Are Norma and Idomeneo both operas by Bellini?
Norma (opera) Norma (] ) is a "tragedia lirica" or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after "Norma, ou L'infanticide" ("Norma, or The Infanticide") by Alexandre Soumet. It was first produced at La Scala in Milan on 26 December 1831.
Origins of opera The art form known as "opera" originated in Italy in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, though it drew upon older traditions of medieval and Renaissance courtly entertainment. The word "opera", meaning "work" in Italian, was first used in the modern musical and theatrical sense in 1639 and soon spread to the other European languages. The earliest operas were modest productions compared to other Renaissance forms of sung drama, but they soon became more lavish and took on the spectacular stagings of the earlier genre known as intermedio.