verismo

American  

[vuh-riz-moh, ve-reez-maw] / vəˈrɪz moʊ, vɛˈriz mɔ /

noun

1. the use of everyday life and actions in artistic works: introduced into opera in the early 1900s in reaction to contemporary conventions, which were seen as artificial and untruthful.

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verismo British  

/ veˈrismo, vɛˈrɪzməʊ /

noun

1. music a school of composition that originated in Italian opera towards the end of the 19th century, drawing its themes from real life and emphasizing naturalistic elements. Its chief exponent was Puccini

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Etymology

Origin of verismo

1905–10; < Italian: realism, equivalent to ver ( o ) true (< Latin vērus ) + -ismo -ism

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

verismo

It is verismo without the melodrama, a knowing soundtrack for how goodness is found in the quotidian.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2024

“Fedora,” a verismo opera set against the backdrop of anticzarist uprisings in Russia in the 1880s, was a hit when it debuted in Milan, praised for its lush score and fast-paced drama.

From New York Times ● Dec. 29, 2022

On his debut album, Jonathan Tetelman lavishes his sumptuous tenor and almost poetic attention on classic Romantic and verismo arias.

From New York Times ● Dec. 22, 2022

She expanded her repertoire late in her career, including verismo roles such as Cilea’s “Adriana Lecouvreur” and Giordano’s “Fedora.”

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 9, 2020

Twins the operas are in spirit; twins in their capacity as supreme representatives of verismo; twins in the fitness of their association; but twins they are not in respect of parentage or age.

From A Second Book of Operas by Henry Edward Krehbiel