1 ARTS IV G9.pptx fourth quarter lesson 1

arts

1. Western classical plays and opera

2. Part 1: Greek Theater

3. The theatre in Greece served as the means for the people to express their religious beliefs . The Greek theatre includes music, dances, and drama . Great dramas were produced in Athens in the 5 th century. The famous writers of tragedies were Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides . Tragedies were based on their myths and ancient heroes . Themes were focused on moral issues, especially on the danger of arrogance, or hubris in Greek. Comedies were their way to comment on and criticize their government and politicians . The artists enjoyed remarkable freedom of speech as they criticized their government policies and politicians through jokes and puns . Famous Greek comic playwright was Aristophanes.

4. Greek plays were usually performed outdoors during the festivities honoring the god of harvest, wine, fertility, and theatre , Dionysus . Lysistrata was a famous ancient Greek comedy written by Aristophanes during the turn of the 4 th century Before the Common Era (B.C.E)

5. Oedipus Rex

6. The Greek theatre is composed of a large circular orchestra , a theatron , and a skene . The orchestra serves as the acting and dancing area. A semi-circular theatron is the auditorium or the viewing place. The skene is the place to change costumes (dressing room) or a place for actors to rest. A parodos , in the theater of ancient Greece, is a side-entrance to the stage, or the first song that is sung by the chorus at the beginning of a Greek tragedy.

7. Part 2: Shakespearean Theater

8. Shakespearean theatre is based on the plays written by the great English playwright, and poet, William Shakespeare, during the 16 th century . He is considered the greatest playwright in the history of English literature. Shakespeare’s works are classified into three genres: comedy, tragedy, and history. An example of his comedy is The Taming of the Shrew and his famous drama is Julius Caesar . Shakespeare’s stories are about men and women with strong and weak qualities . The plays are vehicles to understand more about life and love, action, and nationalism . The plays have universal appeal because they are all about human nature, character, and motivation.

9. Costume The grand costumes and sets of Shakespeare’s play set the production apart from regular theaters . Time influenced the production of the plays. Men’s Clothing Elaborate, flamboyant, colorful , stylish, and stunning men’s garments. Decorated with feathers and jewels. Women’s clothing An intricate, stylish, colorful garment that usually has two part: a bodice and a petticoat or a skirt. Ornamented with jewels, pearls, lace, artificial flowers, braid, embroidery, artificial flowers

10. Theater Buildings The shape is usually round or octagonal. In Elizabethan theatre buildings, the audience surrounds the stage on the three sides. Stage It may or may not be protected by a canopy. A platform in design, is sometimes called a “three-quarter round” Acting Style The acting style for the early Elizabethan plays was heroic and exaggerated. This means that acting was highly stylized to convery heroic ideals of honor , love, and courage by a character that seemingly has superhuman qualities. Language Magnificent poetry. Unrivaled use of tone, color , and complex word meanings that made the plays more dramatic and appealing.

11. Part 3: The Opera

12. Opera has the characteristics of spoken theatre such as acting, scenery, and costumes . It gained popularity during the Romantic period. Characteristics of Opera: Conventional and Classical music are used. Makes use of the original language by which the music lyrics are written (mostly Italian, Spanish, and German) It has no dancing, except in parts when the actor plays a dancer. The singer must primarily be a singer and rarely an actor or a dancer. It has some unaccompanied dialogue but is very minimal.

13. Example of Opera Carmen, the opera, is based on a French novella by French writer Prosper Merimee (1803 – 1870). Merimee was inspired to write the story on his trip to Spain. Carmen is the best example of naturalism, an anti-Romantic movement in arts , which was popular in France in the late 19 th century.

14. A musical is a kind of performing art that requires elements for creative expression. It requires the following elements for an integrated wholesome art: lines, color , shape, rhythm, space, sound, texture, and movement .