History:Style/Specific types of releases/Opera: Difference between revisions

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Style Guideline > ClassicalStyleGuide > Opera Tracks

This StyleGuideline describes how Opera Tracks should be formatted:

opera_name[, catalogue ###]: Act XX[, Scene XX]. [performance_type] "name_of_the_song" [(character1, character2, ...)]

All the parts in brackets are optional, but if they are mentioned on the printed cover, they should be included. The catalogue number is traditionally not included (but the ClassicalTrackTitleStyle will allow for it). The performance_type can be: Aria, Duettino, Recitativo... The name_of_the_song is usually the first words of the part; the number of words used can vary from one release to another.

Simple Examples

Full details including catalogue number, performance type, and character names:

  • Don Giovanni, Op. 500: Act I, Scene III. Duettino "Là ci darem la mano" (Don Giovanni, Zerlina)

Somewhere in the middle:

  • Don Giovanni, Op. 500: Act I, Scene III. "Là ci darem la mano" (Don Giovanni, Zerlina)
  • Don Giovanni, Op. 500: Act I, Scene III. Duettino "Là ci darem la mano"
  • Don Giovanni, Op. 500: Act I, Scene III. "Là ci darem la mano"
  • Don Giovanni: Act I, Scene III. Duettino "Là ci darem la mano" (Don Giovanni, Zerlina)
  • Don Giovanni: Act I, Scene III. "Là ci darem la mano" (Don Giovanni, Zerlina)
  • Don Giovanni: Act I, Scene III. Duettino "Là ci darem la mano"

Bare essentials, without catalogue number, performance type, or character names:

  • Don Giovanni: Act I, Scene III. "Là ci darem la mano"

Special case: the Prelude or instrumental parts:

  • Don Giovanni: Act III. Prelude
  • Don Giovanni: Act III, Scene II. An Instrumental Part

Complex Examples

Another part in the same scene:

  • Don Giovanni: Act IV, Scene II. "Là ci darem la mano" - "Another song in the same scene"
  • Don Giovanni: Act IV, Scene II. An Instrumental Part - "Là ci darem la mano"

Another part in a different scene:

  • Don Giovanni: Act III, Scene I. "Là ci darem la mano" / Act III, Scene II. "Another song in a different scene"
  • Don Giovanni: Act III, Scene I. "Là ci darem la mano" / Act III, Scene II. An Instrumental Part in a Different Scene

Another part in a different act:

  • Don Giovanni: Act II, Scene III. "Là ci darem la mano" / Act III, Scene I. "Another song in a different act"
  • Don Giovanni: Act II, Scene III. "Là ci darem la mano" / Act III. Prelude

Examples in the Database

History

The story of how we reached an agreement on this style is here: HistoryOfOperaTrackStyle

Discussion

I've run into an odd case, which fits really badly into either OperaTrackStyle or ClassicalTrackStyle. That is Mozart's K. 196 // K. 207a/121. It is a symphony which concludes an opera - "La finta giardiniera, Op. 196", but also a symphony - "Symphony in D major, No. 51 K. 207a/121", with symphonic movements (Allegro molto, Andantino grazioso, and Allegro). To try and fit it with both standards, I'm using "Symphony No. 51 in D major, 207a/121: I. La finta giardiniera, Op. 196: Allegro molto" which is kind of an ugly amalgamation of both standards, but at least gets the info correct per both. -- BrianSchweitzer 00:32, 05 October 2007 (UTC)

