Italian Culture Guide: Music in Italy

Opera music in Italy

Italy is the home of opera music. Opera music was created in Italy in the 17th century by Italian musiccomposer Claudio Monteverdi. He wrote his first opera in 1607 named L'Orfeo which was composed to commemorate the annual festival of Mantua. Since then opera music has become an institution in the world of Italian music and widely appreciated around the world. Italy has produced a consistent stream of some of the world's best opera singers, conductors and composers up to the present day. The most famous names in the contemporary world of Italian opera music are probably Luciano Pavarotti and Andrea Bocelli who are both singers of opera music.  Italy also houses some of the best venues for performing opera music in the world. Because the grandiose nature of opera music, it relies heavily on the presence of favourable acoustics in the building that the opera music is being performed in. Examples of fantastic opera houses in Italy can be found in Milan, Venice, Naples and Verona to name only a few.

Classical music in Italy

Italy has produced a few very significant names in the world of classical music over the past few hundred years. One of Italy's major contributors to classical music is Antonio Vivaldi who is the musical composer widely credited as having created concerto music. Vivaldi's most famous piece of classical music is the four seasons which is still played today across the world and is probably a household tune in any western country even if Vivaldi's name isn't.  Around the same time as Vivaldi, the classical music genre of Baroque was developed in Italy. This music which has its roots in 17th century Italy, is best characterised by it's highly complex and intricate melodies.

Rock music in Italy

The most prevalent form of popular music in Italy during the past few decades has been rock music. Although no Italian rock music bands have ever had much success in the English speaking countries, there are several very popular Italian rock music bands inside Italy. Popular 1980s rock singers and songwriters include Gianna Nannini, Zucchero and Vasco Rossi. There has also been quite a significant punk music scene in Italy since the 1970's and there even seems to be a resurgent new punk music scene developing in Italy today.

Rap music in Italy

Popular music in Italy often takes its cues from the USA and this appears to be how rap music has developed in Italy. There is today a significant rap music scene in Italy with accompanying fashions and lifestyles that mirror those of rap musicians in America. While the beats of Italian rap music may seem to be a close copy of rap music in the US, the lyrics often found in Italian rap music seem to concentrate on social critiques that are entirely Italian.