Joshua
J. Campbell
Professor
Blanka Roundtree
FMX
211
13 February 2019
“L’Orfeo” as an
Introduction to Opera
Opera
has been around for a little over four hundred years, with its roots stemming
from Italy in the beginning of the 1600’s. As a musician and later the “Maestro
Della Musica” at Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga’s court at Mantua, Cluadio Monteverdi
was immersed in a rich musical environment where his creative work could be
nourished and grow into a new form that we know today as Opera. Looking back at
the early work that Monteverdi created, we can clearly see the recognizable
features that are still inherent in today’s accepted conventions for operatic
performance. “While Jacopo Peri’s Dafne is generally recognized as the first
work in the opera genre, and the earliest surviving opera is Peri’s Euridice,
L’Orfeo is the earliest that is still regularly performed.” (4) As my journey into the world of opera is at a
beginning, I chose to start by researching Monteverdi’s Orfeo.
“Through ability and hard work Monteverdi rose to become [Duke
Vincenzo] Gonzaga’s maestro della musica (master of music) in 1601.” (2) He soon began work on L’Orfeo which was first
performed on “24 February 1607, as evidenced by two letters, both dated 23
February [1607]”. (2) His work in
L’Orfeo was “…the first attempt to apply the full resources of the art of
music, as then evolved, to the nascent genre of opera.” Specifically, he
employed polyphony in a way that was more skillfully used and which was rare in
any case, owing to the influence of the Church at the time. Going back several
decades before this, the Camerata (a group of aristocratic intellectuals from
Italy) had “rebelled against the extremes of contrapuntal music which caused
the sense of the poetry to be lost in the interwoven harmonies.”
In the 1581 treatise,
“Dialogo della musica antica e della moderna” written by Vincenso Galilei, he
stated that the “elaborate polyphonic imitative style of the Renaissance can
neither render words clarly nor express with sufficient subtlety or force the
emotions of the text.” (3) This treatise
set up basic principles that stated, “…the text must be clearly understood”,
“the words must be sung with correct and natural declamation”, and “the melody
must not depict mere graphic details in the txt but must interpret the feeling
of the whole passage…” (3) Responses to
the premiere of L’Orfeo pay particular mention to Montevedi’s success at
capturing the emotion demanded by the Camerata. “The Mantuan court theologian
and poet, Cherubino Ferrari wrote that: “Both poet and musician have depicted
the inclinations of the heart so skilfully that it could not have been done
better … The music, observing due propriety, serves the poetry so well that
nothing more beautiful is to be heard anywhere”. (2)
While we can only imagine
what it must have been like to be at the Court in Mantua for the premiere of
“L’Orfeo”, technology has made it possible for us to experience Monteverdi’s
masterpiece with the convenience of an internet connection and a laptop, smart
tv, or even an iPhone. My original plan was to purchase a DVD of a 2008
performance, which changed to internet streaming due to slow guaranteed
shipping times from amazon.com. The video performance I choose to watch was
recorded in 1978 at the Zurich Opera House under the direction of Nikolaus
Harnoncourt. The convenience of the internet in the palm of our hands makes it
easy to take technology for granted. The technology that is easy to see include
the backdrops that are brought in and out to depict “the fields of Thrace (Acts
1, 2 and 5) and the Underworld (Acts 3 and 4)”. (2) It’s a little easier to
think about the lights that make it possible for us to see the performers, or
the stand lights that allow the musicians to see their sheet music. It’s quite
a bit less obvious to think about the video camera’s, recording and editing
equipment, and the digital conversion process that enabled the 1978 performance
to be uploaded to the internet. Another very small yet significant technology
that I’m particularly drawn to is the use of the Antiphonal Brass during the
Fanfare at the beginning of the production. The use of directional sound,
especially in an offstage antiphonal setting, creates a stunning performance
effect that still awes audiences today.
The Opera World seems to
have been on the forward edge when it comes to trends in using new technology.
New Opera’s have included the use of moving video screens, robots, and sensors
that monitor the performers vital statistics and use them to manipulate visual
effects. What will the future of opera hold? I think the answer is only limited
to the imaginations of the creative minds that will continue to fuel this art
form. If I were a 21st Century Producer, I might be convinced to
create a video game to immerse a broader (and more youthful) audience in the
story of L’Orfeo.
The video game world has
been no stranger to epic adventures spanning over 3 decades with franchises
like Final Fantasy that released the original game in December, 1987 to the
most current release of “Final Fantasy XV” which was released in November,
2016. The advancements in game console technology have also supported full
orchestral soundtrack, and realistic video sequences for well over a decade.
The technology is undoubtably there to support a 1st person Role
Playing Game (RPG) that follows the story of L’Orfeo. If I were producing this
game, I would set the player up to be L’Orfeo, and follow his epic adventure
from the fields of Thrace with the nymphs and shepherds starting in Act I to
the gates of Hades and the Underworld in Act 3 and back, all the way through
his ascent to the Heaven’s with his father, Appolo in Act 5. Perhaps a “Guitar
Hero” type sequence might work well as our hero soothes Caronte to sleep before
steeling the ferryman’s boat to cross into the Underworld. Other parts of the
story would be best served as a “Cut Scene” as opposed to actual game play,
such as showing L’Orfeo’s bride being bitten on the foot by a poisonous snake,
or when L’Orfeo looks back at Euridice as they attempt to leave Hades, thereby
breaking the agreement with Plutone and sealing Euridice’s fate.
Works
Cited
Monteverdi, C. “L’Orfeo”, 1607; Performance by Das Monteverdi-Ensemble des
Opernhauses Zurich, 1978. Posted on YouTube 9 AUG 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcRFFmgVGlc.
Accessed 10 February 2019.
“Monteverdi: L’Orfeo”, courses.lumenlearning.com/musicapp_historical/chapter/1-6-1-lorfeo-monteverdi/,
Accessed 10 February 2019
Kennedy,
H.B. “A Comparative Study of Monteverdi’s
L’Orfeo and L’Incoronazione di Poppea”, 1 January 1969, https://thekeep.eiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1514&context=theses,
Accessed 11 February 2019
Kheyer,
J.M. “L’Orfeo”, quizlet.com/169910481/lorfeo-flash-cards/,
Accessed 13 February 2019
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