Operas Without Choruses?
Torquil
I have read that Britten's "The Rape of Lucretia" has none, and that
Handel revived "Acis and Galatea" without the choruses. But are there
any 'mainstream' operas that were composed without choruses? I don't
know whether a definition of 'chorus' is needed, but let us suppose
that it means an ensemble number in which there is more than one voice
to a part. Tips?
Tor
Stephen Jay-Taylor
use of a chorus throughout the "Ring" at all until Act II of
"Götterdämmerung"
"Ariadne auf Naxos", "Capriccio" and "Salome" ( discounting the five jews,
anyway usually cast as either passé or up-and-coming soloists ).
"The Turn of the Screw" and "Death in Venice"
SJT
EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)
I haven't seen either that often, so I may be mistaken,
but I don't remember a chorus in Copland's "The Tender
Land", nor in Barber's "Vanessa".
Dave Seaman
Schoenberg's "Erwartung" (only one character) and Bartok's "Bluebeard's
Castle" (only two). These one-act operas were once done as a double bill
at the Met with Jessye Norman remaining on stage for almost the entire
evening.
--
Dave Seaman
Oral Arguments in Mumia Abu-Jamal Case heard May 17
U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
<http://www.abu-jamal-news.com/>
La Donna Mobile
I was tempted to say Cosi fan Tutte but it does, I think.
EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)
Dave Seaman wrote:
> On Mon, 27 Aug 2007 08:29:35 -0700, Torquil wrote:
>
>>The thread on definitions of opera got me to wondering about choruses.
>>I have read that Britten's "The Rape of Lucretia" has none, and that
>>Handel revived "Acis and Galatea" without the choruses. But are there
>>any 'mainstream' operas that were composed without choruses? I don't
>>know whether a definition of 'chorus' is needed, but let us suppose
>>that it means an ensemble number in which there is more than one voice
>>to a part. Tips?
>
>
> Schoenberg's "Erwartung" (only one character) and Bartok's "Bluebeard's
> Castle" (only two). These one-act operas were once done as a double bill
> at the Met with Jessye Norman remaining on stage for almost the entire
> evening.
Menotti "The Telephone", Pergolesi "La Serva Padrona",
Wolf-Ferrari "Secret of Suzanne".
>
>
>
Elektra
Schicchi, Ariadne, Rheingold, Siegfried.,Elekttra, Salome.among others
Mark
>
> Schicchi, Ariadne, Rheingold, Siegfried.,Elekttra, Salome.among others
Did you get that answer by reading the previous 6 posts where all
those operas were mentioned? Nice work.
Terry Simmons
Torquil <torquil....@gmail.com> wrote:
Not sure. Is there a chorus in Capriccio? Or Rosenkavalier? Werther?
Elektra? Arabella? I don't think a chorus turns up in "Der Ring" until
the final "Gotterdammerung". As far as I can recall, the chorus has
surprisingly little to do in "La Boheme". And I think Britten is a
likely hunting-ground. I can't remember chorus in "Albert Herring",
"Turn of the Screw", "Death in Venice" or "Owen Wingrave", but I don't
think these qualify as "mainstream", really. The same probably goes for
various baroque operas such as "Serva Padrona", "Pimpinone" and
Monteverdi's "Poppea". I don't recall choruses in "Gianni Schicchi" or
"Il Tabarro".
Terry Simmons
Mark <mark.c...@gmail.com> wrote:
You shouldn't assume posts arrive at all destinations in chronological
order. More than once I've had the experience of replying to a post,
only to learn later that an earlier poster has supplied just about the
same information. (I suspect that I've just done it again.)
Mark
> In article <1188228575.841849.179...@y42g2000hsy.googlegroups.com>,
It seems to me that the 5 serving women in the beginning of Elektra
perform the part of a "Greek Chorus", exposing and commenting on parts
of the story. As for La Boheme, the entire second act is taken on by
the chorus and children's chorus. La Serva Padrona couldn't possibly
have a chorus since there are only 2 singing parts. Tabarro has men's
chorus singing off stage or "below deck" briefly. Monteverdi's earlier
work Orfeo is full of choruses, but Poppea employs more of the "Greek
Chorus" effect in comments from bystanders and soldiers.
