126. The Opera Buffa.—Soon after 1730 the many experiments with the comic opera, which had been going on from the opening of the century, attained signal importance. Comic pieces had long been used as intermezzi, slipped in for sheer diversion between the acts of the opera seria. Often two utterly disconnected works were thus united at a single performance, an opera seria in three or more acts interlarded with an opera buffa in two or more acts—producing an anomalous dramatic mixture. These humorous pieces had been esteemed lightly, but now they began to compete upon more equal terms with the opera proper, especially because in them the conventional restrictions were not applied. The number and disposition of the characters in the cast were elastic, the low voices, especially basses, were favored, piquant dialogue and acting were essential, with vivacious differentiation of the personages, concerted numbers and climaxes in ensemble were in demand—in short, the type came to be as much vitalized by dramatic sense as the serious opera was dominated by the spirit of the concert. The popular and artistic success of some of these works tended to diversify and revolutionize the prevailing notion of the opera in general. Thus, from a source at first unrespected, began the reclamation of the opera to its true dramatic mission. The impulse was given by certain Neapolitans, followed by several who belong rather to the Venetian group.
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (d. 1736, aged 26), born at Naples, after study
with Greco, Durante and Feo, appeared from 1731 as the composer of an
oratorio, 2 operas, 2 intermezzi, some string-trios and a grand mass for
10 voices. Besides writing much church music, in 1733 he scored an epoch-making
triumph with the comedy La serva padrona, though it was drafted
with but two characters in the cast and a simple string-accompaniment. No
others of his 14 operatic works, about half of them comedies, were notably
successful during his brief life, because of the delicacy of their workmanship,
but were later revived to some extent. But his exquisite sense of characterization
and his novel evolution of melody from simple harmonies did much to
indicate dramatic possibilities. His career was cut short by consumption
while he was working on his Stabat Mater. He left some important trio-sonatas.
Egidio Romoaldo Duni (d. 1775), a pupil of Durante, competed successfully with Pergolesi at Rome with his Nerone (1735), traveled widely as an opera-writer, and finally (from 1755) took up the French operetta, first at Parma and then at Paris, with such clever adaptation to popular taste that he is often called the founder of the opéra bouffe. He wrote over 30 works.
