Significant Firsts in Opera History
Operas not included in the above list, but which were important milestones in operatic history.
- 1598 Dafne (Jacopo Peri). The first opera, performed in Florence (music now lost).
- 1600 Euridice (Peri). The earliest opera whose music survives.
- 1625 La liberazione di Ruggiero (Francesca Caccini). First opera by a woman.
- 1627 Dafne (Heinrich Schütz). First German opera. Music now lost.
- 1671 Pomone (Robert Cambert). Often regarded as the first French opera.
- 1701 La púrpura de la rosa (Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco, born in Spain 1644). Earliest known opera composed in the Americas.
- 1711 Partenope (Manuel de Zumaya). The first opera written by an American-born composer and the earliest known full opera produced in North America.
Read more about this topic: List Of Important Operas
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