If you look up the definition of opera, you will find many different definitions but the one that seems to pop up the most is that opera is a fusion of music, drama, visual arts, and dance that is appealing to the ears and eyes. So where did opera come from and why is it so pleasing to people?
Opera, or the Italian word meaning “work” dates back all the way to the 1500’s and contains stories about everything from historical events to fairy tales. When the renaissance came around to Florence, Italy a group of wealthy men got together and devised a way to revive and improve Greek dramas. A man named Jacopo Peri (1547-1633) composed Dafne which was recognized as the first opera. Later the first opera house was built in Venice, Italy in 1637. By the mid 1600’s opera became popular throughout many European countries.
The Baroque and Classical periods brought some of the most famous composers such as Bach and Mozart. During these times the main demographic was the wealthy upper class family that was looking for refined entertainment. However, this demographic soon changed to include the middle classes after the French Revolution when there wasn’t really an upper class that to be represented in France after the revolution. The art form was always a forbidden treasure to the middle and lower classes of the 16th through the 18th centuries. I have only ever seen one in my whole life and even that wasn’t really an opera. It was excerpts from certain composers and even an eight year old who wasn’t able to understand exactly what was happening, I still found it every bit as interesting and beautiful as if I had completely understood. Have you ever seen an opera that no matter what is was about you were moved by it?
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