The Birth and Life of Opera

The Birth and Life of Opera was a very eye opening documentary. Normally when people my age tend to think of opera they think of a man or women singing very loudly. There is so much more to what opera is. There was and still is so much politics, passion, and excitement that goes into an opera. There almost wasn't even an opera. The first attempt called "Daphne" by Rinuccini and Peri was unsuccessful. The pairs second attempt also just couldn't catch on. Could you imagine if opera never even existed? There are so many feelings that are expressed through an opera; love, hate, passion, despair. Opera was also involved in a lot of politics. Aida was actually one of the plays that inspired Hitler's troops to think that Ethiopian were racially inferior and had them ready to march over and conquer them. There are so many hidden messages inside of opera's that tell stories that the people can't. so example, in the opera "Le Mariage de Figaro" it shows how rich people usually would treat their servants like slaves. It also showed how they believed that they could do whatever they wanted with them. Another example of how involved in politics opera's were the opera "La Muette de Portici" actually stirred up a revolution in Belgium. Opera has evolved in many ways throughout the years. Not only are opera's in Italy they are all over the world now; China, The United States and much more. Composers have modernized the way opera is sung in many ways as well. The can-can came from the opera and so did many other types of performances. I believe that opera will and always will be a huge part of the theatre.