ABSTRACT
Opera is not a closed cultural terrain, but a part of a medial paradigm. In fact, opera houses are no longer the primary venues of the operatic principle. Since opera, in its traditional role, is not a univocal concept, it is not surprising that the idea of the operatic principle leads to even further complex and complicated consequences. Music and text can, of course, enhance or contradict each other, thus creating tension between the musical and the literary elements in an operatic expression. The operatic phenomenon can be accessed and examined from a semiotic perspective even though its various signifiers—whether in musical topics, intertextual references, its performance history, or ideological intentions—differ in both their modality and nature. The medium of a musical composition always fits into the wider media dynamics that need to be identified and clarified in order to acquire a broader and deeper perspective on a specific musical experience.
