Opera house

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This article is about the type of entertainment venue. For other uses, see Opera House (disambiguation).
Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, the world's oldest working opera house.
The Sydney Opera House is one of the world's most recognisable opera houses and landmarks.

An opera house is a

costumes
and building sets, as well as offices for the institution's administration.

While some venues are constructed specifically for operas, other opera houses are part of larger performing arts centers. Indeed, the term opera house is often used as a term of prestige for any large performing arts center.

History

Greco-Roman antiquity

Based on

Theater of Dionysus in Athens was, according to the Suda, intended for the rehearsal of music that was to be sung in the grand theater or, according to Plutarch, for the jury to audition musicians competing for a prize.[3]

Ancient theaters provided the ideal conditions, but it was not yet time for opera: the aim was to worship the deities, not to venerate the

Greco-Roman civilization
, gradually disappeared.

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages saw the abandonment of ancient theaters, which were transformed into gigantic stone quarries, like many other ancient buildings, both public or private. Music still had its place in worship. It continued to bring audiences together, but its content was completely renewed. The Jeu de Daniel ("Play of Daniel") was a sung play, characteristic of the medieval Renaissance of the 12th century. The subject, taken from the biblical Book of Daniel, deals with Israel's captivity in Babylon.[4] The play was written and performed by students of the Episcopal School of Beauvais, located in northern France.[5] In the 15th century, sung theater of a religious nature found a special place in the mystery plays performed on cathedral squares. As before, they dealt with sacred subjects, but they were not about worship per se. Secular musical theater also existed, but had a more popular and intimate aspect (see, for example, Adam de la Halle's Jeu de Robin et Marion ("Play of Robin and Marion"), in the 13th century).[6][7]

Modern period

At the beginning of the 17th century, in Italy, singing underwent yet another renewal, with the emergence of

Teatro alla Scala in Milan. The Teatro San Cassiano in Venice was the world's first public opera house, inaugurated as such in 1637.[9]

In the 17th and 18th centuries, opera houses were often financed by rulers, nobles, and wealthy people who used

bourgeois and capitalist
social forms in the 19th century, European culture moved away from its patronage system to a publicly supported system.

Early United States opera houses served a variety of functions in towns and cities, hosting community dances, fairs, plays, and vaudeville shows as well as operas and other musical events. In the 2000s, most opera and theatre companies are supported by funds from a combination of government and institutional grants, ticket sales, and private donations.

  • Opéra-Théâtre de Metz Métropole, built by benefactor Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet, duc de Belle-Isle during the 18th century; it is the oldest opera house working in France.
    Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet, duc de Belle-Isle
    during the 18th century; it is the oldest opera house working in France.
  • The Estates Theatre in Prague (Czech Republic) is the only theatre left standing where Mozart performed.
    The Estates Theatre in Prague (Czech Republic) is the only theatre left standing where Mozart performed.
  • Between 1847 and 1989, the Liceu in Barcelona (Spain) was the largest opera house in Europe by capacity, with its 2,338 seats at the time.
    Between 1847 and 1989, the Liceu in Barcelona (Spain) was the largest opera house in Europe by capacity, with its 2,338 seats at the time.
  • The Academy of Music in Philadelphia is the oldest opera house in the USA.
    The Academy of Music in Philadelphia is the oldest opera house in the USA.
  • The Bayreuth Festspielhaus in Bayreuth (Germany) was built by Richard Wagner and dedicated solely to the performance of his stage works.
    The Bayreuth Festspielhaus in Bayreuth (Germany) was built by Richard Wagner and dedicated solely to the performance of his stage works.

Other uses of the term

In the 19th-century United States, many theaters were given the name "opera house", even ones where opera was seldom if ever performed. Opera was viewed as a more respectable art form than

theater; calling a local theater an "opera house" therefore served to elevate it and overcome objections from those who found the theater morally objectionable.[10][11]

Gallery

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ Vitruvius, De architectura, Book V Chapter IV, Harmonic music according to the doctrine of Aritoxene, p. 223
  2. ^ Vitruvius, De architectura, Book V Chapter IV, Harmonic music according to the doctrine of Aritoxene, p. 243
  3. ^ Vitruvius, De architectura, Book V Chapter IV, Harmonic music according to the doctrine of Aritoxene, p. 286
  4. ^ Eugene, Enrico. "The Play of Daniel: European Music Series". Oklahoma: The University of Oklahoma. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
  5. ^ "The Play Of Daniel | Encyclopedia.com".
  6. ^ Hutchinson Encyclopedia (1988), p.10
  7. ISBN 978-1-84384-177-7
    . Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  8. ^ "Great Opera Houses of the World". BBC. Archived from the original on Feb 15, 2009. Opera was always popular among ordinary people as well as among the rich, so that there was a large audience available.
  9. ^ Mancini, Franco; Povoledo, Elena; Muraro, Maria Teresa (1995). I Teatri del Veneto - Venezia. Vol. Tomo 1. Venice: Corbo e Fiore. pp. 97–149.
  10. ISBN 0-8214-1588-3
    . The term 'opera house' is indeed misleading, and intentionally so; it provides a veneer of social and cultural respectability and avoids the stigma of the title 'theater.'
  11. ^ "The Name Opera House". Dramatic Mirror. March 7, 1885.

Sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Opera houses.
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