Opera of the Romantic Period

Italian Opera

Most significant contribution of Italy to the music of the nineteenth century.

Bel Canto Style

meaning “the art of beautiful singing”, characterized by the forward placement of the voice focusing in the nasal cavities to produce a light, florid outcome.

Vincenzo Bellini

Wrote 11 operas with so much expressive singing, coloratura spectaculars, and great acting. His works include La Sonnambula, I Puritani and Norma.

Gaetano Donizetti

Wrote 70 operas including opera seria and comic opera both in Italian and French.

Giuseppe Verdi

Nationalism is the essential element of hisoperas. His most well-known operas include Rigoletta, Il Trovatore, La Traviata, Aida, Otella and Falstaff, his last work

Gioachino Rossini

He wrote in the style of clarity and simplicity of form and texture which are characteristics of Classical Music.

Grand Opera

New genre of opera that is characterized by being built on a very large orchestration with very impressive plots and highly colorful spectacle.

Lyric Opera

Mixture of the French Opera-Comique and grand opera

Leitmotifs

Themes that symbolized characters, scenes, situations, objects, emotions and ideas.