Verismo was an Italian literary movement born approximately between 1875 and 1895. It was mainly inspired by French naturalism, and Giovanni Verga and Luigi Capuana were its main exponents and writers of a verismo manifest ^{[citation needed]}. Unlike French Naturalism, that was based on positivistic ideals, Verga and Capuano rejected claims of scentific nature and social usefulness of the movement. Italian verists were pessimistic, and based their work on the premise of impersonality, meaning that the writer should not impose any personal meaning or point of view to his works, which should seem as if 'written by themselves'. Giovanni Verga. ... -1... Positivism can have several meanings. ...

Internationally the term is more widely known as a style of Italian opera that started in 1890 with Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and went futher in ther twentieth century. The style is distinguished by realistic—sometimes sordid or violent— depictions of contemporary everyday life, especially the life of the lower classes, rejecting the historical subjects of Romanticism, or mythical ones, such as Mascagni's Iris. Verismo works aimed at realism (hence the name "verismo," or "realism"). By contrast, the intimate psychological penetration in realistic settings of natural social chatter of a work like Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier is not ordinarily discussed in terms of verismo, simply because of its "costume" setting. Sydney Opera House: one of the worlds most recognizable opera houses and landmarks Opera refers to a dramatic art form, originating in Europe, in which the emotional content or primary entertainment is conveyed to the audience as much through music, both vocal and instrumental, as it is through the... Pietro Mascagni (Livorno December 7, 1863 - Rome August 2, 1945) is one of the most important Italian opera composers of the turn of the 20th century. ... Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustic Chivalry) is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to a libretto by Targioni-Tozzetti and Menasci, adapted from a short story by Giovanni Verga. ... Romanticism was a secular and intellectual movement in the history of ideas that originated in late 18th century Western Europe. ... Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864 – September 8, 1949) was a German composer of the late Romantic era, particularly noted for his tone poems and operas. ... Der Rosenkavalier (The Cavalier of the Rose) is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac. ...

The “realistic” approach of Verismo extends to music in that the score of a Verismo opera is for the most part continuous and is not divided into separate “numbers” in the score, which can be exerpted easily and performed in concert (as is the case with the genres preceding Verismo). No Verismo melody, fragment, or leitmotif is composed simply because it sounds pretty. The purpose of each bar of a Verismo score is to convey or reflect scenery, action, or a character’s feelings. In this approach, Verismo composers followed Richard Wagner’s method. Indeed, Wagner’s influence on Verismo is obvious. Act One of Die Walküre and Act Three of Siegfried contain the seeds of many future Verismo fragments and melodies. Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813 in Leipzig[1] – February 13, 1883 in Venice[2]) was an influential German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or music dramas as he later came to call them). ... Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) is the second of the four operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), by Richard Wagner. ... Siegfried could refer to: The opera by Richard Wagner; see Siegfried (opera). ...

Although worldwide Giacomo Puccini is generally accepted as the greatest Verismo composer, this claim is very disputed by musical critics in Italy. Even if some critics are not seeing him part of this style, others accept only a pertial involvement. The most accepted claim is that at last a few of his operas (Tosca, Il tabarro etc.) are classifiable as verist. Supplied no overtures for his operas, since an overture, in his view, had nothing to do with the dramatic action on the stage. By the time of his career, opera audiences had become disciplined to settling into silence when the house lights dimmed, a virtue afforded by gaslight and electricity. Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (December 22, 1858 – November 29, 1924) is regarded as one of the great operatic composers of the late 19th and early 20th century. ... Overture is also a song by the rock band The Who Overture (French ouverture, meaning opening) in music is the instrumental introduction to a dramatic, choral or, occasionally, instrumental composition. ...

Leaving out Puccini, the most important verist composers can be considered Pietro Mascagni (Cavalleria Rusticana), Ruggiero Leoncavallo (Pagliacci), Francesco Cilea (Adriana Lecouvreur) and Umberto Giordano (Andrea Chenier).

