MUS 353 Chapter Notes - Chapter 13: La Serva Padrona, Querelle Des Bouffons, Opera Buffa
Document Summary
In spite of the rising status of instrumental music in the classical era, vocal music retained its traditional position of aesthetic supremacy. Without a text, instrumental music was perceived as appealing only to the emotions as the. Bolstered by a text, vocal music sacred or secular could appeal to both heart and mind at once. The opera house, in particular, was a center of intense musical activity and controversy. Opera"s high status in the cultural hierarchy made it a subject of great critical interest and a magnet for the most talented singers, composers, stage designers, and poets of the day. Like movies stars today, these people often found themselves the focus of gossip and adulation. Unfortunately, very few operas of the classical era are performed with any regularity today. The bulk of this enormous repertory remains largely unknown, even to opera enthusiasts. As early as the 1720s, a new style of opera was beginning to emerge in italy.
