as in realism
realistic depiction in art and literature
the author of this crime novel uses profuse profanity in the name of verismo, but its effectiveness palls after a couple of chapters
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Recent Examples of verismo
The passions are vintage verismo.
—
Justin Davidson, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2021
On his debut album, Jonathan Tetelman lavishes his sumptuous tenor and almost poetic attention on classic Romantic and verismo arias.
—New York Times, 22 Dec. 2022
This is a far cry from Verga’s verismo and prompts the reflection that when one is trapped in a drastically dysfunctional relationship, the solution might be distance.
—Tim Parks, The New York Review of Books, 23 Feb. 2021
Influenced by French literary circles, the Italian verismo movement considered the real world worth representing.
—Christy Thomas, Detroit Free Press, 4 Apr. 2018
Perhaps the Met carefully planned this deep dive into verismo, that blood-and-guts, heart-on-sleeve, homicidally inclined genre of Italian potboiler that flourished around the turn of the 20th century.
—Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2018
Dr. Contino, who specialized in the visceral, unsentimental realism of Italian verismo opera, was also a music professor and vocal coach, but was best known as an acclaimed conductor.
—Sam Roberts, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2017
There was hardly any Puccini, there was hardly any bel canto and no verismo.
—Colleen Barry, The Seattle Times, 31 May 2017
In the decades after the composer’s death in 1901, performances of Verdi’s operas began to fester with the most aggressive excesses of the verismo style that was gaining steam in his final years.
—Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2016
Justin Davidson, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2021
On his debut album, Jonathan Tetelman lavishes his sumptuous tenor and almost poetic attention on classic Romantic and verismo arias.
—New York Times, 22 Dec. 2022
This is a far cry from Verga’s verismo and prompts the reflection that when one is trapped in a drastically dysfunctional relationship, the solution might be distance.
—Tim Parks, The New York Review of Books, 23 Feb. 2021
Influenced by French literary circles, the Italian verismo movement considered the real world worth representing.
—Christy Thomas, Detroit Free Press, 4 Apr. 2018
Perhaps the Met carefully planned this deep dive into verismo, that blood-and-guts, heart-on-sleeve, homicidally inclined genre of Italian potboiler that flourished around the turn of the 20th century.
—Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2018
Dr. Contino, who specialized in the visceral, unsentimental realism of Italian verismo opera, was also a music professor and vocal coach, but was best known as an acclaimed conductor.
—Sam Roberts, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2017
There was hardly any Puccini, there was hardly any bel canto and no verismo.
—Colleen Barry, The Seattle Times, 31 May 2017
In the decades after the composer’s death in 1901, performances of Verdi’s operas began to fester with the most aggressive excesses of the verismo style that was gaining steam in his final years.
—Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for verismo
Noun
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Because what matters, what makes Caravaggio so much more than an illustrator, is less the realism of the sacred image than its translation — through the bodies and faces of ordinary people — from the time of the Gospels to now.—
Jason Farago,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2025
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As the Scientific Revolution spread across Europe, artists became increasingly devoted to realism in still life paintings of plants and flowers.—
Eli Wizevich,
Smithsonian Magazine,
25 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Verismo.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/verismo. Accessed 7 May. 2025.
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