(e) "Aria di bravura" was allegro with brilliant divisions.
III. There were three acts and every scene terminated with an air. Every member sang one air but no one sang two airs in succession and no two airs of the same type followed each other. The most important ones came at the conclusion of the first and second act and here the hero and heroine claimed a grand scene, with accompanied recitative followed by "aria d'agilita" and then united in a grand duet. The third act ended with a chorus of lively movement frequently accompanied by a dance. There were no trios, quartets or other concentrated movements allowed, though three characters could join in harmonized exclamation at close of the recitative.
Handel broke away from these rules in "Radamisto" with an elaborate quartet and "Teseo" in five acts with two airs in succession to each character. His operas have been termed a ballad concert in costume, although he did a great deal toward faithful reproduction of the embodied sentiments of the text. Purcell rebelled against the idea of succession of songs and dances and in a tuneful chorus with dramatic spoken action, he introduced a decided dramatic feeling. The English opera was advertised to be performed after the Italian manner, with recitative in place of dialogue and measured melody for airs. Purcell's "Dido and Aeneus" contains not one spoken word, and his drawn out aria foreshadowed the dramatic aria of Gluck and Wagner. Balfe and Benedict raised the standard of the old ballad operas by using better music although Balfe only appealed to the ear. Tallis, Byrde and Purcell are tolerated for their voice parts only.
II. GLUCK.
"In the early 18th century the condition of opera was very 'low'". The accepted number of characters was six, three of each sex. There were three acts of a given number of verses based on Greek drama. The chorus stood motionless except for the leader, in a double row with the sexes separated and masked. The same libretti were used time and time again. The poets became as stilted as the composers. There were five types of melody whose sequence and distribution were regulated by rules, and not by dramatic requirements. Though varied in other ways, the songs consisted of two parts, the first repeated "de capo" after the second, notwithstanding the histronic result. The vocalist tyrannized over the performance, displaying no musical feeling, nothing but vocal agility. In England and Germany the singers sang their own language during the performance, for every thing except the formal arias, which were sung in Italian. Each act had to close with an elaborate finale, and each singer had to have an aria.
Sammartini in Milan gave prominence to string quartets. There was much stress laid on technical proficiency and arias. The dances became better than the vocal music, for the arias especially were monotonous and forced, and overloaded with ornament and contained practically no counterpoint. The overture, customarily in three parts, was separated from the opera itself. The arias were in bravura style with long and prolix ritornelli. The dramatic airs were absolutely spoiled by florishes.