Opera

Opera, Italy's most cherished art form, was born in Florence, nurtured in Venice, and revered in Milan. Conceived by the Camerata, a circle of Florentine writers, noblemen, and musicians, opera originated as an attempt to recreate the dramas of ancient Greece by setting lengthy poems to music. Jacobo Peri composed Dafne, the world's first complete opera, in 1597. The first successful opera composer, Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) drew freely from history, juxtaposing high drama, love scenes, and uncouth humor. His masterpieces, L'Orfeo (1607) and L'Incoronazione di Poppea (1642), were the first widespread successes of the genre. Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725), considered one of the developers of the aria, also founded the Neapolitan opera, thus vaulting Naples to the forefront of Italian music. Schools were quickly set up there under the supervision of famous composers, promoting the beautiful soprano voices of pre-pubescent boys. If the male students dared attempt puberty, their testicles were confiscated. These castrati, Farinelli being one noted example, became a most celebrated and envied group of singers in Italy and all over Europe.

Source of Opera History and Composers Information: Let's Go Guide to Italy

Check out some links and pictures on notable figures in Italian Opera:

Luciano Pavarotti is one of the world's premier Italian opera singers. He sings as a member of "The Three Tenors" with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. Pavarotti's official website: www.lucianopavarotti.com

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) remains the transcendent musical and operatic figure of 19th-century Italy. Nabucco, a pointed and powerful bel canto work, typifies Verdi's early works. Verdi's name served as a convenient acronym for "Vittorio Emanuele, Re d'Italia" (King of Italy), so "Viva Verdi" became a popular battle cry of the Risorgimento. Much of Verdi's work promoted Italian unity---his operas include political assassinations, exhortations against tyranny, and jibes at French and Austrian monarchs.

A comprehensive site on Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901):

Late in the 19th century, Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924), the master of verismo opera (slices of contemporary, all-too-tragic realism), created Madame Butterfly, La Bohème, and Tosca, which feature vulnerable women, usually dead by the last act.

A comprehensive site on Italian composer Giacomo Puccini: