Don Giovanni: Comparing Opera Buffa And Opera

How is the theme of suffering portrayed in ‘Othello’, ‘Wuthering Heights’ and ‘One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’?

“The Chrysalids” by John Wyndham is a science fiction novel about a town that does not accept difference. The novel takes place in a post nuclear time in the community of Waknuk. It describes how human nature can be cruel and the act of acceptance which everyone strives for. David Strorm morally and emotionally grows throughout the novel through character, setting, theme and plot. Significant events that David experiences teach him both something about himself and the world he lives in. When he firstly meets Sophie and realizes her difference, his aunt expressing that she does not feel bad about her newborn that has a deviation and lastly when he, Petra and Rosalind flee Waknuk.

The choice of the “Three women of Don Giovanni” can give a good understanding of the type of music which was used to create an opera in the 18th century Italy. The opera buffa was a comic opera with a funny story line and light music. Mozart wrote at different levels.

Opera Buffa refers to a genre of opera that is more comical in nature, and was written for the lower-echelon of people… i.e. ‘peasants’. Mozart authored many of these vaudevilles in order to support himself when times were not great. Typically, Opera Buffas were light-hearted and sweet with happy endings, a polar opposite of the tone of Don Giovanni. A non-Mozart example is: “Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s La serva padrona”.

During World War Two, propaganda was a way for the government to entice people on one-sided political standpoints. It was used mostly in the form of posters, especially in the United States and Germany. These illustrative displays were all very unique but had similar characteristics. The American propaganda poster, “Liberty” and the German’s, “Sower of Peace” served the same purpose and audience but had very different visual presentations. The American poster depicts soldiers fighting in the Revolutionary War 1778 and in WWII in 1943. Also in the poster waves the original American flag, symbolizing the nation’s freedom from Britain. At the bottom of the poster reads, “Americans will always fight for liberty.” The poster’s meaning is that the United States will not stand by and let other countries control or endanger us, that the people will fight the same as they did during the brutal war in 1778. On the other hand, the German poster illustrates Hitler sowing “seeds of peace.” In the background lies an angel with a trumpet, representing peace and harmony. “The seed of peace, not dragon's teeth” is written on the bottom of the poster in German. Although the two advertisements differed in appearance, they were similar in audience.

Giving Character's character is one of the most interesting challenges in operatic composition; another is composing for all the specific characters. A composer has to distinguish between characters through his music. Jan can't sound like Fran, and Dan can't sound like Stan. Each character must have his/her own traits. Mozart's opera, Don Giovanni, provides us with many different characters to compare and contrast.

Don Giovanni can be characterized as a comic opera due to its indulgence with tragic themes, such as crime and murder, in an astoundingly funny manner. By definition, an opera is an art form in which the composers combine dramatic works with musical scores and libretto or text in theatrical settings. The singing may be either melodic or recitative. Traditionally, operas incorporate most of the typical elements of spoken theatre, including

Don Giovanni is an operatic character that plays a womanizer during the 17th century. This was a play first performed in 1789, a successful creation of Mozart and DaPonte. During the play, Don Giovanni represents a sociopath that is lead by his incredible weakness for women. This weakness leads him into darkness, complete with seduction, and murder. Since the beginning, many people have seen Don Giovanni as a hero but many others have considered him a villain. The actions of Don Giovanni are not completely heroic neither are they totally villainous. But is noticeable that throughout the play he is more a hero than a villain.

As stated by Burkholder, Grout and Palisca, Weber’s Der Freischutz’s “rustic choruses, marches, dances and airs”; multisectional aria form (influence from Rossini) and florid vocal lines were all common characteristics of the Italian Opera. Meanwhile in Verdi’s Otello, Wagnerian influence could be seen. Verdi used melodic motives to show the characters’ emotions. In Act 4 scene 3, the orchestra was used to heighten the dramatic moment instead of the voice, which was a breakthrough in the history of Italian Opera. It is apparent that both Italians and Germans knew how to blend the musical elements and text well to demonstrate the Romantic traits in their opera.

The development and contribution Purcell made to the operatic genre through his opera and dramatic works.

As the villain in Shakespeare's play Othello, Iago has two main actions. They are to plot and to deceive. Iago wishes to plot and to deceive because he is jealous of Othello and hates him. Iago's reasons for why he hates Othello is because he believes that Othello made love to his wife, and Iago is mad that Cassio was chosen to be Lieutenant instead of himself. From this hate comes the main conflict of the play.

The Italian opera and the German opera are two different fields that both share characteristics, some of which are paralleled, and some of which contrast. Specifically, Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner use motifs such as: redemption through love, patriotism, and sacrifice which run throughout both of their operas. The theme of betrayal also seems to be echoed throughout both operas; yet they are each used to project a different response. The significance of this comparison demonstrates that Verdi and Wagner may allude to the same references, such as Victor Hugo, Shakespeare, and Byron, but the operas The Flying Dutchman (German opera) and that of Nabucco (Italian opera) are completely different in context, and musical style; perhaps even

Othello and Iago Comparison Othello and Iago are different in their characters as well as in their colours. It could be said also, however, that they are similar because of their fallibility. Iago is overcome with his desire for revenge to such an extent that he puts it into action. Othello's love and possessiveness of Desdemona take over him until he eventually would rather kill her than allow anyone else to have her. In this way, despite their contrasts, Iago and Othello both represent the extremity of the same thing - human emotion.

During the eighteenth century, composers wrote in a style of opera called opera seria.' Opera seria had the following characteristics:

Imagine you are in a darkened theater and on stage are the actors. Behind the actors you can see the scenery. Down in front of the stage, in what is called the pit, is an orchestra and a conductor. As the orchestra plays, the actors on stage do not speak their lines they sing them!