ABSTRACT
The focus is on the most important dominant type of opera during the period, Italian opera. The various important Italian theatres and how they were operated are presented, as is a brief note about the itinerant troupes that spread the genre throughout Europe. What constitutes a season is then outlined with focus on the impresario, the librettist, and, finally, the types of Italian operas (seria, intermezzo, buffa) that were predominant during the era.
