MU710: Special Topics: Understanding Opera Spring 2012 Illustrative (I) and Organizational (O) Functions in Opera I-function - any illustrative task performed by an element of the opera (music, drama, text). Example: the presentation of verbal or textual content. O-function - any organizational task performed by an element of the opera (music, drama, text). Example: defining of a structural unit. operatic music s illustrative (IM) functions: 1.presentation of atmosphere or mood 2. presentation of local or historical color 3. presentation of emotional content and character 4.presentation of physical stage action 5.presentation of verbal and textual content (including stage directions) 6.presentation and/or identification of characters, objects, events or thematic ideas. operatic music s organizational (OM) functions: 1. framing 2. defining structural units of the opera by musical means 3. continuity (avoiding or obscuring musical units) 4. creating musical syntax 5. creating musical unity M-tool - any musical tool, which can be used to carry out either I-functions or O-functions. Examples: articulation, cadences (or lack thereof), consonance vs. dissonance, counterpoint, dynamics, form, genre, harmony, harmonic syntax, hypermeter, instrumentation, melodic direction, meter, mode, motion to remote/related keys, motivic materials, register, rhythm, scales (diatonic, chromatic, other collections), style, tempo, texture. IM-tool - any musical tool used to carry out illustrative tasks. Example: in Voi che sapete from Le Nozze di Figaro, Mozart uses various musical tools to illustrate the dramatic situation (i.e., Cherubino is singing a song). One of these musical tools is instrumentation: pizzicato strings imitate the sound of the guitar that Susanna is supposed to be plucking as accompaniment onstage. Therefore, instrumentation is an illustrative musical (IM) tool. OM-tool--any musical tool used to carry out organizational tasks. Example: in Voi che sapete an ABA form is utilized to organize the operatic number. ID-tools- any dramatic tool used to carry out illustrative tasks. Example: stage properties. Susanna s onstage guitar indicates that she is accompanying Cherubino s song. OD-tool--any dramatic tool used to carry out organizational tasks. Example: recurrence (a dramatic repetition that satisfies expectancy). Cherubino has given Susanna a copy of his song earlier in the opera, so the audience knows of its existence. When that song is finally performed, it constitutes a recurrence, satisfying expectancy.
Leitmotiv Wagner Tristan und Isolde - Leitmotivs English National Opera Guide Von Wolzogen A 1. First two together are Sehnsucht motiv Longing German site Itali sit 1. 1a. G B 2. 3. 1b. De C 3. Tristanmotiv 2. Angu of Tri D 4. Blickmotiv Glance 5. Glance 2b Glanc E 5. F 15a. Heldenmotiv Hero G Schicksals motiv Fate 6. Death Potion H 9. Meeresmotiv Sea 7. 6a Motiv Se I 41. Zornmotiv Anger J 10. Todesmotiv Death 8. Anger 10 Isold Ang 9. Death 13
K 13. Motiv der siechen Tristan Wounded Tristan L 16a. Tagesmotiv Day M 17. Thema der Ungeduld Impatience N 18. Liebesrufes e s call 18. S Tris 13. Day 29a Da 29b Isold Imp tien 30 Long O 19a. Seligkeits motiv Happiness 31 Bli P Q 21. Liebesthema e R 25. Liebesruhe e s Rest S 26. Sterbelied Death Song 15. Slumber 33. F Minn sourc 39 Pea 42. starb wir T 27. Verklärung sfigur Transfigura- 44
tion Figure U 29. Markemotiv Mark 17. Mark V 31. Einsamkeit [?] Solitude 47 W 33. 48 Distr of Tri X 34. Die Traurige Weise Tragic Manner ] Y 35. Kareolmotiv Kareol 49 18. 51 Kurw Z 52 * 37. Liebesfluch e s Curse 39. Die fröliche Weise Happy Manner 57 Hans Von Wolzogen Guide to Tristan und Isolde (in French): http://books.google.com/books?idw_44aaaaiaaj&pgpa89&dqwolzogen+wagner+tristan&lr#vo nepage&qwolzogen%20wagner%20tristan&ffalse German list of motives: http://unchance.net/linkmotiv/index.html#motive Italian list of motives: http://www.rwagner.net/e-frame.html
Von Wolzogen Guide to Tristan (in French): http://books.google.com/books?idw_44aaaaiaaj&pgpa89&dqwolzogen+wagner+tristan&lr#vo nepage&qwolzogen%20wagner%20tristan&ffalse German list of motives: http://unchance.net/linkmotiv/index.html#motive Italian list of motives: http://www.rwagner.net/e-frame.html
Dramatic Analysis organizational dramatic tools (linked to underlying organizational principle of work; i.e., "the idea") illustrative dramatic tools (not linked to "the idea") Dramatic tools - character - characterization through speech (vocabulary, accent, etc.) - characterization through action - manipulation of time (time compression/expansion) - manipulation of space/distance (off-stage events, descriptions of events) - plot - point of attack (the point from which the story begins to be presented) - recurrence/reversal (satisfying/violating expectation) - stage directions (written or spoken instructions concerning the time and place of events, actions, movements, entrances and exits, sound effects, stage properties, costumes or settings.) - stage properties (props) - structure - theme(s) - unity of time (all events occur in a single day) - unity of place (all events occur in a single place) - unity of action (there is only a single plot) - verbal motives/imagery (recurring words or phrases) [there are two types of recurring motives: reminiscence (characters know) and identification (we know)] - versification (creation of poetic structures) Libretticization - a libretto is a set of dramatically related materials (dramatic, visual, poetic, choreographic) - operatic music is a filter through which the libretto must pass: it enhances and/or eliminates elements of the libretto - the music can enhance elements of the libretto through its illustrative functions, such as presentation of atmosphere, local/historical color, emotional content, physical stage action, etc. - an effective libretto will maximize and minimize its materials so that it passes through the musical filter intact. - depending upon the source material, the libretto will require different types of libretticization. For example, if the source material is a poem, less versification will be necessary. - the musical filter can be strong or weak: in Literaturopern (plays set verbatim to music) the musical filter is very weak. In an opera where the musical form, for example, is predominant, the musical filter is strong.