Who Invented Opera?

Opera was invented in Florence, Italy towards the latter part of the 16th century by a group of wealthy intellectuals and musicians. His goal was to reproduce the dramas of the ancient Greeks using the plays and text that already existed. Europe was going through the Renaissance period and during that time architects, musicians and writers became fascinated with ancient cultures, particularly the Greek. Ancient works indicated that music was used as accompaniment; however, no music had been recorded. The Italians of the Renaissance began to recite the works out loud and add musical notes as they recited them. This eventually caused them to start singing the text while reciting it and led to the invention of the opera.

In 1607, Monteverdi invented the first opera which he titled La Favola d’Orfeo, what translated meanss The legend of Orpheus. This opera is still performed today, more than 400 years later. Early operas emphasized the words of the dramas with music simply by playing a second violin to the narration during short interludes. However, as professional songwriters got involved, they added intricate and flashy choruses, dances, and songs called Arias to showcase the actor’s vocal talents.

Venice opened the first opera house in 1637 and quickly became the center of opera with the opening of 16 additional opera houses. The popularity spread to Italy and then to England, Spain, Russia, Germany, Portugal, France, and the rest of Europe. The main opera centers of the 1700s were London, Naples, Paris, and Vienna. While operas were first written in Italian, eventually composers began to write in their native languages. The most famous composers include Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Handel, Verdi, Puccini, Monteverdi, Mozart, Berlioz, Britten, and Janacek.

Opera finally came to America in the 19th century, brought by immigrants from Europe. The Metropolitan Opera House in New York is the most famous opera house in the United States and opened in 1883. Despite the proliferation of modern writers and composers, the most popular operas performed around the world to this day were written during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Opera glossary:

Aria: Instrumental or vocal melody.

Ballad opera: Dance, dialogue and song combined.

Final: The last part of the play.

Musical comedy: Songs, music and dance.

Operetta: A joyous opera.

Overture: Musical piece at the beginning of the opera.

Synopsis: A history of operas.

Baritone: Deep male voice, usually an evil character.

Low: The deepest male voice, usually old men, wise or funny.

Castrato: Singer who has been castrated to preserve her childish vocal tone.

Contralto: Weird, dark female voice, usually an old woman, witch, or grandmother.

Mezzo-soprano: Second highest female voice, usually a temptress, witch, or mature woman.

Prima Donna: Lead singer, usually the most popular singer in the play.

Soprano: The most important female singer, usually the heroine, but can be other funny characters.

Tenor: Tallest male singers.

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