Opera Seria

Opera seria is the formal, mythological opera that dominated European stages from roughly 1700 to 1770. Libretti, usually by Pietro Metastasio or Apostolo Zeno, treat ancient or biblical heroes in three acts, with the plot advanced almost entirely in recitative and the emotional reflection delivered in da capo arias — A-B-A' structures where the singer is expected to re-ornament the returning A section with cadenzas, runs and trills. Orchestras center on strings with continuo (harpsichord and cello), adding pairs of oboes, horns and trumpets in grand numbers. The defining vocal sound is the castrato — a male singer castrated in boyhood to retain a soprano or alto range while developing adult lung capacity — who typically sang the lead heroic role.

The genre was consolidated in Naples and Rome around 1700 as a deliberately classicizing reform of the more theatrical Venetian opera of the 17th century. Handel exported it to London ('Giulio Cesare,' 1724; 'Rinaldo,' 1711), while Vivaldi, Hasse, Porpora and Vinci supplied courts across Italy and Germany. Star castrati such as Farinelli and Senesino were the era's celebrities, their fees rivaling those of any monarch. The form began to feel rigid by mid-century, and Gluck's 'reform' operas of the 1760s — 'Orfeo ed Euridice' (1762) above all — simplified the recitative and integrated the action. Mozart's 'La clemenza di Tito' (1791) is usually treated as the closing statement of the tradition.

In a da capo aria, the surprise is the return: the second A is the singer's chance to improvise ornaments the composer never wrote. Pay attention to how the same melody sounds entirely different the second time around. Recitative passages move quickly and lean on harpsichord chords; aria sections suddenly thicken into a full string texture. Modern productions cast countertenors or mezzo-sopranos in the original castrato roles — Cecilia Bartoli, Philippe Jaroussky and Iestyn Davies are among the best-known interpreters.

For a single short aria, 'Lascia ch'io pianga' from Handel's 'Rinaldo' is a perfect compact da capo. For a full album, Cecilia Bartoli's 'The Vivaldi Album' (1999) is the standard primer; for the castrato repertoire specifically, Philippe Jaroussky's Carestini and Farinelli recordings are essential.

The last castrato of the Sistine Chapel choir, Alessandro Moreschi, was recorded on wax cylinders in 1902 and 1904 — the only audio document of a voice type that had defined two centuries of European opera. The practice was officially abolished by Pope Leo XIII in 1903.