Music: An Appreciation, Brief 7th Edition (Kamien)

Chapter 18: Richard Wagner

Verdi and Wagner

Rent or borrow from your local library videos of an opera by each of these composers. View them both, and then compare the two operas in the following ways:

• Themes
• Characters
• Relationship between text and music
• Melody: aria and recitative or continuous melody?
• Harmony
• Relationship between orchestral accompaniment and vocal melody: does one composer place more importance on the orchestral accompaniment?