What is Opera?

A Beginners Guide

Opera is an amazing form of the performing arts which combines many elements - music, drama, and dance plus all of the trimmings, such as set, costumes and lighting.

Opera is live entertainment. Depending on the size of the opera, there can be hundreds of people working together to make the music and the action run smoothly for every moment of the show.

An opera is divided into acts and scenes, like a play, but the characters sing their words instead of speaking them. The music of an opera can be continuous, or divided into separate pieces of music or songs linked by dialogue (spoken words).

Many operas open with an overture, which can be an introduction to the music of the opera, generally containing selections of the hit tunes of the show squashed into approximately five minutes. Then the show begins!

An opera is created by setting words to music. The librettist writes the words, while the composer creates the music behind the words.

Think about a horror movie - what does the music make you feel? It is the same with opera - the music should intensify the feelings being expressed, and improve the listener's understanding of the words or story.

For example - a song expressing anger might use harsh sounds and strong rhythms to emphasise the singer's mood, whereas a song about love will probably contain soft sounds and music.

An opera is made up of:

Libretto - the words and speech that make up the story of an opera
Score - the music of an opera
Arias - songs sung by one soloist
Ensembles - songs sung by more than one singer, for example a duet (2 people singing), a trio (3 singers), a quartet (4 singers) or more

The Cast

Soloists or Principals are the main singers in an opera
The Chorus - provide backing vocals for the soloists, but can also have 'tunes' of their own
* Voice Types - there are 4 main voice types in opera.
     Women have either soprano or mezzo voices, while men have either tenor or bass voices
     A soprano is able to sing higher than a mezzo, while a tenor is able to sing higher than a bass
The orchestra - the group of musicians who accompany the singers (usually around 60 players)
The conductor - counts time with his baton to keep all the musicians, performers and technicians together
Supers - the actors who fulfil non-singing roles in an opera

The Creatives

The Director - works with the cast and other creatives to create the dramatic action of the opera
The Set Designer - designs the set for the opera (often the set designer also does costumes and is then called Production Designer
The Lighting Designer - designs the lighting for the opera
The Costume Designer - designs the costumes for each character in the opera