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About Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Oscar Wilde & William Shakespeare

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 current concept of classical music.

Opera (from the Latin opera, plural of opus, "work") is a musical genre that combines symphonic music, usually performed by an orchestra, and a written dramatic text—expressed in the form of a libretto—interpreted vocally by singers of different tessitura: tenor, baritone, and bass for the male register, and soprano, mezzo-soprano, and contralto for the female, in addition to the so-called white voices (those of children) or in falsetto (castrato, countertenor). Generally, the musical work contains overtures, interludes and musical accompaniments, while the sung part can be in choir or solo, duet, trio, or various combinations, in different structures such as recitative or aria. There are various genres, such as classical opera, chamber opera, operetta, musical, singspiel, and zarzuela. On the other hand, as in theater, there is dramatic opera (opera seria) and comic opera (opera buffa), as well as a hybrid between the two: the dramma giocoso.

As a multidisciplinary art form, opera combines music, drama, dance, scenography, costume, and makeup, relying on collaborative work between the composer, librettist, performers, conductor, and production team. Designed for live audiences, opera has historically reflected prevailing cultural, philosophical, religious, and political ideas.

On FindMyTBR we track 2 books by Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Oscar Wilde & William Shakespeare, 2 of them confirmed as audiobooks on Spotify or Apple Books — including 500 citat för att stimulera kreativitet: Samling av de bästa citat and 500 citações de grandes líderes políticos. Full availability across Spotify, Apple Books, Audible, and Amazon is below.