What makes opera grand

And so this little trio becomes a moment of striking beauty, instead of a jumble. And again reality has been expanded by music into a richness of lyricism whereby we can actually perceive three emotions at the same time. And together, the three things make a network of emotions that is in itself a brand new kind of emotional experience trio sings :. Do you see what I mean by "network of emotions"? That's something only opera can give you.

Now, of course the singers were also singing words, but somehow you don't mind the jumble of different sung words. They are swallowed up by the beauty of the harmony. What Makes Opera Grand? He refers to the jealousy in Bizet's "Carmen," and the hope in Gounod's "Faust," with examples from both sung by William Lewis.

Bernstein also looks at the despair in Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov," featuring Norman Scott, and the pure exaltation of evil in Strauss's "Salome". Bernstein contends that since music is received directly by the heart, and does not need to be processed by the brain first, opera characters tend to be less complex and diverse. Next, Bernstein uses the third act of Puccini's "La Boheme" to demonstrate how opera expands drama into a grand event with the use of mood music, recitative, emotion, the simultaneous expression of contrasting moods and events, and the expansion of recorded time.

He illustrates this point by presenting the same act performed in two different ways -- Kenneth Haigh, Jean Marsh, Evans Evans, and Hans Conried reenact the plot using only dialogue, while Carlo Bergonzi, Marcella Pobbe, Laurel Hurley, and Frank Guarrera illustrate opera's expansion of a basic story.

The program ends with one final demonstration of the sheer physical impact of vocal sound and emotion as Vinay and Moedl reprise their roles in "Tristan und Isolde," this time depicting the moment in the final scene when Tristan dies to the strains of his lover's "Liebestod" aria.