Theopera film oropera-film is afilm genre in which anopera is the subject of the entire film, as opposed to a film which only incorporates opera scenes or elements; examples of the latter are theMarx Brothers'A Night at the Opera (1935)[1] andAmadeus (1984). It is a subgenre of themusical film. Opera films are usually based on established, well-known works; less frequently they showcase new operas, such asTommy (1975), which is based onThe Who's 1969rock opera albumTommy.[2][3]
The idea of presenting operas on film goes back to the very beginnings of cinema;Thomas Edison, who made major contributions to the making and making available to the public films in the infancy of moviemaking,[4] toldThe New York Times in 1893 that his goal was "to have such a happy combination of photography and electricity that a man can sit in his own parlor, see depicted upon a curtain the forms of the players in opera upon a distant stage and hear the voices of the singers."[5]
The first opera film was a two-minute production ofLa fille du régiment (The Daughter of the Regiment), based on the 1840 work byGaetano Donizetti, which premiered in New York City in July 1898.[5] In thesilent film era, music was performed live by orchestras and pianists.[5] Major opera singers appeared in these films; for exampleEnrico Caruso andPol Plançon appeared in a 1911 short, a scene fromLucia di Lammermoor, as Edgardo and Raimundo, respectively.[6]
In July 1930, German and Austrian film companies agreed to divide up the opera field, with the former receiving exclusive rights to works byRichard Wagner and the latter getting everything else.[7]
The first sound opera film wasPagliacci (1931).[5] Films about operas in general lost some popularity in the 1930s, but revived in the '40s and more so in the '50s.[5]
