This examination essay is a study of the aria Ritorna vincitor! from the opera Aida by composer Giuseppe Verdi. The aim of this study is to address the vocal and interpretational questions that may arise while learning the aria. My work with this essay has included searching for information about Verdi, the opera Aida and the cultural, political and musical climate wherein the opera was born. I have also watched the opera and listened to several versions of the aria. I concentrated especially on the interpretations of Mirella Freni, Leontyne Price and Maria Callas. I also created a musical analysis of the aria. Throughout the process of writing this essay I have kept in my mind my own perspective as a singer. I have formed my study from the information I find useful in the process of approaching a new piece of music. The process of writing this essay has provided me with a lot of insight into the musical ideals and ideas behind Verdi’s work. Writing this essay made me aware of the dilemma of fulfilling the vocal expectations of the tradition and at the same time interpreting the drama convincingly. I have found a lot of useful material for a singer’s artistic development and all that I have learned will certainly come into use in my future vocal studies.

One of the most fundamental changes of the European opera production of the so-called long 19th century - apart from the change of the music structure itself, opera dramaturgy (or poetics) and forming of stable repertoire among other things - was its internalization: it was no more Italian opera as the only international operatic idiom but various traditions were influencing each other, the most important being the French, German and Italian operatic traditions (apart from the Russian one). The core thesis of this work, as it is seen in its title, could be formulated as follows: Prague in the mid-19th century could be regarded as a crossroad of European opera, in other words a place where these operatic traditions were in play. It means two things: First, Prague opera repertoire became international (many French, German and Italian operas were performed here). Second, dramaturgy of poetics of these various genres was projected into works of home composers. Dramaturgical analysis of four chosen operas - three of them by Johann Friedrich Kittl (Bianca und Giuseppe oder Die Franzosen vor Nizza, Die Waldblume and Die Bilderstürmer) and one by Josef Dessauer (Lidwinna) - aims to document this second statement. To which extent a composer is led and determined by a given libretto could be seen at the case of...

No description available.