Baltimore Opera Company

Study Guide

Roméo et Juliette

A Cappella Choruses in Opera

Operatic composers, usually writing for resources including a large orchestra, have in general avoided a cappella choruses in opera, that is to say, extended periods in which the chorus sings without accompaniment of any kind. The initial chorus in Roméo et Juliette - "Vérone vit jadis deux familles rivales" - is perhaps the most substantial example of a cappella choral writing in the operatic repertoire. Other examples of extended a cappella writing of note include the "Regina Coeli" chorus in Cavalleria Rusticana, and the Pilgrim's chorus - "Beglückt darf nun dich, o Heimat" - in Tannhäuser, but those two examples are shorter than the Roméo et Juliette chorus and more frequently punctuated by orchestral accompaniment.

The Roméo et Juliette chorus is a masterpiece of mood and choral texture. The main key is D minor, although there are several chromatic digressions, mainly to the major mode when portraying the text "Juliette parut, et Roméo l'aima!" - a gorgeous, heart stopping musical moment. A great portion of the choral writing is in 6 parts, with sopranos, contraltos, tenors divided in two, and basses divided in two. There is a curious supposition for this: because of church proscriptions via the misogynistic St. Paul, women were not allowed in church choirs. Therefore, in many cases their choral and musical training were held to be inferior to that of male singers. Consequently, composers exploited this by giving the tenor and basses frequent divisi passages, containing interior harmonizations that are often hard to tune due to the thickness of the texture. Presumably male singers of that era were better able to cope with these demands than their female counterparts. Utilizing the dramatic, warm key of D minor, the sound of women's voices in their lower register, and the velvety sound of men's voices in four part divisi, Gounod achieves a beautiful yet sombre musical texture to prepare us for the bittersweet tragedy to follow.

Composers' reluctance to write extended periods of a cappella choruses may be understood in several ways. First of all, with an entire symphonic orchestra at their disposal and a public operatic taste that veers towards the grandiose, it perhaps seems a waste to eschew everything but the choral voices. However, there is probably a better reason, a reason having to do with the two various schools of vocal production. The typical operatic voice is trained to be of a singular timbre, to be as large as possible, and to have a healthy "vibrato", that is to say, a fluctuation of pitch that "warms" the sound. Another school of voice is one in which the vibrato is used little or not at all, with the focus of production being on a "blended" tone in which a large sound and singular timbre is of little importance. A cappella singing is, quite frankly, more successful with the latter style of production, primarily in the matter of tuning. With no fluctuation of pitch caused by vibrato, the pitch is absolutely "true", and the various intricacies of contrapuntal writing become clear and uncluttered with overtones, the modes of vibration over the lowest natural frequency. When the more operatically trained voice sings in the choral forum, a different sound and texture is heard. The voices, trained to resonate "in the mask", produce vivid overtones, and the vibrato creates fluctuations of pitch that by their very nature are not intended to be in a uniform "tune." Therefore, a cappella singing is difficult and in some cases quite risky in the opera house. The typical opera chorus sound has more overtones than a Henrik Ibsen play, and if the tuning goes awry the ensuing musical passages can be disastrous, particularly if the solo singers have to base their musical entrance on the tonality of the chorus. Needless to say, the Baltimore Opera Chorus always rises to the occasion and provides splendid moments of a cappella singing, in tune and with a warm, rich sound. All singers, regardless of their style of vocal production, should be open to using the many "colors" of vibrato and expression that can be availed off in the several schools of singing, using them as a "palette," in conjunction with their physiological "palate", to produce marvelous kaleidoscopes of sound.

James Harp

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