Renaissance audiences were sometimes treated to plays in the courts of Italian princes. In between sets of these dramas, intermezzi would often be performed, which were elaborately staged musical pieces. In 1597, in the court of Jacopo Corsi, a new kind of performance appeared. Rather than a short intermezzo, the first opera, with words by Ottavio Rinuccini, told the full dramatic story of Daphne, who is pursued by Apollo but escapes by turning into a laurel tree. Composer Jacopo Peri described the singing style of "Dafne" as "a harmony surpassing that of ordinary speech, but falling so far below the melody of song as to take an intermediate form."
Music, researchers have found, can actually change the human brain for the better. In a 1997 study, Dr. Gordan Shaw and Dr. Frances Rauscher of the University of Wisconsin found that preschoolers who studied piano scored 34 percent better on tests of spatial and temporal reasoning than children exposed to computers. Some studies have revealed that music activates the same parts of the brain as chocolate or pictures of loved ones do. A study in "Cerebral Cortex" by Kleber and Veit found that operatic vocal training increased activity in the cortex and cerebellum.
Opera is generally performed in large auditoriums built specifically for the art form. These opera houses may provide measurable economic benefits to the surrounding communities. A study by the Ifo Institute for Economic Research reported in the "New York Times" found that 29 German opera houses built before to shortly after 1800 had increased economic growth in their regions by as much as two percentage points on average. The authors theorized that the opera houses attracted highly educated workers with an interest in culture who passed on these traits to future generations.
Opera is a part of Western culture and thus, the cultural inheritance of Americans. Exposure to opera can help provide a well-rounded education to young people. Not only does it teach students about music and provide a cultural touchstone through operas such as "Don Giovanni" and "The Marriage of Figaro," but also it can be integrated into the study of history as operas have been written about ancient Egypt, Rome, the Russian Revolution and even the moon landings. Opera treats and underscores many of the great stories of human history.