Around 1700, a new style called opera seria began to dominate. It was, as the name implies, "serious opera," and was driven by two main forces: formulaic librettos and flamboyant singers.

SANTA FE, N.M. — For the serious opera lover, a dwindling breed, these can seem like dark days. The summer has been marked by heated discussion in opera circles about the lasting impact of the ...

In reality, the opera has its roots in the Holocaust ... Sendak doesn't downplay the serious themes behind what is still a children's story because, as he knows perhaps better than anyone ...

William Tell is a completely different animal. It was the last opera written by Rossini and is a serious opera as opposed to his comedic successes. The overture has enjoyed a life of its own in ...

Most serious opera lovers know what they like and like what they know. Many saw something they didn't like or care to know last night at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, a new interpretation of ...

“Serious” opera (like “serious” music in general, when someone like Haydn or Beethoven writes it) can have its funny side. Is it of Verdi’s “La traviata” or of Puccini’s “La ...

The troupe intends to play the comedyZerbinetta and Her Four Lovers,while the opera company will give a serious opera about mythological heroine Ariadne. Things get challenging when all are told ...

It’s not so strange, really, that there’s a serious opera about Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. His life’s work is usually invoked before every production of the last decade or more ...

The subscribers of the Royal Academy of Music, founded in London 1719, couldn’t get enough of the style of performance known as opera seria (“serious” opera), and paid handsomely to ensure a ...

Institutional art form as it may be, opera, at the moment, appears to be in some serious trouble. Across the performing arts, recovery from the covid-19 pandemic has exacted a brutal toll on ...