Give an account of the introduction of opera into Germany.
Why did German composers develop slowly?
Describe the early German opera forms.
Who was the chief agent in a change?
Give an account of Handel’s work in connection with German opera.
What had been the influence of singers?
What were the influences to cause Gluck to set about opera reform?
Give an account of “Orfeo.”
Why did Gluck go to Paris and what success did he have there?
What was the influence of Gluck upon the future of the opera?
It will be noted that the Thirty Years’ War in Germany interfered with
the development of the Opera. Frederick the Great’s grandfather and
father laid the foundations of the Prussian kingdom. In France, Gluck’s
works carry us up to the period of social and political agitation
preceding the French Revolution. In England, the House of Hanover is
becoming more firmly established on the throne; in America, the period
is that of the struggles between the French and English colonists.