Verismo (Italian for “realism”) opera is a type of opera that emerged in Italy in the late 19th century, characterized by its realistic and gritty subject matter, and a focus on everyday people and their struggles. Verismo opera originated from an Italian literary movement of the same name. Verismo opera sought to portray ordinary people… Read More
Italian
Italian librettist and poet, Felice Romani
Giuseppe Felice Romani (1788-1865), also known as Felice Romani, was an Italian opera librettist of the 19th century. He was born in Milan and began his career as a lawyer before turning to literature and eventually opera libretto writing. Romani’s most famous works include the librettos for Bellini’s “Norma” and “I Puritani,” as well as… Read More
Featured composer: Gioachino Rossini
Gioachino Rossini, born February 29, 1792, was an Italian composer. Prolific and expedient, he wrote 39 operas and numerous sacred music, chamber music, and piano pieces. Rossini’s vocal compositions demand great vocal agility and have therefore had a lasting impact on the vocal training of opera singers. Rossini’s parents were both musicians. His father, Giuseppe,… Read More
34 Art Songs, as set by Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet (25 October 1838 – 3 June 1875) was a French composer and pianist during the Romantic Era. Bizet is best known for his final work, Carmen, which is one of the most popular and frequently performed operas of all time. Listen to the audio archives on Georges Bizet’s work at the Library of Congress here.… Read More
Happy birthday, Benedetto Marcello
Benedetto Marcello, born 8/9/1686, wrote 10 musical stage works, 4 oratorios, almost 100 sacred vocal works for various voice combinations, another 100 secular compositions for two, three, and four voices, and no less than 350 solo cantatas with basso continuo accompaniment. Many of the solo cantatas have not not been published in contemporary editions but… Read More
Thirty Italian art songs, set by Gaetano Donizetti
From our collection of Donizetti texts, here are 30 of Gaetano Donizetti’s Italian art songs. IPA Source also has arias for 21 of Donizetti’s operas. In total, there are 121 Gaetano Donizetti texts on IPA Source. Learn more about Gaetano Donizetti via our first post in the series or via Wikipedia here. Thirty Italian art… Read More
Selected soprano arias by Gaetano Donizetti, hand-curated by Fach
The Italian composer, Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (Gaetano Donizetti), born November 29, 1797, was a leading composer of the bel canto opera style during the first half of the nineteenth century, along Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini. It is thought that Donizetti’s close association with the bel canto style influenced other composers such as Giuseppe Verdi. At the… Read More