According to Welsh National Opera opera is, “An opera (the Italian for ‘work’) is a story told through words and music. The orchestra plays the music in the pit under the stage. On stage, singers bring the story to life through acting and singing the words (known as the ‘libretto’) along to the music played by the orchestra much in the same way as a musical. What makes an opera different to a musical is that the singers are unamplified by microphones and the orchestra is much larger and plays entirely live. This creates a bigger, more dramatic sound and draws the audience into the story.” To shorten this up, opera is a story in which there is no speaking, only singing. All of the music is performed live, and there are no microphones for the singers.

When and Where Did Opera Start?

Opera started in the end of the 16th century …show more content…
Though he only wrote one piece of opera, Ludwig was not a one hit wonder. He created many well-known, and well-loved, symphonies, concertos, and sonatas.
Vincenzo Bellini, who lived from 1801 to 1835, because of such works as Norma and I Puritani, Bellini is recognised as one of the leading composers of the Bel Canto, a style which uses a full, rich tone and smooth phrasing, style of opera. His operas were loved by the community and Wagner himself, who hardly liked anyone but himself, was enchanted with Bellini’s ability to fluidly combine music with words.
Hector Berlioz, was born in 1803 and died in 1869. Berlioz's attempts to carve out an operatic career for himself were stopped by an unimaginative musical establishment. Nevertheless, he managed to produce Benvenuto Cellini, Béatrice et Bénédict and his masterpiece, the epic Les Troyens, a grand opera with liberetto based on Books Two and Four of Virgil’s Aenid. His opera, Les Troyens, was rejected by the Paris