Answering a question about 'favourite operatic overtures' made me realise that all my examples were 18th and 19th century, despite my enthusiasm for more modern music as well as the 'classics'. Try as I might, I couldn't think of a single example from recent operatic repertoire. Has the overture been rendered redundant?
How many 'modern' overtures (say, from the beginning of the 20th century to the present time) - operatic or 'concert' overtures - do you know and regard highly?
2011-07-06T03:22:56Z
MissLimLam: I wish I'd remembered 'Candide' - I think the questioner wold have allowed it. What a fun piece that is! I know what you mean about Shostakovich's Festival Overture, although I do have a soft spot for it. He also wrote an 'Overture on Russian and Kirghiz Themes', but that's a very weak piece. I also love Prokofiev's 'Russian Overture' (no video on YouTube, apparently!)
2011-07-06T03:23:49Z
Talking of overtures from musicals etc reminds me of all those wonderful overtures Gershwin wrote!
wvculturallover2011-07-06T20:22:14Z
Favorite Answer
There are two types of overtures, those that serve to silence (?) an audience prior to the start of an opera and those that are stand-alone works for orchestra. Most 20th century operas have short orchestral introductions that set the mood for what is to follow. Some exceptions are Kabalevsky's Kola Bryunyon and Prokofiev's Semyon Kotko.
There are several examples of concert overtures. Castelnuovo-Tedesco wrote 11 Shakespeare Overtures that are not related to staged productions. Sir William Walton wrote Portsmourth Point and the Johannesburg Festival Overture. I've always enjoyed the latter along with Shostakovich's Festival Overture. Some additional British concert overtures include Bax Overture to a Picaresque Comedy and Ralph Vaughan Williams' Overture to the Wasps and Michale Torke Javelin Overture. Britten wrote several overtures including An American Overture and an Occasional Overture. Philip Glass as an overture to his film score for La Bel et la Bete and John Corigliano wrote a Promenade Overture. There are more concerto overture examples from the 20th century, but other than Broadway musicals, such as Sondheim's Bounce Overture, I can't think of any other 20th century opera overtures.
I do like the overture to Candide, though that is a musical not an opera. Another modern overture that I am familiar with, but do not like, is Shostakovich's Festive overture. (I should add that I am familiar with this only because I was forced to study it as part of 20th century music.)
I think that overtures in their traditional sense have indeed become redundant, but there are, for example, film overtures, that could add to the genre, no? An example would be the movie 'Kingdom of Heaven'
In response to your first question: Twentieth Century composers--and listeners--want everything done in a hurry. They don't want to waste the listeners' time listening to an overture because the audience is anxious to get the show started.
It's for the same reason that you seldom see a repeat sign or a dal capo al fine sign in a Twentieth Century work. A Twentieth Century composer may write a piece in the ternary form, but if he does, he makes some kind of variation the second time. After all, it's a waste of time to listen to the same thing twice.
Puccini, living at the time of the turn of the Twentieth Century, forbode the age of the diminishing overture. His first opera, Le Villi, has a three-minute prelude which ends on a secure cadence and a thick double bar. After that, none of his operas began with a detachable orchestral number.
Madama Butterfly begins with a prelude in the four-part form, which is in effect a sonata movement with the development missing. Puccini probably figured that a development section would be redundant since the listener will hear both themes detached, modulated, and contrapuntalized in the first act.
In response to your second question: Kabalevsky's overture to Colas Breugnon is kinda nice. Like many Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century overtures, it's in sonata form, although the composer took some liberties with the form.
um copland outdoor overture? barber school for scandal?
oh! r. strauss! has actual overtures, but also... it kinda feels like the "tone poem" genre is functionally similar to a concert overture: shortish, stand alone, character driven thing? can we count those?
traditional overtures for operas, at certain times, they werent even respected as real pieces... just background music while the audience is finding their seats and chatting. based on themes from the show, but the form was like a medley, and it wasn't unheard of to just have someone write a new one with the same themes if it wasnt long enough or they just didnt like it (happens to gilbert and sullivan). so being programmed as real concert music.. and developing into a true form...
... maybe composers who took the full form more seriously wouldnt write a light editable medley, so you get them starting with "orchestral preludes" and "introductions" instead. so it's not as malleable and disposable? these would go along with set presentation and lighting, rather than just pre curtain stuff.
(im trying to remember, but.. thais, cendrillon, nixon in china? theres music at the beginning, but i dont remember it as an "overture")
does it matter that in the later 20th century, they can play recorded background music instead of having the actual orchestra do it? that doesnt seem right though...
you know... i think we might need to include movie opening themes. film scores have to be tailored to the action, but the openings can be through-composed and are the exposition for the themes used in the story... so its formally and functionally similar... even if we're calling that nonclassical... theres some crossover... copland again for example...