John Gund
> Not sure. Is there a chorus in Capriccio? Or Rosenkavalier? Werther?
> Elektra? Arabella? I don't think a chorus turns up in "Der Ring" until
> the final "Gotterdammerung". As far as I can recall, the chorus has
> surprisingly little to do in "La Boheme". And I think Britten is a
> likely hunting-ground. I can't remember chorus in "Albert Herring",
> "Turn of the Screw", "Death in Venice" or "Owen Wingrave", but I don't
> think these qualify as "mainstream", really. The same probably goes for
> various baroque operas such as "Serva Padrona", "Pimpinone" and
> Monteverdi's "Poppea". I don't recall choruses in "Gianni Schicchi" or
> "Il Tabarro".
Just to save somebody a little research time. These are the ones that I
remember out of the above list off the top of my head:
Rosenkavalier - has chorus in Acts 2 & 3
La Boheme - The chorus is involved in all of Act 2 and the beginning of
Act 3
Albert Herring & Turn of the Screw - no chorus
Death in Venice - a lot of Chorus. The final 10-15 minutes of Act 1 are
almost exclusively taken up with "Choral Dances"
AlisonC
> I was tempted to say Cosi fan Tutte but it does, I think.
Yes, they sing "Bella vita militar" a lot, but not much else.
I believe Handel's operas didn't really have choruses - the (usually
relatively few) bits marked "coro" were sung by the soloists, and they
are still sometimes performed this way today. In the Glyndebourne
"Giulio Cesare" the two deceased characters returned to sing the
choruses in the final scene - though they would probably have done it
offstage in Handel's time I imagine.
AlisonC
there? - they sing quite a lot during the Games of Apollo, but at
other times as well.
Tom White
+ The thread on definitions of opera got me to wondering about choruses.
+ I have read that Britten's "The Rape of Lucretia" has none, and that
+ Handel revived "Acis and Galatea" without the choruses. But are there
+ any 'mainstream' operas that were composed without choruses? I don't
+ know whether a definition of 'chorus' is needed, but let us suppose
+ that it means an ensemble number in which there is more than one voice
+ to a part. Tips?
How about RUSALKA? The three wood-sprites always appear together,
but they do get separate billing (first, second, and third), and
they don't always sing the same part.
edo...@gmail.com
wrote:
I don't believe Puccini uses a chorus in either Il Tabarro or Gianni
Schicchi.
Ed
Ourrias
act?
"Terry Simmons" <tlst...@tpgi.com.au> wrote in message
news:tlsterry-438976...@dnews.tpgi.com.au...
Robert Sheaffer
> I don't believe Puccini uses a chorus in either Il Tabarro or Gianni
> Schicchi.
>
> Ed
>
Correct about Schicchi. There are some ensemble scenes, however, in
Tabarro, not certain if it's actually a "chorus."
Actually, a chorus is not 'many voices singing at the same time', but
rather, 'more than one voice singing exactly the same part.'
Schicchi has some elaborate parts for 5 and 6 singers, but each is
individually scripted. The nine Valkyries in their famous "ride" have
individual names, and individual parts. So it is not a "chorus."
Robert
Binkie Huckaback
> Poppea employs more of the "Greek
> Chorus" effect in comments from bystanders and soldiers.-
Until the coronazione itself, when a chorus appears to celebrate the
occasion.
BH (AH)
bocho...@gmail.com
chromolume
chsiii
Der Schauspieldirektor
Il Segreto di Susanna
The Old Maid and the Thief
Intermezzo (?)
wrote in message
news:633e0e39-bfd5-40c0...@googlegroups.com...
El lunes, 27 de agosto de 2007 10:29:35 UTC-5, Torquil escribi�:
Aage Johansen
> El lunes, 27 de agosto de 2007 10:29:35 UTC-5, Torquil escribi�:
>> I have read that Britten's "The Rape of Lucretia" has none, and that
>> Handel revived "Acis and Galatea" without the choruses. But are there
>> any 'mainstream' operas that were composed without choruses? I don't
>> know whether a definition of 'chorus' is needed, but let us suppose
>> that it means an ensemble number in which there is more than one voice
>> to a part. Tips?
>>
>> Tor
>
> http://opera.stanford.edu/misc/UnaVoce.html
>
--
Aage J.