Wars are fought with deception, but also information. Our world is adrift in a sea of media, from books to nightly news, to television. However, of every form of media and information it brings, few have had a greater impact on politics and the course of history than that special blend of dialogue and song, Opera.
A staple of Western music, opera was born and raised in Renaissance Italy, as a new form of entertainment by a group of Venetian artists dubbed the Camerata. One of their members, Jacopo Peri, wrote and developed what many believe to be the first opera, Dafne, as a revival of anicent Greek drama. The word "opera" means work in Italian, yet despite all efforts, the world's first opera has been lost to history.
Since its inception, opera has not only been used as a form of entertainment, but also a vehicle of revolution, and a means of both political and social commentary. Mozart's Marriage of Figaro made fun of the nobility at a time when Europe was on the brink of violent revolt. Fidelio, Beethoven's only opera, was largely inspired by unjust imprisonment before and during the French Revolution.
Unfortunately, not all change can be good. Wagner, whose works tell great epics of Norse gods, was largely anti-semitic. As a consequence, the Nazi party chose his hit song "Ride of the Valkyries" as their theme music.
In spite of this, opera and politics are heavily intertwined, and likely bound to stay that way. If the AK is the weapon of revolution, then opera is the voice.
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