  • I suppose this happens so seldom that we don't really need to create a specific rule for it, but I would have preferred "Symphony No. 51 in D major, KV 207a/121 / La finta giardiniera, KV 196: I. Allegro molto" I prefer to keep the movement number and the indication together (and KV is of course better ;-) ) --davitof 2007-10-05
    • I like that better too. As for KV vs K., using KV for a work indicator, especially in this case, would simply be incorrect - there is no such work as KV 207a, but there is a KV 121, or a K. 207a/121. The K./KV indicates which Kochel catalog is being used - there is no inherent "betterness" in my eyes to using a work number from K6, then indicating that it's a K1 work number. (My pet Mozart peeve in the current CSG :P). -- BrianSchweitzer 15:42, 05 October 2007 (UTC)
      • Oh - I am guessing that perhaps you meant "Symphony No. 51 in D major, K. 207a/121 / La finta giardiniera, Op. 196: I. Allegro molto"? (Op. instead of KV on the opera end of things) -- BrianSchweitzer 15:44, 05 October 2007 (UTC)
        • You guessed wrong, I just did a little search on Google and found La finta giardiniera with K, so I supposed you had missed this. But obviously you know much more about the subtleties of Mozart catalogues, so if you say K. and Op., I suppose you are right. But could you please update CSG Discussion to indicate that K. and KV are both correct and that they mean different things. So that next time I will avoid making this mistake :-) ) --davitof 2007-10-05
          • Hmm - on the "Op." part, then, I'm confused. The example given on this page is Mozart's "Don Giovanni". "Don Giovanni" is an opera, but there is no separate "Op." catalogue for Mozart - they're all KV, K2, K3, or K. It's a minor thing I'v e been ignoring, but since we're discussing it, why does this style (at least seem to) throw out the indication of which catalog, using only that catalogue's number? (ie, "Op. 500" rather than "KV ###")? I can see using it to indicate that a work is an opera, but I'd think the Act/Scene indication would be sufficient, or, perhaps less preferably, "Op. KV ###". On the topic of "Don Giovanni", a few things to note here too. While it's commonly known by the short name "Don Giovanni", the actual title of the opera is "Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni". Additionally, KV 500 is "Twelve Variations for Keyboard in B-flat major" - "Don Giovanni" is KV 527.  :) -- BrianSchweitzer 00:46, 06 October 2007 (UTC)

Separating this so the above comment doesn't get too too long... On Kx numbers, it can be confusing. There have been 7 versions of the Köchel catalogue. KV stood for "Chronologisch - thematisches Verzeichnis sämtlicher Tonwerke Wolfgang Amadé Mozarts". As it was the first version, "KV" became the common abbreviation. The second and third revisions added large numbers of works, but to avoid having to renumber the entire list, as the KV numbers had come into common useage, in most cases they tried to keep the same numbers, adding lowercase letters where needed to "insert" works into the chronological numbering scheme. However, this wasn't always true - for example, KV 139 became K2 114a. K3 added yet more works, moving many out of the Anhuang (appendixes, abbreviated "Anh.") from KV and K2. K4 and K5 were basically reprints, not really changing anyting with numbers (I can't think of a single work that would need a K4 or K5 indication). K6 however added large numbers of works, as well as correcting for various errors from the prior versions. Yet more lower case letters were used, and where needed, now uppercase letters were also used (so the case of the letters used in K6 makes a difference), either solely or in combination (some examples: K. 537d, K. 571A, K. 61g/1, K. 167AB, K. 173dB, K. 15mm). Some works here too were renumbered yet again - that same one that earlier got renumbered to K2 114a in the sixth revision became I've got it in there a few to K. 47a. The 7th revision was basically another reprint, like K4 and K5, so K6 is used as the most "up to date" listing. Now, the major works pretty much were focused on, to keep specifically those numbers the same, so something common - "Don Giovani", the Requiem, most of the first 41 Symphonies, etc, those have the same number be it KV, K2, K3, or K. - so "KV 527" wouldn't be incorrect to refer to Don Giovani. Typically, what I've seen - when publishers bother to use the correct catalogue indication - is that they try to use all the same indication. So, if a CD is only Don Giovani, it'll use KV. If a CD has bits from Don Giovanni, but also some of the lesser works which need K. numbers, then it'll use K. for "Don Giovanni". Of course, lots are lazy about it, using KV for K. numbers, etc etc (sometimes misnaming keys and movement tempos too... :( ). In any case, that's why, above, I used "Kx" - depending on the context, either would be correct for Don Giovanni. For "La finta giardiniera", if it was only the opera on the release, and not the symphony, then you could use either style - that work is # 196 in any of the catelogues. But once you add the concluding symphony (one of the "lesser" symphonies, at No. 51, with the "greater" ones ending at No 41), then you move into K. territory, since it was numbered 121 in K1, but 207a in K6. You could use just the K. number, but typically, for easy of identifying the lesser works, both the earliest and latest Kx number is used (K6/earliest). So, "K. 207a/121" (when the earliest was K1, you don't normally bother to identify it - only when it was K2 or K3 (and these are really rare and obscure; mostly K6 Anh. works) would you use "K. Anh A109fA-C/K2 417B"). -- BrianSchweitzer 00:46, 06 October 2007 (UTC)