Opera After Verdi, the sentimental "realistic" melodrama of verismo appeared in Italy. This was a style introduced by Pietro Mascagni's "Cavalleria rusticana" and Ruggero Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci" that came to dominate the world's opera stages with such popular works as Giacomo Puccini's "La bohème", "Tosca", and "Madama Butterfly". Later Italian composers, such as Berio and Nono, have experimented with modernism. The first German opera was "Dafne", composed by Heinrich Schütz in 1627, but the music score has not survived. Italian opera held a great sway over German-speaking countries until the late 18th century. Nevertheless, native forms would develop in spite of this
Opera Roanoke with main stage productions of "La Boheme" and "Macbeth". The 2010/2011 season consisted of one staged production, "Madame Butterfly" and several concerts and recitals. Their offices are located in the Center in the Square in downtown Roanoke. Opera Roanoke Opera Roanoke is professional opera company in Southwest Virginia presenting fully staged productions and a variety of smaller-scale presentations each year. The company is resident in Shaftman Performance Hall at Jefferson Center, Opera Roanoke serves a wide geographic area, including the cities of Roanoke, Salem, Lynchburg, Lexington, and Blacksburg, as well as Martinsville. The company was founded in 1976 as the