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Composer of the Week - Verismo

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Donald Macleod is joined by Italian opera expert Roger Parker to explore the influence of verismo - a mode of realism - in opera, from Verdi to the present day

logo for Composer of the Week - Verismo - Episode 1
Composer of the Week - Verismo - Episode 1

Donald Macleod explores how verismo first came about in the 1870s, a period when composers were keen to break away from the operatic conventions of the past.

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logo for Composer of the Week - Verismo - Episode 2
Composer of the Week - Verismo - Episode 2

Verismo: 2/5. Donald Macleod explores the influence of Mascagni's opera Cavalleria rusticana, a work featuring rivalry and infidelity, that has been cited as a watershed of verismo.

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logo for Composer of the Week - Verismo - Episode 3
Composer of the Week - Verismo - Episode 3

Donald Macleod explores stories of love, revolution and socialist realism in operas from Mascagni, Catalani, Giordano and Puccini.

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logo for Composer of the Week - Verismo - Episode 4
Composer of the Week - Verismo - Episode 4

Donald Macleod considers whether the experience of flight to the cities during the post-unification years in Italy informed works like Puccini's La boheme.

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logo for Composer of the Week - Verismo - Episode 5
Composer of the Week - Verismo - Episode 5

Donald Macleod on how composers like Puccini responded to the artistic currents prevailing at the beginning of the 20th century and how elements of verismo spread beyond Italy.

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