Much of this distinction has to do with the balance and placing of the serious elements within the drama. So it seemed that Mozart regarded Don Giovanni as somewhat special and distinct from his other buffa operas-it was the one opera in which he could demonstrate the “true” Italian style to the Viennese. Viennese.ĭon Giovanni kills the Commendatore. And in Così there are only two principal female roles. What’s more, the story of Figaro was French in origin, so it couldn’t really be considered a “true” Italian opera. Even though The Marriage of Figaro, didn’t meet these criteria. As early as 1783, Mozart had been itching to write a “real” Italian opera for Vienna, but with three significant female roles instead of the traditional two one thoroughly serious, one both serious and comic but equal in vocal and musical quality to the first (a mezzo carattere role, in opera jargon), and one completely buffa. Opera Buffa, Dramma Giocoso, and ‘Real’ OperaĪre the differences between the two designations significant? Perhaps. Dramma GiocosoĪ term for comic operas with sentimental or pathetic plots bordering on tragedy rather than the traditional lighthearted comic plots that typically end with a dramatic climax. Characters were usually kings, ancient heroes, and gods and goddesses since performances of opera seria at this time were only for royalty and the ruling classes. The classic ‘serious’ style of three-act Italian opera popularized in Europe during the 18th century. Opera buffa is only two acts and focuses on everyday people in contemporary settings dealing with everyday struggles. The antithesis to opera seria, opera buffa is a comic style of opera developed out of the intermezzi, or interludes, performed between acts of serious operas. And for both of Mozart’s operas, the composer classified them simply as “opera buffa” instead of “dramma giocoso.” Opera Buffa But only three works with that designation are performed regularly today: Rossini’s La Cenerentola, and Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte. It was a fairly common genre in the middle of the Neapolitan opera style of the 18th century, a hybridized subset of opera buffa. Da Ponte categorized the libretto of Don Giovanni as a “dramma giocoso,” a common abbreviation for the term “dramma giocoso per musica,” meaning, more or less, “a serious opera with jokes,” sometime including supernatural elements and farce as well.
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