Music and Dance
Opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music has a leading role and the parts are taken by singers, but is distinct from musical theater.
Opera is a key part of the Western classical music tradition. Originally understood as an entirely sung piece, in contrast to a play with songs, opera has come to include numerous genres, including some that include spoken dialogue such as musical theater, Singspiel and Opéra comique. In traditional number opera, singers employ two styles of singing: recitative, a speech-inflected style, and self-contained arias. The 19th century saw the rise of the continuous music drama. The 20th century saw many experiments with modern styles, such as atonality and serialism (Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg), Neoclassicism (Igor Stravinsky), and Minimalism (Philip Glass and John Adams.
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Structure:
The words of an opera are known as the libretto (literally "small book").
Traditional opera, often referred to as "number opera", consists of two modes of singing: recitative, the plot-driving passages sung in a style designed to imitate and emphasize the inflections of speech, and aria (an "air" or formal song) in which the characters express their emotions in a more structured melodic style. Vocal duets, trios and other ensembles often occur, and choruses are used to comment on the action.
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Types of operas:
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Italian Opera
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German Opera
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French Opera
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English Opera
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Russian Opera
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Vocal Range: Singers and the roles they play are classified by voice type, based on the tessitura, agility, power and timbre of their voices. Male singers can be classified by vocal range as bass, bass-baritone, baritone, tenor and countertenor, and female singers as contralto, mezzo-soprano and soprano.
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. A ballet, a work, consists of the choreography and music for a ballet production. Ballets are choreographed and performed by trained ballet dancers. Traditional classical ballets are usually performed with classical music accompaniment and use elaborate costumes and staging. There are also modern neoclassical ballets that are often performed in simple costumes (e.g., leotards and tights) and without the use of elaborate sets or scenery.
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According to geographic origin: Russian , French and Italian Ballet
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According to elements:
Classical ballet - Classical ballet is based on traditional ballet technique and vocabulary.Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker.
Romantic Ballet - Romantic ballet was an artistic movement of classical ballet and several productions remain in the classical repertoire today. The Romantic era was marked by the emergence of pointe work, the dominance of female dancers, and longer, flowy tutus that attempt to exemplify softness and a delicate aura.The 1827 ballet La Sylphide is widely considered to be the first, and the 1870 ballet Coppélia is considered to be the last. Giselle is an example of a great romantic ballet.
Neoclassical ballet - Neoclassical ballet is usually abstract, with no clear plot, costumes or scenery. Music choice can be diverse and will often include music that is also neoclassical (e.g. Stravinsky, Roussel).George Balanchine's Apollo in 1928 to be the first neoclassical ballet. Apollo represented a return to form in response to Sergei Diaghilev's abstract ballets.
Contemporary ballet - This ballet style is often performed barefoot. Contemporary ballets may include mime and acting, and are usually set to music (typically orchestral but occasionally vocal). It can be difficult to differentiate this form from neoclassical or modern ballet. This is also close to contemporary dance and is often seen as a part of fusion. The main distinction is that ballet technique is essential to perform a contemporary ballet.
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The main methods are:
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the French School
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the Vaganova Method
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the Cecchetti Method
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the Bournonville method
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the Royal Academy of Dance method (English style)
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and the Balanchine method (American style)
Opéra-ballet is a genre of French Baroque lyric theatre that was most popular during the 18th century, combining elements of opera and ballet. Plots were not necessarily classical mythology but also consisting of comic and tragic elements.
Musical
Musical Theatre is a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole.
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