group, a poet named Rodolfo and a painter named Marcello fall in love with Mimi and Musetta and there are many arias and duets in the opera between them. Madame Butterfly premiered in 1904 at the famous opera house, La Scala. It takes place in Nagasaki, Japan and the lead character is named Ciocio-San (cho-cho-sahn) and is Japanese for butterfly. She gets married to an American naval officer named Pinkerton who has to leave right after they are married. Butterfly waits three years and during that time, gives birth to a son. One day, she sees his ship come into the harbor but Pinkerton does not come to the house but wants his son to come back to America with him. Butterfly agrees to let her son go with his father and is so sad that she dies. Almost his last work, Gianni Schicchi is a one act opera that has one of the most famous arias in opera, called O Mio Babbino Caro (O My Dear Father). Madame Butterfly

8 Giuseppe Verdi ( ) Selections from La Traviata Giuseppe Verdi was born in Italy. When he was seven he was helping the local church organist; at 12 he was studying with the organist at the main church in a nearby town and in 1829 became assistant. He began writing his first opera in 1839 but wrote many of his operas from He worked inparis, France, and London, as well as in Rome, Milan, Naples, Venice, Florence and Trieste in Italy. His works were known for their strong, sad stories, vigorous orchestral styles, forceful writing for voices and serious drama. In 1853 he wrote one of his most loved operas, La Traviata. Originally named Violetta after the main character, La Traviata is based on the play La Dame aux Camelias. Set in Paris in the late 1800s, the main character, Violetta throws a party where she meets Alfredo Germont who tells her he has loved her for a long time. Alfredo s father does not approve of Violetta and tells her to stop dating his son. At a party, Violetta lies and tells him she does not love him; Alfredo of course is upset. Violetta becomes very sick and Alfredo realizes she was lying and comes to see her. They are happy, but Violetta is too sick and dies in Alfredo s arms. Léo Delibes ( ) Selections from Lakmé Léo Delibes was a French composer who wrote many ballets, operas, and other works for the stage. When he was 11, Delibes started to study music at the Paris Conservatory. His most well-known opera is Lakmé. La Traviata Lakme The opera is set in the 1800s in British India. The daughter of a Hindu priest, Lakmé and her servant Mallika go to gather flowers. During this scene, they sing the famous Flower Duet. While they are gathering flowers, Lakmé sees Gerald, a British soldier. They begin to fall in love with each other, but her father returns and gets mad that she has fallen in love with a British soldier. At a party, Lakmé sings the famous and very difficult Bell Song so that Gerald will come to her. Her father attacks and wounds Gerald, who goes to hide in the forest and Lakmé nurses him. As Gerald is recovering, another soldier comes to remind him that he needs to come back to the army. Lakmé realizes that Gerald is going to leave and decides, rather than live without him, she will die by eating a poisonous plant. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ( ) Selections from The Magic Flute Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1756 and began composing music when he was 5 years old. When he was 6, his father took him around Europe to perform. During this time, Mozart performed and The Magic Flute composed works for the violin, piano, voice, and also wrote his first operas. He moved to Vienna in 1781 and began to teach. In 1785, he began working with a famous librettist named Lorenzo da Ponte. He wrote many famous operas that are still performed today including The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Cosi Fan Tutte.

9 Georges Bizet ( ) Selections from Carmen Georges Bizet was born in Paris, France and both of his parents were musicians. He would listen to his father giving music lessons and learned to sing difficult songs from memory. When Georges was 10 years old, his father enrolled him in the Paris Conservatory. While he was there, he wrote his only symphony, but it wasn t performed until many years after he died. Bizet wrote a few works for orchestra, but is most remembered for his operas. His most famous opera is Carmen. When Carmen first opened in Paris, the reviews were terrible. Many critics said there were no good tunes in it, so audiences stayed away. Carmen is the story of a Spanish gypsy girl who works in a factory. She sees the soldier Don José and decides to make him fall in love with her. At first he isn t interested, but he soon falls in love with her and leaves the army. Carmen soon decides she doesn t like him anymore and likes a bullfighter named Escamillo. José is very unhappy at this and tries very hard to persuade Carmen to come back to him. She refuses and instead goes to watch Escamillo in a major bullfight. José waits for Carmen outside the ring and gives her one last chance to come back to him, but she only laughs at him. Then José says that if he can t have her, no one will. He takes out a knife and kills her. Carmen dies as José is arrested and led away, while inside the ring the crowd cheers as Escamillo wins the bullfight. Charles Gounod ( ) Selections from Faust Charles Gounod was born in Paris and his mother was his first piano teacher. He went to school at the Paris Conservatory and won a famous prize, the Prix de Rome. His first famous composition was a large piece called the St. Cecilia Mass, first performed in His first famous opera was Faust, written in Carmen Faust The grand opera, Faust, is five acts and is set in the 1500s in Germany. The character Faust is a life-long student but is very frustrated. He asks for help and a bad spirit named Mephistopheles appears who makes a deal with Faust Mephistopheles will help him on Earth, but then Faust must help Mephistopheles in Hell. The two go to a nearby town and see the beautiful Marguerite who refuses to be with Faust. They decide, to win her attention, that they will give her beautiful jewelry. After she finds the jewelry, Marguerite sings the famous Jewel Song and then she allows Faust to kiss her. Marguerite s brother, Valentin, discovers Marguerite and Faust and decides to fight, but is killed by Faust s sword. Marguerite goes to jail, where Faust comes and tells her he loves her. But, while the Easter bells ring, Marguerite dies and her soul rises to heaven. Hansel & Gretel

10 Before the concert reminders Review expected concert/assembly behavior with your students. Enter the performance space with your class quietly. Remain seated during the performance. While the musicians are playing or talking, listen closely! Applaud when the music is finished and at the end of the concert. Work with your students to prepare thoughtful questions for the musicians such as: How old were you when you begin playing your instrument? Why did you choose your instrument? What is the most fun part about your instrument? The most challenging? After the concert possibilities Pass out the enclosed stickers and encourage your students to talk with their families or guardians about what they heard today. Use one of the activities below to continue your student s experience with the CSO. Create individual or class letters to the quintet. After the performance, brainstorm and write down what each student liked about the performance. Organize them in to categories such as sounds, people, instruments, compositions. Compose a letter that includes the responses. Once finished, send it to the quintet at the address below. Write a review of one of the pieces of music as if you they were a newspaper reporter at the premiere and hearing it for the first time. Once finished, send it to the CSO at the address below. Choose an instrument from the performance and have your students research its history or look for parallel instruments in other cultures. Continue the experience by attending the CSO s Young People s Concert. For more information, contact Community Engagement and Education Manager, Sarah Marczynski at x2100 or smarczynski@chattanoogasymphony.org Inspire Engage Enrich Chattanooga Symphony & Opera 701 Broad Street Chattanooga, TN Phone Fax