With the rise of nationalism, different traditions developed in different countries. The 19th century: Verdi and Wagner, the golden age of opera Christoph Willibald Gluck initiated this reform ( Iphigenia in Tauris, 1779) which then influenced many composers. They also used choruses and ensembles to stress the collective nature of human emotions. In classical operas, singing served the dramatic idea, not the reverse. In reaction, a more simple style in which text and music were more closely allied, throve from the end of the 18th century. This ‘beautiful singing’ gave primacy to vocal virtuosity. Whereas the first operas endeavoured to highlight the words, the end of the baroque period was that of great bel canto tunes. An example of this type, which appeared at the beginning of the 18th century, was Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro (1786). Main roles were played by tenors or basses. On the contrary, the comic opera buffastaged ordinary characters and dealt with lighter topics. Ariodante by Händel (1735) is an example of opera seria. The important solo parts were often sung by the famous castrati.

Two opera forms developed in the 18th century: opera seria and opera buffa. Opera seria, or serious opera, was akin to tragedy and often inspired from mythology. The 18th century: Bel Canto and classical reform Opera soon spread throughout Europe, and in 1700 Naples, Vienna, Paris and London were major operatic centres. After Florence and Rome, Venice rapidly became the centre of opera, where the first commercial opera house opened in 1637, thus making the art form accessible to a wider public. They were made up of successive recitatives with a small instrumental accompaniment, punctuated by musical interludes. In the first operas, the intention was to make music subservient to the words. The first opera still performed today was La favola d’Orfeo (The Legend of Orpheus), composed by Monteverdi in 1607, 400 years ago. They wanted to revive what was thought to be the simplicity of ancient tragedy. A group of Florentine musicians and intellectuals, la camerata fiorentina, were fascinated by Ancient Greece and opposed to the excesses of Renaissance polyphonic music. Opera was born in Italy at the end of the 16th century. The 17th century: the baroque period and the beginnings of opera

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