Though Bizet's Carmen (1875) was the first Realistic opera, Verismo came to the fore fifteen years later in Italy, with the historic premiere (1890) of Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana. The most famous composers of Verismo opera were Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo (whose Pagliacci is often coupled with Cavalleria), Giacomo Puccini, Umberto Giordano, and Francesco Cilea. There were, however, many other veristi: Franco Alfano best known however for completing Puccini's Turandot, Alfredo Catalani, Gustave Charpentier (Louise) Eugen d’Albert (Tiefland), Ignatz Waghalter ("Der Teufelsweg" and "Jugend"), Alberto Franchetti, Franco Leoni, Jules Massenet (La Navarraise), Licinio Refice, Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, and Riccardo Zandonai. Georges Bizet (October 25, 1838 – June 3, 1875), was a French composer of the romantic era best known for his opera Carmen. ... For other uses, see Carmen (disambiguation) Poster from the 1875 premiere of Carmen Carmen is a French opera by Georges Bizet. ... 1875 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... Pietro Mascagni (Livorno December 7, 1863 – Rome August 2, 1945) is one of the most important Italian opera composers of the turn of the 20th century. ... Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustic Chivalry) is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to a libretto by Targioni-Tozzetti and Menasci, adapted from a short story by Giovanni Verga. ... Pietro Mascagni (Livorno December 7, 1863 - Rome August 2, 1945) is one of the most important Italian opera composers of the turn of the 20th century. ... Ruggiero Leoncavallo (March 8, 1857 - August 9, 1919) was an Italian opera composer. ... Pagliacci (Clowns) is an opera in two acts and a prologue by Ruggiero Leoncavallo. ... Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (December 22, 1858 – November 29, 1924) is regarded as one of the great operatic composers of the late 19th and early 20th century. ... Umberto Giordano (August 28, 1867 - November 12, 1948) was a composer, mainly of opera. ... Francesco Cilea, (Palmi, near Reggio Calabria, July 26, 1866 - Varazze, near Savona, November 20, 1950) was an Italian opera composer, whose early success was not sustained, as taste in music changed. ... Franco Alfano (March 8, 1875 - October 27, 1954) was an Italian composer and pianist. ... Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni, based on the play by Carlo Gozzi. ... Alfredo Catalani (June 19, 1854–August 7, 1893), was an Italian operatic composer, best known for the works La Wally (most famous aria: Ebben? Ne andro lontana; act I) and Loreley. ... Gustave Charpentier (June 25, 1860 - February 18, 1956) was a French composer, best known for his opera Louise. ... Louise is an opera in four acts by Gustave Charpentier to an original French libretto by the composer. ... Ignatz Waghalter (March 15, 1881 – April 7, 1949) was a Polish-German composer and conductor. ... Alberto Franchetti (18 September 1860 – 4 August 1942) was an Italian opera composer. ... Franco Leoni (24 October 1864 – 8 February 1949*) was an Italian opera composer. ... Jules (Émile Frédéric) Massenet (May 12, 1842 - August 13, 1912) was a French composer. ... La Navarraise is an opera in one act by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Jules Claretie and Henri Cain. ... Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (January 12, 1876 - January 21, 1948) was an Italian composer. ... Riccardo Zandonai (30 May 1883 – 5 June 1944) was an Italian opera composer. ...

Of the abovenamed composers, the Italians comprised a group that was called the Giovane Scuola ("Young School"). Don Lorenzo Perosi is included in the Giovane Scuola, even though he wrote almost exclusively sacred music. The Giovane Scuola (Young School) were a group of Italian composers (mostly operatic) which included Puccini, Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Giordano, Cilea, and Perosi. ... Monsignor Lorenzo Perosi (born 21 December 1872 in Tortona, Italy; died 12 October 1956) was the most significant Italian composer of sacred music at the turn of the twentieth century. ...

In the late 1990s, a journalist in a major Boston newspaper made the absurd claim that Verismo "began with Cavalleria Rusticana in 1890 and pretty much ended with Pagliacci two years later." This is patently incorrect. Puccini's Il Tabarro was written in 1918. Later still (1921) was Mascagni's Il Piccolo Marat, an archetypical Verismo opera. An opera does not need bloodshed to be a Verismo opera. Perhaps the most truly "realistic" opera of them all -- real people to whom every one of us can relate -- is Puccini's 1896 masterpiece, La bohème. Boston is a town and small port c. ... Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustic Chivalry) is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to a libretto by Targioni-Tozzetti and Menasci, adapted from a short story by Giovanni Verga. ... Pagliacci (Clowns) is an opera in two acts and a prologue by Ruggiero Leoncavallo. ... Il tabarro (The Cloak) is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on Didier Golds La Houppelande. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Other usages

The term verismo is also sometimes used to describe the very recognizable musical style that was prevalent among Italian composers during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. For most of the veristi, traditionally veristic subjects accounted for only some of their operas. Mascagni himself wrote a pastoral comedy (L'amico Fritz), a symbolist work set in Japan (Iris), and a couple of medieval romances (Isabeau and Parisina). These works are far from typical verismo subject matter, and yet they are written in the same general musical style as his more purely veristic subjects. So context is very important in understanding the intended meaning of the term verismo, as it is used both as a description of the gritty, passionate, working class dramas that the term was coined to describe, but also as the musical movement in which the giovane scuola were participants. Iris has three main meanings, unrelated except for their derivation from the Greek word for rainbow: Iris (mythology), a messenger of the gods in Greek mythology, identified with the rainbow Iris (anatomy), the sphincter around the pupil of the eye, named after the colors in human and animal eyes Iris...

See also

• Italian neorealism