Definition of "verismo" []

• Verism. (noun)
• An artistic movement of the late 19th century, originating in Italy and influential especially in grand opera, marked by the use of rural characters and common, everyday themes often treated in a melodramatic manner. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The new style was called verismo, and Puccini was among its finest practitioners."
• "Montemezzi (1875-1952) was an Italian composer of the so-called verismo school, its music characterized by sumptuous Wagnerian orchestral writing, and an integration of broad melodies with declamation suggesting the rhythm of Italian speech."
• "Puccini was one of the first composers, in fact, to set operas about the lives of ordinary people - the narrative and compositional style called "verismo," or realism."