Innovations: Singer Power and Singer Worship-the Diva The short, contrasting sections of the midcentury cantata were replaced by alternating recitatives and arias later in the century. Rome was the center of cantata composition in the seventeenth century. Arias often reflected the meaning of their text in musical motives in the melody or accompaniment.
There were many types of aria, but by the end of the century, the most prevalent form was the da capo aria. Singers were the stars of opera, often commanding much higher fees than composers, and arias were the main musical attraction. Italy continued to be the stylistic source for composers of operas and chamber cantatas, both of which used recitative and aria.īy the late seventeenth century, opera was established in Venice, Naples, Florence, and Milan.
Operatic styles influenced vocal music for chamber and church. Venice remained the principal center of opera, and distinctive operatic traditions emerged in France, England, and Germany. In the second half of the seventeenth century, opera spread across Italy and Europe. Chapter 12: Opera and Vocal Music in the Late Seventeenth Century