Project Gutenberg 2006-11-28 Public domain in the USA. 341 Henderson, W. J. (William James) 1855 1937 Henderson, William James Some Forerunners of Italian Opera E-text prepared by Louise Hope, David Newman, Chuck Greif, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net/) "Some Forerunners of Italian Opera" by W. J. Henderson is a historical account written in the early 20th century. The book delves into the evolution of the lyric drama in Italy leading up to the development of opera, specifically examining the artistic influences and historical context that preceded its birth. It focuses on notable works, such as Poliziano's "Orfeo," and the various performing traditions that shaped this genre. The opening of the work sets the stage for an exploration of the early forms of drama within the Christian church, tracing their origins from liturgical ceremonies to more elaborate performances. Henderson emphasizes the interplay of secular and sacred traditions, detailing how these influences emerged and transformed into the lyric drama of the Renaissance. He outlines the transition from religiously grounded performances to secular narratives, culminating in the folk traditions and artistic pressures that invigorated the creation of landmark compositions like "Orfeo," thus laying the groundwork for what would become Italian opera. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 55.3 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read. en Opera -- Italy ML Text Opera Browsing: Music Browsing: Performing Arts/Film Category: History - European Category: History - Medieval/Middle Ages Category: History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750) Category: Music 306592 2025-06-08T12:27:13.868408 text/html 299692 2006-11-28T17:08:09 text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 2179490 2021-01-01T13:49:48 text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 application/zip 2056084 2025-06-08T12:27:28.598331 application/epub+zip 2060007 2025-06-08T12:27:20.207377 application/epub+zip 175591 2025-06-08T12:27:16.399441 application/epub+zip 1626688 2025-06-08T12:27:32.885823 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 1598072 2025-06-08T12:27:25.301319 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 296780 2022-09-09T12:06:22.825705 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 245335 2025-06-08T12:27:12.426425 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 244988 2021-01-01T13:49:48 text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 90182 2021-01-01T13:49:48 text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 application/zip 245014 2021-01-01T13:49:48 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 90107 2021-01-01T13:49:48 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 20399 2025-06-08T12:27:33.043788 application/rdf+xml 13713 2025-06-08T12:27:17.048362 image/jpeg 3414 2025-06-08T12:27:16.744356 image/jpeg 2253383 2025-06-08T12:27:14.013413 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia