What Is Opera (And Why It Still Matters): A Complete Guide to Classical Opera and Modern Musical Theater

At Opera Shalem, we're often asked: What exactly is opera? Is it grand spectacle with powdered wigs and Viking helmets? Is it long and difficult? Is it still relevant in today's cultural landscape?

For us, the answer is simple: opera is one of the most powerful storytelling tools in human history, and we're building a new kind of Jewish opera company to unleash its full potential in contemporary musical theater.

But to understand why opera matters today, it helps to understand where this classical art form comes from and how it has evolved into modern musical performances.

A Brief History of Opera: From Classical Beginnings to Modern Musical Theater

Renaissance Roots: The Birth of Opera Performance

Opera as we know it began around 1600 in Italy, born from the Renaissance fascination with reviving ancient Greek drama. Composers like Claudio Monteverdi experimented with combining music, poetry, and theater to heighten emotional expression. The earliest operas, like L'Orfeo (1607), already revealed opera's unique power: music can deepen and extend what words alone cannot say.

Baroque to Romantic Era: The Golden Age of Classical Opera

The genre spread rapidly across European opera houses. Handel, a German composer who became a British subject, brought Italian-style opera to London in the early 18th century, composing dramatic masterpieces like Giulio Cesare and Rodelinda. The Baroque era saw opera take root across Europe, and by the 19th century, it had become a global cultural force. Verdi in Italy, Wagner in Germany, and Bizet in France each brought their national flavor to classical music performances.

The Evolution into Modern Opera Companies

Today's opera companies continue this tradition while adapting to contemporary audiences. Modern opera performances blend classical techniques with innovative staging, multimedia integration, and diverse casting approaches that make this art form accessible to new generations.

What Makes Opera “Opera”? Understanding Classical Musical Theater

The Core Elements of Opera Performance

At its core, opera is theatrical storytelling through music. It combines multiple art forms—text (libretto), composition, staging, design, movement, and voice—into a single, immersive experience. It's not “just” classical music. And it's not “just” theater. It is both. At once.

Recitatives, Spoken Text, and Hybrid Musical Forms

Traditionally, opera is sung throughout, but many classical operas use recitative—a speech-like style of singing—to move the plot along, alternating with more musically elaborate arias and ensembles. Some operas even include spoken dialogue, bridging the gap between classical opera and modern musical theater.

French opéra comique, Italian dramma giocoso, and even many of Mozart's “da Ponte operas” fall into this hybrid territory. These works—Mozart's Don Giovanni, Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, among others—are considered part of the opera canon, yet structurally resemble operetta more than grand opera.

Genre Lines and Theatrical Institutions: Opera vs. Musical Theater

Over time, distinctions between opera and operetta hardened, but often for practical or institutional reasons: different theaters, different audiences, different funding models. Today's split between opera companies and musical theater reflects similar forces. But artistically, the lines are—and have always been—fluid.

Why Opera Still Speaks: The Contemporary Relevance of Classical Music

A Quiet Revival in Popular Culture

Opera has sometimes been dismissed as elitist or outdated. But something surprising is happening: classical opera is having a quiet revival in mainstream entertainment.

In recent years, streaming series like Bridgerton have reintroduced classical vocal music to millions of viewers. That show's score, blending Baroque string music with contemporary pop arrangements, has sparked renewed interest in the original material and opera performances. As The Guardian notes, “Bridgerton is making people curious about opera again.”

21st-Century Opera: Innovation in Classical Performance

Opera companies across the globe are experimenting with how opera can look and feel in the 21st century. Intimate venues, updated staging, multimedia integration, and diverse casting are making opera newly relevant, and audiences are responding to these fresh approaches to classical musical theater.

From Opera Houses to Hollywood: The Cinematic Legacy

The connection between opera and popular culture runs deeper than many realize. During the 1930s and 1940s, many Jewish and dissident composers fled Nazi persecution and found refuge in America, particularly in Hollywood. These classically trained musicians helped develop the sweeping, emotionally powerful sound that became synonymous with film scoring.

Today, much of the great “operatic” music that audiences experience happens in movie theaters. Film soundtracks have become hugely popular cultural phenomena—Hans Zimmer concerts sell out arenas, and live orchestral performances of Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Harry Potter scores, while screening the films draw massive audiences. This represents a continuation of opera's core mission: using music to heighten dramatic storytelling and create profound emotional experiences.

Opera Education and Cultural Access

Modern opera companies are also focusing on opera education and community outreach, making classical music more accessible through school programs, online resources, and community performances that introduce new audiences to this rich art form.

Our Vision at Opera Shalem: Redefining Jewish Musical Theater

Not Just Revival—Redefinition of Jewish Opera

At Opera Shalem, we're not just reviving classical opera. We're redefining it as an inclusive, rooted, resonant Jewish art form. We take opera seriously as a tradition, but we don't treat it as a museum piece.

Most opera companies focus exclusively on the classical canon: Mozart, Puccini, Verdi. Some occasionally touch operetta. Fewer still embrace musicals. But we see the full spectrum—from Baroque to Broadway—as fertile ground for Jewish cultural expression.

What We're Building: A New Model for a Jewish Opera Company

Our vision for contemporary Jewish musical theater includes:

• Pieces of the established operatic canon with a fresh dramaturgical lens and ecological awareness

• New Jewish operas that speak to historical and contemporary experience

• Operetta and musical theater reimagined as part of the Israeli cultural fabric

• Intercultural collaboration with artists across traditions, genres, and geographies

  
  

The Power of Opera in Jewish Cultural Expression

Opera is uniquely capable of expressing the unspeakable. That's why it's endured across centuries and cultures. And that's why we believe it's the right form for the Jewish stories we need to tell now, bridging classical tradition with contemporary relevance.

Join the Movement: Support Opera Shalem Today

The vision for Opera Shalem can only be realized through collective action and commitment. Here's how you can participate in this cultural development:

Take Action Now

• Become a Founding Supporter: Join our circle of founding donors who are making history by establishing Jerusalem's first permanent opera house.

• Spread the Word: Follow us on social media and share our vision with your networks locally and globally.

Contact us today at info@operashalem.com or visit www.operashalem.com to learn more about how you can help fill Jerusalem's artistic gap and create a cultural legacy for generations to come.