Gaetano Donizetti: From Classicism toward Romanticism

Early Italian romantic composer Gaetano Donizettti (1797-1848) is well known for his contributions to bel canto opera. A contemporary of Rossini, Donizetti composed following the same trends in the characterization and form of both opera comica and opera seria. His background and education was solidly anchored in the classical era of symphonic and operatic music. Despite this, he embraced a progressive sensibility for the tastes of the new generation; one which embraced less abstract representations of everyday life in opera. The attention given to the natural surrounding can become romantic, and Not merely a static backdrop for the scene, but rather an element within it which is present, flexible and active. The course will examine the operas of Donizetti: the incorporation of musical elements developed by his predecessors and contemporaries, the expansion of the musical form, the dimensionality of his musical characterizations and the ways in which they offer a compelling representation of the middle class.