User:Kleinzach/Sandbox2

Opera
As already noted, I have concerns about the introduction - also the piecemeal word by word, concertina-style (expansion then contraction, contraction then expansion) way it has been edited. It would have been better to discuss the issues off-page before editing, or to have circulated a draft for people to edit in turn, aiming at a synthesis acceptable to all intestersted parties. (I note that the introduction has been edited X times in the last Y days.)

Why is this important?

We have had several instances recently when non-opera contributors (in Cfd etc.) have commented on the nature of opera in relation to categorization, proposed deletions etc. We need to have an introduction that answers these and other similar questions:

It would save us all time if we could point to agreed text that answered these questions. "It's more complicated than you realize!" is not a convincing answer.
 * Operetta isn't opera, is it?
 * Why do you include works that have spoken dialogue? They aren't operas are they?
 * Operas have recitatives between the arias, don't they?
 * Operas are through-composed (i.e have continuous music) aren't they?
 * Why don't you list women composers? (accusation of sexism)
 * Why don't use you list Beijing opera? After all it is opera!
 * Why don't you rename Opera as Western Classical Opera? (accusation of Eurocentrism)
 * Why doesn't opera use amplification. It's because opera is out of date, isn't it?
 * Why don't use you list Rock and Rap opera? (accusation of elitism/snobbishness)

Richard Strauss addressed the problem of the nature of opera in Capriccio. Olivier, a poet, and Flamand, a composer debate the rival claims of music and drama. Olivier believes Prima le parole, doppia la musica. Flamand insists Prima le musica, doppia la parole.

Right. Back to Basics: I would like to look at the definition of opera first I'd like to first distinguish between what is essential, what is normal (usual), and what is optional in different forms and genres of opera.

Essential: Normal;
 * performance: an ephemeral event lasting for a period of time
 * audience: at least of one (precedent: Ludwig of Bavaria)
 * human voice: but not always words, there may not be many examples of pure vocalise in opera (e.g. Einstein on the Beach and Chaya Czernowin's Pnima...ins Innere) but there are plenty of examples of words mixed with vocalization.
 * (instrumental) music: Opera is an abbreviation of 'opera in musica'. Music is always present even in the most austere of chamber operas (e.g. Curlew River).
 * stage: a representational space distinct from a concert/recital platform. (There are a few radio or television operas Il prigioniero, Owen Wingrave, however they are really exceptions that prove the rule by imitating opera forms in order to avoid being identified as films or audio recordings.)
 * orchestra: a group of musicians off-stage
 * conductor: music director
 * singing: a style of voice production derived from Mozart (and earlier) with voices defined by vocal ranges.
 * drama/acting: performers assuming and acting stage roles
 * text/narrative: most operas tell a story expressed through a text and action seen on the stage
 * stage lighting
 * costumes
 * scenery
 * no artificial amplification: ensemble and musical precision (up to now) have required natural sound. Nixon in China is an exception but the composer gives very precise instructions about amplification in order to achieve particular effects.

Optional:
 * dancing: never very far away in opera. Grand operas contain ballets, and there is the hybred form of Opéra-ballet. Even 'straight' operas without ballet sections can contain a lot of dance. Some operas can be danced (as well as sung) in long sections, e.g. the crowd scenes in Turandot, or the witches in Macbeth.
 * actors: non-singing actors, mimes and extras. Notably in Verdi operas.

Analysis:

According to this analysis, Music is essential but not drama (in the sense of a story being acted on stage). Please note that Drama}] and Theatre are both problem areas on WP so we have to make our own definitions of what they mean.

Opera
Opera is one of the performing arts (alongside music, drama and dance), and its special character derives from the combination of elements of the others, as well as visual effects conveyed by scenery, costumes, and lighting,

Opera is invariably live, performed in a specially-equipped opera house. The sound is unamplified in order to feature the beauty of the trained operatic voice. There are many different genres of opera and the scale of production varies, however performance typically involves artists, such as singers, instrumentalists and often dancers and actors, working together with each other. Normally an orchestra directed by a conductor accompanies the singers. The opera world is international - in contrast to spoken theatre - and Italian, German, French, English, Russian and Czech etc. works are performed world-wide in their original languages, while artists travel from country to country performing.

Opera emerged in Italy around the year 1600 and has always been intimately associated with the Western classical music tradition, while developing its own unique musical and dramatic styles and conventions. Comparable art forms from various other parts of the world, many of them ancient in origin, exist and are also sometimes called "opera" by analogy, usually prefaced with an adjective indicating the region (for example, Chinese opera).

Essential: performance human voice music audience stage

Normal; orchestra conductor operatic singing drama/acting text//narrative stage lighting costumes scenery

Optional: dancers actors extras

Geogre on boxes

 * "Assume Good Faith" is the most cited, least understood of all policies. It's the rallying cry of vandals, and it's rarely necessary for experienced contributors to cite it.  Good faith isn't the issue: bad effect is the issue.  When an article is on the main page, that means that it has gone through WP:FAC and been selected by User:Raul.  At that point, two very careful reviews of it have taken place, and both have liked the article as it is.  If it has a box, then they like the box.  If it doesn't have a box, then it shouldn't have a box grafted on it.  There are significant reasons for this.
 * Boxes are ridiculous in biographies. As I have said over and over again, when there is a standard life, there can be a standard box.  When lives are complex, no box is meaningful.  Can Winston Churchill and Harry Reems be equally summarized by the same features?  Can Nap Lajoie and Lief Eriksson be equally summarized?
 * Boxes compete against the content of the article. They say, "Don't read all those words: all you need to know is the following."  In all cases, this is either extraneous or competitive, but in the case of an FA, it is an obscenity.
 * Do not add boxes to FA's. You will be reverted, I assure you.  Geogre 13:33, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

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Gaming the system