Opera History | Opera Facts | Terezin | Definitions

OPERA FACTS

ALONE AND TOGETHER

In the opera, performers sometimes sing alone (solo). These solos, called arias (ah-REE-uhs), reveal the characters thoughts and feelings.

Listen for…

Reyalto revealing her thoughts about marriage to the duke when she sings “Never, ever, never, ever, never.”

Many singers you see on music videos are singing solo arias. Singers like Madonna, Britney Spears and Michael Jackson are solo singers.

There are other times when two performers sing together—this is called a duet (do-ET)

Listen for…

Messienne and Reyalto planning how to save Simon.

In certain duets, characters have a “conversation”—they take turns singing different lyrics to eachother. The words are almost spoken. This is called recitative (REH-cih-tah-TEEV)

Listen for…

Simon and Reyalto’s “conversation” when they first meet.

When the three characters Reyalto, Messienne and the Emperor sing together about weaving magic fabric, the perform as a trio (TREE-oh)

Listen for…

the trio sing “happily ever after” at the opera’s end.

VOICE TYPES

At the beginning of the opera, the gypsy Messienne introduces each character to the audience. Each character then sings a brief melody. As you listen, notice the differing ranges and qualities of the voices.

These different voice types apply not only to The Emperor’s New Clothes, but to all operas:

The Women: Female opera singers are categorized by how high their singing voices are: soprano, mezzo-soprano and alto (contralto). Traditionally, the sopranos are the heroines, and the mezzo-sopranos and the altos are the mothers, witches, sidekicks and older women.

The Men: Male opera singers are also categorized by how high or low their singing voices are: tenor, baritone and bass (from highest to lowest). The tenors are usually famous singers who play the heroes, while the baritones and basses usually play the parts of evil people, fathers, bakers and criminals. 

• What do you think the different voice types say about the different characters in the opera? 
• The Emperor role is written for a special voice type called, in Italian, buffo (BOO-foe). Found in many operas, the buffo is a comic character that is easy for the audience to mock.
• If you turned one of your favorite stories into an opera, what character would you give the buffo voice type? Why?