The story of Italian opera begins around
the turn of the 17th Century and depicts an
important piece of Italian culture. Divided
into two periods, the Baroque and the
Romantic, opera displays tragic-comedy that
was adorned with beautiful scenes and
breathtaking music. Historians across the
world recognize the significance these
periods have had on Italian culture.
The art of opera is derived from Italy.
Baroque was the first period recognized in
the Italian culture. Over two centuries, it
grew in popularity. In the 1600’s, music
enhanced the Romantic period. Henry IV of
France and Marie de Medici loved opera music
and requested that it be played at their
wedding in Florence.
Orpheus and Euridice were both composed
from a poem written by Ottavio Rinuccini and
Jacobo Peri. Giulio Caccini wrote the music
that brought their poem to life, completing
the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. This
opera was dynamic in musical instruments and
successfully portrayed the Italian culture.
In 1607, Claudio Monteverdi wrote La
Favolo d’Orfeo (The Fable of Orpheus). This
spectacular opera was Claudio Monteverdi’s
first, which elevated the importance of
dramatic instrumental music in the Italian
culture. Now, 400 years later, The Fable of
Orpheus is still performed on stages across
the world.
In 1613, St. Mark’s in Venice made
Monteverdi the "maestro da cappela".
Monterverdi wrote elaborate madrigals during
his tenure. In 1637, Venice opened the first
public opera house, Teatro San Cassiano. The
public’s enthusiasm drew a more chic
audience through the opera doors.
Shortly before Monteverdi’s death, he
began to write again. From 1637 to 1642, he
wrote two beautiful operas, I Ritorno
d'Ullise (The Return of Ullyses) in Patria
and L'Incoronazione di Poppaea (The
Coronation of Poppaea). Both were
exceptional musical mixtures of recitatives,
solos, duets and ensembles.
Monteverdi was responsible for setting
the standards for operatic composers to
follow. He was responsible for the
introduction of bel canto and buffa styles
of opera. Bel canto consisted of operatic
singing that was pure and even toned. Buffa
style referred to the very unusual and
unexpected comic complications or burlesque
elements in the scene.
Within forty years, the popularity of
opera grew so rapidly that Venice opened ten
opera houses to accommodate the demand. More
than 350 operas had been performed near the
end of the 18th century in Venice, as well
as many by other Venetian composers in other
areas of Italy. Numerous spectators traveled
into Venice for the music and individual
artists gained recognition through their
performance in opera.
Gioacchino Rossini wrote serious and
humorous operas. In 1810, La Cambiale di
Matrimonio, a comic (buffa) opera, became
Rossini’s first hit. In early 19th century,
romantic opera gave more dimension to the
extreme emotions which were typical of that
era.
Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti, and
Giuseppe Verdi were Rossini’s successors in
the Italian bel canto. During the course of
Giuseppe Verdi’s career, he transformed the
nature of operatic writing with vigorous
music. His contribution to the opera was
done with such enthusiasm and it created a
threshold for a new operatic era.
Many forms of opera blended with fine
art, musical drama, song, elaborate scenery,
and artistic scenery by the 20th century. It
was the medium through which tales and myths
were fabricated, leaving the audience to
their imagination. Today, opera is the
essence of Italian culture.
been
destroyed by fire in 1776, and had up til
then been the home of opera in Milan.