OPERA

An opera is like a play in which the characters sing all their lines. Opera singers do not use microphones -- their voices are trained to fill a whole theater with sound without any amplification. All operas have singers and an orchestra -- and a lot of operas have a chorus, too. Operas have been written in many different languages, including English.

Opera was invented in Italy in the late 1500s. The first opera was Jacopo Peri’s Dafne. It was performed in 1597–98. This new musical style became popular throughout Europe.

Some of the most influencial opera composers who ever lived are:

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) | Italy
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) | Germany
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) | Austria
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) | Italy
Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) | Italy
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) | Italy
Richard Wagner (1813-1883) | Germany
Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) | Italy
​Richard Strauss (1864-1949) | Germany