Neapolitan school
Opera composers of the 18th century from Naples, such as A. Scarlatti and Pergolesi.
What it means
The Neapolitan school denotes the composers who worked in Naples in the 17th and 18th centuries and strongly influenced European opera. They were trained at the city's conservatories, which educated orphans and talented pupils as musicians. Their style stresses an easily grasped melody, the primacy of the vocal line and clear, supportive harmony.
Musical use
The most important representatives include Alessandro Scarlatti, Leonardo Vinci, Nicola Porpora, Leonardo Leo and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. They wrote above all opera seria with da capo arias and the comic opera, opera buffa. Pergolesi's intermezzo La serva padrona (1733) became famous throughout Europe. The Neapolitan style influenced Haydn, Mozart and others.
It should be distinguished from the Venetian school of the 17th century, which with Monteverdi and Cavalli shaped the beginnings of opera, and from Viennese Classicism, which developed later from various influences.
Performance practice
When you sing Neapolitan arias, pay attention to a beautiful, sustained vocal line and clean coloratura. The embellishment of the repeat in the da capo section was left to the singers and requires taste and a sense of style.