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opera seria
opera seria (It.). Serious opera. In the 17th and 18th cents., opera seria was the chief operatic genre, becoming very formal and complex, with elaborate display arias. Mythological subjects were the norm, and most of these were written for various composers by the librettist Metastasio. The last and greatest examples of the form were Mozart's Idomeneo (1781) and La clemenza di Tito (1791).
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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "opera seria." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "opera seria." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-operaseria.html MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "opera seria." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-operaseria.html |
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opera seria
opera seria Style of Italian opera in the 17th and early 18th centuries. The plots were usually heroic or tragic. Priority was given to virtuoso vocal display in elaborate arias. The formalism and stylization of such operas prompted a reaction that gave rise to the development of opera buffa.
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Cite this article
"opera seria." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "opera seria." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-operaseria.html "opera seria." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-operaseria.html |
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