Introduction of Vocal Music in Opera

Modern western opera, which can really be called "musical", came into being with the secularization of music culture during the Renaissance of1late 6th century1early 7th century. Let me introduce you to the vocal music in opera. I hope it helps you. Welcome to read!

Introduction of Vocal Music in Opera Vocal music in opera includes solo, duet and chorus, and the lyrics are the lines of the characters in the play (depending on the style, they can also be said in plain English); Instrumental music usually has a prelude or overture at the beginning of the whole play, and early operas also have a dedication prelude (including vocal music). In each scene, instrumental music is not only the accompaniment of singing, but also plays a connecting role. Scenes are often interspersed, or each scene has its own prelude. Dance can also be inserted into the process of drama. The musical structure of opera can be composed of relatively independent pieces of music, or it can be a unified structure with continuous development.

The important vocal styles in opera include recitation, aria, aria, recitation, duet and chorus. Its genre style includes opera, comic opera, grand opera, operetta, operetta, musical comedy, chamber opera, musical and so on.

aria

Aria is the main aria for the protagonist to express his feelings in opera. Their music is very beautiful and the structure is relatively complete, which can show the singer's vocal skills. Therefore, we often hear them in concerts, such as the aria Sunny Days in Madame Butterfly, why is my heart so excited in La Traviata, and Lin Xiawei's aria There is a voice in my heart.

Reciting

The recitative is a paragraph in which the plot unfolds, and the story often unfolds in the recitative. At this time, there are more dialogues between characters. This passage is not suitable for chorus, so it is called recitative, which is very similar to the rhyme in Beijing opera. In Beijing Opera, Tsing Yi, Xiao Sheng or the old students all chant with exaggerated pronunciation and intonation. Although it is not very melodious, it can make Daobai easily associated with the singing before and after, which is very similar to the recitation in western operas. The early recitative of European opera is very non-singing, which is called "dry recitative". Usually, a chord is played into a tune on the clavichord, and the singer uses this tune to repeat it with many homophones. The repeated translation of this homonym into Chinese is very ugly, because there are four cadences in China's language, and we in China can't sing in a flat tone: Have you eaten today? That must sound funny. So when we encounter this kind of "dry recitation", we simply take off the rap and change it into a dialogue. But in the19th century, with the gradual melody of opera recitative, for example, when we sang operas such as La Traviata and Carmen, we translated the recitative into Chinese. With a little melody, we can find four Chinese sounds that are suitable for the melody.

An ensemble of two or more singers.

A duet is that several different characters sing at the same time according to their specific emotions and drama plots. When two people sing at the same time, it is called a duet. Sometimes, the supporting and opposing roles are organized in a work. It could be a trio, a quartet, a quintet. There are sextets in Rossini's The Barber of Seville, and even in Mozart's The Wedding of Figaro. A dozen people sing together, sometimes in groups. A group of three or five people expressed their opinions, some sympathized with Figaro, some sympathized with the count, and some looked at jokes. This composer is outstanding.

Another form is the chorus of mass scenes. As mentioned above, it can be male voice, female voice, mixed voice of men and women or children's voice according to the requirements of the plot.

Opera has stories, singing has lyrics, and lyrics are closely related to the development of music and drama. So, is it better to introduce western opera into China by translating or singing the original text to keep its "original flavor"? There have always been two opinions, each with its own merits. After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), Chinese opera workers made great efforts in translation when introducing western operas. There is an important problem here, that is, literary language should not only be translated well, but also conform to the rules of music when it is matched with music, so that the audience can feel comfortable and accepted. This is a knowledge and a very arduous task, and it can only be done well with the cooperation of translators with high musical literacy or translators and musicians. My personal opinion is that since the audience is here to see the play, it should be understood. When western operas are introduced into China, it is best to translate them into Chinese, so that people can easily understand the plot and drama of opera music at any time and enjoy singing and performance. At least it can make our audience in China feel that our musicians really want them to understand the charm of western opera. The social fashion in recent years is that the original text is sung with Chinese subtitles. Although it can show the level of our actors singing the original text, and may be attracted by foreign agents and invited to perform abroad, as far as I know, for the audience, the acceptance of western opera is farther and the audience is narrower. Everyone will think, forget it. You don't want us to understand anyway. Besides, some actors' original text level is not high, in fact, no one can understand it

A form of drama. Composed of dramatic texts (lyrics) with music, usually accompanied by music when singing. In addition to soloists, singers, choruses and musicians, opera performances often include dancers from the beginning. For five centuries, this complex and expensive form of music, drama and entertainment has been loved by the audience. The obvious difference between it and other forms of drama is that its lines are expressed by singing instead of words; The difference from operetta, musical comedy and other musicals lies in the seriousness of its works, the rigor of its structure and the seriousness of its accompanying sound.

In ancient times, there were works combining poetry and drama with music. Ancient Greek playwrights Aeschylus, Sophocles and euripides all adopted chorus in their plays. Medieval religious dramas based on the Bible, such as miracle dramas and miracle dramas, were generally accompanied by some kind of music. These and other forms of music and drama can be considered as the precursors of opera. The opera was produced in Florence, Italy at the end of 16. The first opera, Daphne, composed by Renaissance pastoral poets ottavio Rinuccini and Jacob Perry, has been lost. The earliest existing opera script Euridice is also their work. However, the works of the two fathers of opera are exploratory in genre and structure. About 10 years later, claudio monteverdi's representative opera Favras dolfi Ou came out. Among them, instrumental accompaniment has become a dramatic factor; At that time, the themes of opera were mostly Greek and Roman myths, legends and fictional historical stories.

chorus

Another form is the chorus of mass scenes. As mentioned above, it can be male voice, female voice, mixed voice of men and women or children's voice according to the requirements of the plot.

Opera has stories, singing has lyrics, and lyrics are closely related to the development of music and drama. So, is it better to introduce western opera into China by translating or singing the original text to keep its "original flavor"? There have always been two opinions, each with its own merits. After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), Chinese opera workers made great efforts in translation when introducing western operas. There is an important problem here, that is, literary language should not only be translated well, but also conform to the rules of music when it is matched with music, so that the audience can feel comfortable and accepted. This is a knowledge and a very arduous task, and it can only be done well with the cooperation of translators with high musical literacy or translators and musicians. My personal opinion is that since the audience is here to see the play, it should be understood. When western operas are introduced into China, it is best to translate them into Chinese, so that people can easily understand the plot and drama of opera music at any time and enjoy singing and performance. At least it can make our audience in China feel that our musicians really want them to understand the charm of western opera. The social fashion in recent years is that the original text is sung with Chinese subtitles. Although it can show the level of our actors singing the original text, and may be attracted by foreign agents and invited to perform abroad, as far as I know, for the audience, the acceptance of western opera is farther and the audience is narrower. Everyone will think, forget it. You don't want us to understand anyway. Besides, some actors' original text level is not high, in fact, no one can understand it

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