Hailed as Verdi’s successor in the 1890s, Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924), brought Italian opera into the twentieth century with his thirteen operas incorporating new elements of the style known as verismo (realism), as well as the exoticism of long-ago-and-far-away settings. By the end of the 1840s, Verdi had fundamentally altered the established form and structure of the bel canto style, revolutionizing Italian opera in the process.

Rossini and his immediate successors Vincenzo Bellini (1801–1835) and Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1847) are the masters of the Italian bel canto (beautiful singing) style, characterized by elaborate melodic lines, smooth delivery, and purity of tone. Verdi was born into the musical world of Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868), the leading Italian opera composer of the first half of the nineteenth century in terms of popular success and artistic influence. When he died after a nearly sixty-year career, he was mourned in Italy as a national hero.

The central figure in Italian opera for much of the nineteenth century, Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) wrote twenty-eight operas, nearly half of which have been staples of the international operatic repertoire since their first productions. Charles Jahant Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress (031.00.00) Noted Italian baritone Giuseppe de Luca (1876 –1950), as Verdi's Rigoletto. The aria from George Frideric Handel’s opera Rinaldo is one of the most famous melodies of classical music and is often performed in the context of chamber music evenings.

Most popular puccini opera