ARTS Grade 9 - Western Classical Plays and Opera - 4th Quarter (MAPEH)

Key Concepts

• History of theatrical forms (Greek, Roman, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical, Romantic)
• Greek tragedy, comedy, and satyr plays
• Roman gladiatorial combats and public executions
• Minstrels and religious plays in Medieval theater
• Commedia dell'arte and Elizabethan theater
• Ballet's origins in the Renaissance
• Baroque theater's use of technology (deus ex machina)
• Neoclassical theater's emphasis on grandiosity and genre separation
• Melodrama and opera in the Romantic period
• Famous playwrights: Sophocles, William Shakespeare, Francisco Balagtas, Severino Reyes
• Famous composers: Georges Bizet
• Theatrical elements: staging, costumes, masks, music, gestures
• Filipino playwrights and their contributions to Philippine literature and theater

History of Theatrical Forms

• Origins: Theater evolved from myth, ritual, and ceremony, driven by human desire for entertainment.
• Definition: Theater is more than just a building; it involves playwrights, directors, designers, actors, and an audience.

Ancient Theaters (700 BCE - 410 CE)

Greek Theater

• Beginnings: Originated in ancient Greece around 700 BC with festivals honoring gods, particularly Dionysus (god of wine and fertility).
• Athens: The city-state of Athens was the center of cultural, political, and military power during this period.
• Playwrights: Notable Greek tragedy playwrights include Sophocles, Euripides, and Aeschylus.
• Types of Drama:
  • Tragedy: Dealt with tragic events and unhappy endings. Thespis was the first actor and introduced masks, becoming known as the father of tragedy. Tragedy is derived from "tragos" (goat) and "ode" (song).
  • Comedy: Derived from imitation. Aristophanes was a prominent comedy playwright; his play Lysistrata is a surviving example. Euripides wrote Cyclops, an adventurous comedy.
  • Satyr Play: Contained comic elements to lighten the mood of serious plays. Featured choruses of satyrs based on Greek mythology.
• Ancient Theater Terms:
  • Theatron: The theater building itself.
  • Orchestra: A large circular or rectangular area where plays, dances, and religious rites took place.
  • Skene: (Not explicitly defined in the transcript, but implied) The background building or structure.

Roman Theater

• Beginnings: Started in the 3rd century BC.
• Influences: Heavily influenced by Greek theater. Hellenization had a significant impact on Roman theater and Latin literature.
• Key Figures: Livius Andronicus initiated Roman drama in 240 BC.
• Theater of Pompey: One of the first permanent non-wooden theaters in Rome, similar in structure to the theater of Athens. Included a quadriporticus, scaenae frons, gardens, fountains, and statues.
• Themes: Chariot races, gladiators, and public executions were common. Romans enjoyed realistic violence.
• Comedy: Popular from 350 to 250 BC. Women were allowed to perform on stage.
• Christian Opposition: Christians opposed the barbaric themes, leading to the closure of theaters.

Medieval Theater (500 CE - 1400)

• Suppression: Theater performances were largely prohibited throughout Europe.
• Minstrels: Minstrels kept theater alive by performing in markets and festivals as puppeteers, jugglers, storytellers, dancers, and singers. They were often denounced by the church.
• Church Plays: Churches began staging biblical stories during Easter, such as the Mystery of Adam. Plays eventually moved outside the church due to their portrayal of the devil and hell.
• Themes: Plays revolved around biblical themes from creation to the last judgment.

Renaissance Theater (1400 - 1600)

• Revival: Characterized by a return to classical Greek and Roman arts and culture.
• Morality Plays: Morality plays and university dramas were formed.
• Public Theaters: Public theaters developed, including Commedia dell'arte (Italian comedy with masked professional players) and dramatic entertainments with pantomime, dancing, and song.
• Queen Elizabeth I: A prominent supporter of the theater.
• Companies of Players: Organized by aristocrats, performing seasonally.
• Gorboduc: An English play by Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville, performed in 1561 and before Queen Elizabeth I in 1562.
• William Shakespeare: A famous actor, poet, and playwright. Known for plays like Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Midsummer Night's Dream, Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, and Much Ado About Nothing.
• Contemporary Playwrights: Christopher Marlowe (Dr. Faustus, The Jew of Malta) and Thomas Kyd (The Spanish Tragedy).
• Ballet: Performed in public for the first time. Originated in Italian Renaissance courts and developed in France with Catherine de Medici. Ballet des Polonais (1573) was the first formal court ballet.
• Innovations:
  • Proscenium: Developed as the area surrounding the stage opening.
  • Backdrops: Popularized for scenery.
  • Commedia dell'arte: Developed as quick-witted performance of characters.

Baroque Theater (1600 - 1750)

• Technology: Marked by the use of technology for special effects and scene changes. Ropes and pulleys were used for quick transitions.
• Deus ex Machina: The "god from the machine" solution, where gods descended from the heavens to rescue heroes.
• Decoration: Theaters were richly decorated.
• Opera: Succeeded artificial qualities of plays.
• Examples: Films Vatel (2000) and Farinelli (1999), and stage productions of Orpheus by Claudio Monteverdi.

Neoclassical Theater (1800 - 1900)

• Influence: Styles of Roman and Greek societies influenced theater arts.
• Characteristics: Grandiosity, elaborate costumes and sceneries. The main concepts were to entertain and teach lessons.
• Staging: Stages were restyled with dramatic arches. Multiple entry points were evident. Lighting and sound effects intensified the mood.
• Scenery: Changing scenery and backdrops became more noticeable with the innovation of pole systems.
• Core Room: The concept of "core room" (right and proper audience behavior) was applied. Classical concepts and appropriate social behavior were observed.
• Genres: Only tragedy and comedy were officially established.
• Playwrights:
  • Pierre Corneille (1606-1684): "Father of French tragedy" (The Cid).
  • Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (Molière) (1622-1673): Known for comedies (Tartuffe, Misanthrope).
  • Jean Racine (1639-1699): Tragedian known for simple action and linguistic rhythms (Andromache, Phaedra).
• Trivia:
  • The first spotlight (limelight) was used in the U.S.
  • The Theatre Regulation Act of 1843 banned drinking in legitimate theaters.

