Written Assignment 2: A Night at the Opera

1. Listen to three (3) arias (Ctrl+Click):
 Verdi’s La traviata – ‘Sempre libera’; Renée Fleming, (The Royal Opera with Subtitles)
 Wagner – Bryn Terfel Magic Fire Music (Die Walkure 2011) French Subtitles
The story: As the angry Wotan states that Brünnhilde must become mortal and marry the
first man she sees, so does his word become law, unable to be retracted. His favorite
daughter only asks that the man she is to marry be not a coward. Remembering why she is
his favorite, Wotan then devises a way to grant her request. He puts her in a deep sleep,
only able to be awakened by a man proving himself brave by stepping through the fire
Wotan commands Loge to encircle her with.
Text:
Wotan: “Loge! Hear! Lend an ear!
a fiery glow as you then disappeared,
as a will-o-the wisp, just as I bound you.
I tame you today!
Arise you flickering flame, enfold the fell with fire!
Loge! Loge! Come here!
He who fears my spear-point
shall never pass through the fire!”
 Le barbier de Seville ”Air de Figaro” with subtitles
2. Complete the Opera table below.
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Opera
Verdi’s La
traviata –
‘Sempre
libera’;
Renée
Fleming,
(The Royal
Opera with
Subtitles)
(Puccini)
Wagner – Bryn
Terfel Magic
Fire Music (Die
Walkure 2011)
French Subtitles
Le barbier de
Seville ”Air de
Figaro” with
subtitles
Discuss
Similarities and Differences
Tempo (slow,
medium, fast,
dance-like?)
Tempo is slow
in the
beginning and
then escalates
as the song
goes on to
medium and
back to slow.
Tempo is slow
in like a
mysterious
way.
Tempo is fast
and very flowy
at some
points in the
act.
They don’t really have any
similarities in this aspect
because their tempo is much
different although sempre
libera and Terfel magic is both
slow they’re both slow in
different ways because of the
plot of the story.
Unity that you hear
in timbre
(instrumentation),
tempo, dynamics
(loud or soft)
The unity is
soft as the
song starts but
then it gets
loud.
This songs
tempo is slow
but also loud
and intriguing it
keeps you on
the tip of your
toes.
The unity you
hear in timbre
Is very fast
and upbeat I
love it
because it
makes me
want to be in
the
performance
myself.
All three songs have very
different unity and tempo
Sempre libre and la barbier
have more or a fast and loud
paste Terfel magic is very
different and not as fast or
loud.
Variety you hear
like changes in
timbre
(instrumentation),
tempo (fast/slow),
dynamics (loud or
soft)
There are
many changes
of timbre in
this song as it
goes from soft
or loud
quickly.
In this song you
don’t hear
many changes
because it is
more music
then signing so
the music never
changes much.
The tempo is
very fast and
loud almost as
a song in fast
motion is very
slows down it
just gets
faster.
Sempre libre has variety but
Terfel magic and la barbier
don’t have much as there
timbre doesn’t change as
much is mainly stays the
same throughout the whole
song.
Lyrics What story,
is told by lyrics
each artist sings?
Violetta
debates
whether she
loves alfredo,
but she also
This song is
about a man
who says his
daughter must
marry the first
This story it
tells is about
being a barber
and how he
gets to meet
All these songs tell a different
story from sempre libre being
about love and being free and
Terfel magic also being about
love but in a completely
wants to be
free, and
Alfredo’s
emotions
show both
pleasure and
pain as he
sings.
man she sees
and all she
wants is for the
man to be
brave and then
she is put into a
deep sleep and
is awaken by a
man who is
showing her he
is worthy and
brave enough
for her.
ladies and
men every
day and all
they ask for is
him to give
them a shave
or a quick cut
and how great
it is to be a
barber.
different way because she is
forced to marry someone and
then la berier is just about
being a barber, so it throws
them all off.
Voice quality Use
adjectives to
describe the
different timbre of
each singer’s voice.
Violetta’s
voice is very
noisy but very
elegant and
angelic to me
and Alfredo is
one of the
best sopranos
ever his voice
is just so
smooth.
Bryn Terfel is
just an amazing
opera singer his
voice is very
loud and
powerful, and it
really tells the
story not just
the voice but
the
performance as
well.
The voice
quality is very
mesmerizing
how his voice
is very high,
and his pitch
is just perfect
and stay the
same
throughout the
whole song.
The voice quality is probably
the most similarity they have
because all of their voices are
loud and strong.
Rhythm
Does the song
have a clear pulse
or beat? Is there
syncopation
This song
does have
clear beats
and pulses
and does also
include
syncopation.
This song has
very clear pulse
very loud and
goes along with
the signing and
performance
very well and
yes, I believe
there is
syncopation.
The rhythm of
this song is
fast paced the
pulse is very
loud and right
on beat and
there is also
syncopation
here.
Simpre libre the rhythm
changes from hard pulse to
soft and Terfel magic rhythm
stays the same as well as la
berier is doesn’t change it is
kind of more similar to Terfel
magic in the sense of the it
stays loud.
Other
What else comes to
mind as you listen
to this music?
When I listen
to this song it
makes me feel
like giving a
standing
ovation the
way they
preform, and
act is just out
of this world.
What comes to
my mind when
listening to this
song is just the
fact that he
stays in
character the
whole time as
he performs
and to me that
When I hear
this song, it
reminds me a
lot of my
boyfriend
because he is
a barber and
everything, he
says is true in
this song you
All three songs make me think
of very different things so
here they have a lot of
differences.
is a big thing
when it comes
to opera or
singing and
performing in
general.
do meet a lot
of people, and
everybody is
always asking
for him.
Can you think of a
modern artist or
song that may have
been influenced by
each vocalist or
each style? What
similarities are
apparent?
Maria Callas
sung this
opera as well
and she also
did it
beautifully the
voices sound
very alike
swell she just
didn’t perform
it.
Tosca: Te
Deum is
another song
by Bryn Terfel,
and I can
honestly say his
voice is just as
good here and
his
performance as
well the only
difference is
that this song is
more singing
than music as
magic fire
music is not
much music.
Florian
Sempey
Figaro Barbeir
De Seville
Rossini was
very similar to
this opera just
different
singers and
different
performance
but both sang
very well.
All of these are different in
many ways except that they
are all operas but there are no
similarities here.