14/08/2026
When was opera born? And how did we get from Monteverdi to Wagner, Verdi, Puccini — and eventually Philip Glass?
Four centuries of opera can sometimes look like a rather intimidating maze of composers, schools, styles and national traditions.
I have put together A History of Opera: A Chronological Guide as a way of finding one’s bearings.
From the birth of opera in Florence around 1600 to the operatic world of the twentieth century, the guide follows the major transformations of the genre: opera seria, opera buffa, Romantic bel canto, French Grand Opera, German Romanticism, Wagnerian music drama, the national schools, verismo and the many paths taken by modern opera.
Not an exhaustive history — but a map.
Because knowing where an opera belongs in history, what came before it and what it changed can profoundly alter the way we listen to it.
🎭 A History of Opera: A Chronological Guide
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Explore the history of opera from Monteverdi to the present day: a chronological guide to the major composers, styles and traditions of European opera.
