Opera

Opera is a genre of theatrical performance in which singing and music, as well as acting have a predominant meaning. In fact this genre is a synthetic combination of different arts: dramaturgy, music, pictorial arts (decorations, clothing) and choreography. An opera group comprises a soloist, a chorus, an orchestra, an organ.

The characters are revealed during solos when soloists reproduce human speech by singing their texts which is a very common thing in musical dramaturgy. In some genres of opera spoken speech may be used instead of recitative (this happens mainly in comedy genres).

The chorus in the opera can be defined in different ways. Sometimes it can be just a background not connected with the plot, sometimes it can be a kind of a commentator of everything what's happening on the stage.

The orchestra is also very important in the opera as it helps to even better reveal the artistic images of the characters. The orchestra plays overtures, interludes and so on. Another common component of an opera is ballet, i.e. choreographic scenes where plastic images are combined with the musical ones.

It is known that the firs opera theatre for public performances was opened in 1673 in Venice. Up to that moment opera was only an exclusive court entertainment. Very soon opera spread to other countries and became what we know it to be now.

Today opera has somewhat lost its popularity especially among young people that are mostly attracted by popular forms of art like pop music, although operas have not lost their admirers completely.