Opera Is Surprisingly Modern Music

Opera is a relatively young art form, only emerging in 1597. It was invented by a group in Florence who were trying to recreate the singing style of ancient Greek dramas.

You might assume opera has roots stretching back to antiquity, but it is actually a Renaissance invention. A group of intellectuals known as the Florentine Camerata created the first opera, Dafne, to bring back the power of spoken word through melody. Since then, it has evolved alongside every major musical movement in Western history. It is fascinating to think that this grand tradition is younger than many basic mechanical inventions.