OPERA SERIA

Drawing of Baroque theatre in Austria, late 18 th century.

Handel’s operas dominated the stages well into the 18 th century and have defined the opera seria genre. Composer and theorist Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) who is attributed to writing the “first” opera—or at least the first one that has stood the test of time—premiered L’Orfeo in 1607. Monteverdi fueled a movement with the primary intention being dramatic impact. Music would no longer be to just delight, but used instead to morally and politically instruct through storytelling to inspire empathy. Early opera seria that influenced Handel’s work included Francesco Cavalli’s Giasone (1649), who for the first time separated the aria and recitative into two distinct musical forms; and Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (1683), the first opera in English.

FUN FACT: The great Roman orator Cicero defined oratory as to “delight and instruct” through connecting to people’s emotion, often in a political context.

The subjects of opera seria were inspired by ancient Greek, Roman, and biblical heroes, and often took place in “exotic” change were to are lands. Plots are centralized around six main characters and feature political intrigue, disguises, and seduction. The central conflict is often between love and duty, while underscoring moral messages that virtue should be celebrated and sin forgiven. Characters express deep and often conflicting emotion—a word choice - too much “character” in sentence that continues to characterize opera even as operatic conventions evolve.

Opera seria featured big dramatic arias, especially for the castrati, and later, sopranos, which were favored over duets and choruses. The voice, regarded as the most nuanced instrument, is showcased as the most powerful for oration. The alternating recitative and da capo aria structure defines Handel’s style specifically, among opera seria composers. The recitative is lightly underscored, and the da capo aria has full orchestral support. The meaning of the text and the musical expression is more closely considered, with poetic language and musical dramatization accentuating each others possessive meaning.

During a da capo aria, time stops and allows for a character to expand upon the emotional moment, not unlike a soliloquy in Shakespeare’s works. While by today’s standards, opera seria may seem excessively long and repetitive, theater-goers of Handel’s day treated a night at the opera as one might watch a movie at home today. Spectators often socialized, snacked, and moved about the space to visit friends, which is why this powerful aria moment was meant to capture their attention and take in the singer’s extreme emotion.

The da capo aria is a very specific form that follows a set structure of A,B,A. The first section (A) sets the mood, and the character lays out situation and how he or she feels about it. The second section (B) highlights a conflicting feeling, bringing up another side to the issue and the character as they process emotions. The final section (A) returns to the original melody of the first section, but the emotion is heightened as the full complexity of the situation is digested. The singer expresses this through the addition of ornamentation—improvised embellishments that shows off the singer’s specific virtuosity. In fact, the third section, referred to as the “da capo” translates to, “from the head” or “from the top.” You might recognize this musical form as it has continued to dominate musical songwriting through the emergence of many genres including jazz, blues, and even popular music.

Illustration of a performance of Handel’s Flavio, John Vanderbank, 18 th century.