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From the very first opera performance in Italy in 1607, to the origins of some of the world’s most recognisable music, and modern day experimental productions, we’ll share a timeline of how opera has changed over the last 400 years.
Opera originated in Italy around 1600, but its story began many years earlier with the birth of Jacopo Peri in 1561. During his time at the famed Medici court, Peri cultivated the idea of dramatic singing through his work with Florentine poets, musicians, and writers.
The first opera, “Dafne,” was written by Jacopo Peri in 1597, but it is Monteverdi’s “Orfeo” (1607) that is often considered the first true opera. Baroque opera was characterized by its use of recitative, a style of singing that imitates speech and is used to advance the plot.
Below, you'll find the core info on the periods with some key operas put in their chronological place. We hope to expand this section enormously, exploring opera's development across Europe and the world, and we've started on that mission with a more expansive history of opera in English.
Opera Timeline. 6 Oct 1600. Jacopo Peri's opera, Euridice , the earliest to survive complete, is performed at the Pitti Palace in Florence on the occasion of the wedding of Maria de’ Medici and Henri IV of France.
Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto, based on a play by Victor Hugo, is a huge success at its premiere in Venice
The history of opera has a relatively short duration within the context of the history of music in general: it appeared in 1597, when the first opera, Dafne, by Jacopo Peri, was created. Since then it has developed parallel to the various musical currents that have followed one another over time up to the present day, generally linked to the ...
