Classical music appreciation: the Italian comic opera

Ancestor of the comic opera, the "intermezzo buffo" already displays unmistakably many features of it. In this lecture we will take a look at the cultural and social reasons behind its birth and its popularity and the great masterpiece this genre produced.

The extraordinary aria sung by Oberto in the second part of "La serva padrona" is a magnificent example of the combination of light and fresh music with some dramatic intensity.
We get to know a crucial role of the Italian comic opera, the "basso buffo", a role that will be used for more than a century after Pergolesi's death.

Around the half of the XVIII century the comic opera is finally born! Since we are talking about the development of the opera in Italy, the reasons behind change are the usual ones... money.

Not every comic opera is the same: on the other hand, there are two main types that are born of completely opposite cultural premises and environment, even though they originate from the art of one single titanic comedy writer. Let us find out how.

One of the most exciting and iconic type of piece that are found in comic operas is the concertato: concertatos are many times what audiences remember and love the most of comic operas and what get the greatest applauses. In this lecture we will learn the meaning of this word and the characteristics of this kind of piece.

One of the greatest concertatos in existence, there is no better piece for us to dive into as an example to analyse.
Here we will find everything that makes a great comic scene: a bizarre situation, a spicy text, interesting characters, and of course exciting, unforgettable music.

Coming back to the Italian opera system, there is no way a such thing as the concertato could be used following only artistic reasons... we get to know the master of the comic opera, Gioachino Rossini, and how his (abusive?) relationship with the concertato.

The signature of Rossini's compositional style and one of the secrets of his success is for sure the technique of the so-called "Rossinian crescendo". Let us learn the meaning of this expression and how it works!

Rossini inherits the tradition of the farce-like comic opera, that uses fixed characters inspired to the ancient comedy and the commedia dell'arte. Let us find out more.

So famous and beloved, who doesn't know this aria? It's a masterpiece and there are good reasons: we are going to unveil them and get able to enjoy it even more!

Which is the role of female characters in Rossini's comic opera? How is the feminine personality displayed by him? How does it participate in the comedy? And more importantly, how is the female voice used by this great composer? This topic is definitely worth a lecture of its own.

The last, but not least, of Rossini's standard roster of characters: the young hero. Its personality and vocal style are the most surprising in a comic opera among all the other characters. In this lecture we will find out why.

What after the great master? The history of the Italian comic opera, after a half century of glory takes a shift. Time to see what happens.

Even though this course is not the place to talk in depth about "Falstaff" by Giuseppe Verdi, it is a worthy ending spending a couple of lectures diving into the grand finale of this incredible opera.

Have fun, you won't be disappointed!