Poetics of the Opera Genre

Abstract

The paper considers the poetics of opera as a factor in ensuring genre self-identification during over four centuries of opera history. It focuses on the root sources of opera related to the system of musical and theatrical genres. With the emergence of opera at the turn of the seventeenth century, its poetics was formed simultaneously in two versions: in the verbal texts and explanations and in the system of linguistic and expressive means of the works. The idea of the conditional existence of three different stories of opera is suggested. Each system is built depending on which components are the main focus when considering the historical material. There is opera as a “chanted drama”, opera as a genre of vocal-instrumental music, and finally, opera as one of the independent types of theatrical art. The three main elements of opera poetics and the functions of each of them are revealed on the example of the analysis of the sixth work in the history of the genre and the first truly classical example, the opera L’Orfeo byClaudio Monteverdi. If the opera characteristic vocal language and sung dialogues became a purely operatic innovation, two other elements of opera poetics used in this opera were actively developed throughout history: instrumental music, as well as choral and ensemble scenes. Thus, opera poetics is associated with constant flexible interaction of the laws of dramatic, musical, and theatrical arts.