Italian opera

Italian opera can be divided into three periods, the Baroque, the Romantic and the modern. The Baroque appeared first, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, and approximately 200 years later, the Romantic. The word opera is a shortened form of the Italian opera in musica (work in music); an English dictionary in 1656 stated, "In Italy it signifies a tragedy, tragi-comedy, or pastoral which is not acted after the vulgar manner, but performed by voices in that way, which the Italians term, 'recitative', being likewise adorned with scenes by perspective, and extraordinary advantage by music."

Modern Period

The greatest Italian operas of the twentieth century were written by Giacomo Puccini (1858 - 1924). These include Manon Lescaut, La bohème and Madam Butterfly. His final opera Turandot was left inclomplete. Luciano Berio attempted a completion of the work.

Related Topics:
Giacomo Puccini - Manon Lescaut - La bohème - Madam Butterfly - Turandot - Luciano Berio

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Berio also wrote operas but none have endured on the stage. Luigi Dallapiccola (1904 - 1975) wrote two operas that have stood the test of time, Ulisse (1960-68), and Il Prigioniero (1944-48)(The Prisoner).

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See also Italian-language operas.

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