The Effects of Exotism on Romantic Period Operas and Symphonic Suites

Abstract

As unknown lands were discovered in the 15th and 16th centuries because long-distance sea voyages became possible, Europe became increasingly interested in the exotic East. People in the West were attracted through the power of their imaginations to more colorful and attractive Eastern worlds. Perhaps, such curiosity about unknown worlds stemmed from a need for psychological escape in people tired of living in the difficult conditions caused by the industrialization processes of the 19th century. This impetus became a significant driving force for the envisioning of exoticism during the Romantic period. Exoticism was viewed merely as local color in musical works of the previous period, but it was conceptualized in the Romantic period. This paper attempts to elucidate the effects of exoticism in the Romantic periodthrough the operas and symphonic poems of Wagner (1813–1883), Verdi (1813–1901), Bizet (1838–1875), and Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908). It examines elements described as exotic in the note samples in Bizet’s Carmen, including the ostinato bass and the intensity of the chromatic transitions. It was further discovered that Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles (1863), Wagner’s Parsifal (1812), Verdi’s Aida (1871), and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade (1888) reflect exoticism through selected subjects, characters, and places. It was determined that the exotic element is negatively reflected in Wagner; Verdi creates a distinctive perception of exoticism through characters, geography, and settings; Bizet’s music conveys the exotic through the choice of places, characters, and costumes; and Rimsky-Korsakov reflects exoticism to his work through character, geography, setting, and story.

Keywords

• exoticism
• orientalism
• romanticism