Is Rigoletto an Opera seria?
Opera seria Opera seria (] ; plural: "opere serie"; usually called "dramma per musica" or "melodramma serio") is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to c. 1770. The term itself was rarely used at the time and only attained common usage once "opera seria" was becoming unfashionable and beginning to be viewed as a historical genre. The popular rival to "opera seria" was "opera buffa," the 'comic' opera that took its cue from the improvisatory commedia dell'arte.
Rinaldo (opera) Rinaldo (HWV 7) is an opera by George Frideric Handel, composed in 1711, and was the first Italian language opera written specifically for the London stage. The libretto was prepared by Giacomo Rossi from a scenario provided by Aaron Hill, and the work was first performed at the Queen's Theatre in London's Haymarket on 24 February 1711. The story of love, war and redemption, set at the time of the First Crusade, is loosely based on Torquato Tasso's epic poem "Gerusalemme liberata" ("Jerusalem Delivered"), and its staging involved many original and vivid effects. It was a great success with the public, despite negative reactions from literary critics hostile to the contemporary trend towards Italian entertainment in English theatres.