Romantic Theater (1800 - 2000)

• Popular Forms: Melodrama and opera became the most popular theatrical forms.
• Melodrama: Originated from the French word "mélodrame" (Greek "melos" - music, French "drame" - to perform). Dramatic work that puts characters in danger to appeal to emotions, accompanied by orchestral music or song.
• Opera: An art form combining text (libretto) and musical score with acting, scenery, costumes, and dance. Performed in an opera house with an orchestra.
• Playwrights:
  • Victor Marie Hugo (1802-1885): Famous romantic playwright, poet, novelist, and dramatist (Les Contemplations, La Légende des Siècles, Les Misérables, Notre-Dame de Paris).
  • Other playwrights: Charles Nodier, George Sand, Heinrich von Kleist, Ludwig Holberg.
• Composers:
  • Georges Bizet (1838-1875): French composer, pianist, best known for operas. Carmen is his most popular work.
  • Contemporary composers: Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, Frédéric Chopin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, Hector Berlioz.

Famous Western Classical Plays and Operas

Sophocles

• Playwright: Ancient Greek tragedian. Contemporary of Aeschylus and Euripides.
• Works: Wrote 123 plays, but only seven survived in complete form (Ajax, Antigone, The Women of Trachis, Oedipus the King, Electra, Philoctetes, Oedipus at Colonus).
• Achievements: Won first place in 24 out of 30 competitions in Athens.
• Influence: Added a third actor and developed characters to a greater importance than the chorus.
• Oedipus Rex:
  • Characters: Oedipus, Creon, Eurydice, Apollo, King Laius, Jocasta, Polynices, Eteocles, Tiresias, Polybus, Merope, Antigone, Ismene, Haimon, Sphinx.
  • Theatrical Elements:
    • Genre: Tragedy
    • Characters: One to three actors portraying multiple characters.
    • Chorus: 12 members wearing identical masks.
    • Masks: Oedipus wore a gold mask, Jocasta's mask varied, Antigone and Ismene had white faces with dark under-eyes, Creon had an angry expression.
    • Gestures: Facial expression was not important due to masks.
    • Music: Chorus used to set the scene and lament events.
    • Costumes: Men wore loose floor-length ponchos, females wore draped robes.
    • Staging: Parthenon facade with ionic order columns.

William Shakespeare

• Playwright: English poet and playwright, regarded as the greatest writer in the English language.
• Life: Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, married Anne Hathaway, had three children.
• Works: 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and two long narrative poems.
• Career: Actor, writer, and part owner of the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later King's Men).
• Romeo and Juliet:
  • Genre: Tragedy
  • Characters:
    • Montague: Romeo, Lord Montague, Lady Montague, Benvolio, Balthazar, Abraham.
    • Capulet: Juliet, Lord Capulet, Lady Capulet, Tybalt, The Nurse, Peter, Samson, Gregory.
    • Other: Friar Lawrence, Mercutio, Prince Escalus, Paris, Rosaline, Friar John, Apothecary.
  • Theatrical Elements:
    • Staging: Three levels (main stage, upper canopied area, area under the stage).
    • No Curtain: Scenes flowed into each other.
    • Costumes: Based on Renaissance period dresses.

Georges Bizet

• Composer: French composer, best known for operas.
• Carmen:
  • Setting: Seville, Spain, mid-19th century.
  • Characters: Carmen, Mercedes, Micaëla, Morales, Zuniga.
  • History: First performed in Paris in 1875. Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy.
  • Story: Downfall of Don José, seduced by Carmen.
  • Staging: Set in Seville, Spain, in 1820.

Famous Filipino Playwrights and Their Compositions

Francisco Balagtas

• Life: Born in Panginay, Bigaa, on April 2, 1788, and died on February 20, 1862.
• Work: Best known for Florante at Laura.
• Muse: María Asunción Rivera (Celia/MIR).
• Imprisonment: Imprisoned due to Mariano Capule's influence. Wrote Florante at Laura in prison.
• Legacy: The term for Filipino debate in extemporaneous verse is named after him (Balagtasan).

Severino Reyes

• Life: Born in Santa Cruz, Manila, on February 11, 1861, and died on September 15, 1942.
• Work: Father of the Tagalog Zarzuela.
• Grand Compañia de la Zarzuela Tagala: Founded and directed in 1902.
• Walang Sugat: A drama set during the Philippine Revolution.
• Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang: Fairy tales published in Liwayway.
• Walang Sugat (No Wounds): Underscores the injustice of Spanish rule.

Dr. Ricardo G. Abad

• Life: Born in Manila on August 10, 1946.
• Career: Faculty at Ateneo de Manila, artistic director Tanghalang Ateneo.
• Productions: Involved in over 120 productions as actor and director.

Salvador F. Bernal

• Life: Born in 1945.
• Career: Father of theater design in the Philippines.
• Design: Designed more than 250 productions in ballet, theater, and film.
• National Artist: Awardee.

Conclusion

The lesson provides a comprehensive overview of the history of Western classical plays and operas, spanning from ancient Greece to the Romantic period. It highlights key playwrights, composers, and their significant works, along with the evolution of theatrical elements such as staging, costumes, and music. The lesson also introduces famous Filipino playwrights and their contributions to Philippine literature and theater, emphasizing the importance of understanding the historical and cultural contexts of these art forms.