Vocal MusicThe classical era was primarily a time of instrumental music. The major composers of the time concentrated on new styles and instrumental forms. Vocal music wasn't as important as it had been in the past. The Lieder (songs) written by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven are not considered as important as their instrumental work. The works composed by Haydn to entertain the guests of the Esterházy have gone down in history and Beethoven wrote only one opera, Fidelio. However, the era saw some significant and lasting achievements in the field of vocal music. Specifically, some of the great choral works of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven, including many of Mozart's own works, have made lasting contributions to the body of vocal literature. Example of Vocal MusicOperaOpera had filled theaters in Europe during much of the 17th century and early 18th century. However, for all its popularity, it was still not an art form that appealed to the masses. The librettos were usually of Greek or Roman origin or based on some sort of dark heroic tale. Although opera buffa, a form developed during the mid-Baroque period, had some success in bringing opera to every social class, it remained primarily an aristocratic form of entertainment. In the years before the classical period, all this changed. Several factors led to this adjustment: first, a growing number of the middle classes had enough disposable income to attend opera, but were bored by the haughty stories of the Greeks and Romans. Second, some composers found ways to bridge the gap between the classical Italian form from which opera originated and the more popular form of folk opera that audiences demanded to see. ....bald GluckThe composer who first managed to bridge the cosmopolitan gap between the French and Italian opera styles was Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787). He was born in Germany, studied in Italy and became famous in France. In 1750 a reform movement began in Italy. The main goals of this movement were to find ways to speed up the action by blurring the distinction between aria and recitative and adding depth to orchestral color. In Alceste (1767) and his other mature operas, Gluck successfully combined the choral scenes and dances of French opera, the ensemble writing of comic opera, and the new instrumental styles of Germany and Italy. His works changed the direction of opera for centuries to come, particularly in France and Italy. In the next section we will look at Mozart, the next composer who would have a monumental effect on opera.