The characters in the opera The Visitors are escaping the Black Death by sheltering in a villa outside what city
The Decameron The Decameron (Italian: "Decameron" ] or "Decamerone" ] ), subtitled "Prince Galehaut" (Old Italian: "Prencipe Galeotto" ] ), is a collection of novellas by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375). The book is structured as a frame story containing 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men sheltering in a secluded villa just outside Florence to escape the Black Death, which was afflicting the city. Boccaccio probably conceived the "Decameron" after the epidemic of 1348, and completed it by 1353. The various tales of love in "The Decameron" range from the erotic to the tragic. Tales of wit, practical jokes, and life lessons contribute to the mosaic. In addition to its literary value and widespread influence (for example on Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales"), it provides a document of life at the time. Written in the vernacular of the Florentine language, it is considered a masterpiece of classical early Italian prose.
Opera Opera (] ; English plural: "operas"; Italian plural: "opere" ] ) is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text (libretto) and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. In traditional opera, singers do two types of singing: recitative, a speech-inflected style and arias, a more melodic style, in which notes are sung in a sustained fashion. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, which since the early 19th century has been led by a conductor.