The Nutcracker Concert Report

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As I overlooked the syllabus for Intro to western music I was excited while reviewing the requirements of the concert report. I only vaguely remember attending the production of The Nutcracker once as a child and looked forward to the new experience. I grabbed my ever supporting husband, dropped our kids off at grandmas and headed to the opera. While approaching the venue you could identify who might also be attending the show by their polished attire and exited faces. While walking from the parking garage I looked up and The Benedum was in sight, I was captivated by the sign illuminated with flashing lights, showcasing the title of the show. While entering the venue I immediately took notice of the detail in the décor and rich red and gold …show more content…

I recalled Figaro’s Aria from the cartoon Pudgy and Grunge which was the opening scene of a personal childhood favorite movie, Mrs. Doubtfire. The beginning of the aria opens with the fast tempo of the violins, racing franticly while harmonizing with Figaro’s agile singing. This tempo remains fast paced until about two minutes into the song. The tempo slows down for approximately a minute before rising to presto again. There is a middle cadence when he sings his name “Figaro” over and over in a low pitch. Following the brief cadence, the music and singing rapidly escalate, faster than the opening tempo before coming to a smooth closing cadence. I was most impressed with the actor’s ability to sing the tremendously fast paced verses and the harmony he is able to maintain with the instruments while doing so. The distinctive variation of pitch coincides with the tempo. Paired together are the fast paced measures that we hear in the beginning and end of the aria with the performer singing a higher pitch, and slow sections sung with a lower pitch as we briefly hear during the middle. The texture of this piece is mostly polyphonic but briefly becomes monophonic during the middle cadence when Figaro is signing without the accompany of the instruments. I was pleased to have discovered the origin of the familiar tune that I had previously only knew from the cartoon sung by Robin

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