Music and drama were combined in the thirteenth-century pastourelles- little plays about shepherds which contained short songs and dances. The combination appeared also in the sixteenth-century Mascarades, which were pageantlike Italian court entertainment given at carnival time. The intermedie, or intermezzo, featured a group of vocal madrigals or instrumental compositions performed between acts of plays. As such productions became more and more popular at the sixteenth-century Italian courts, they became more elaborate, using dramatic action as well as orchestral sinfonias and large-scale choruses. By the end of the 1500's the new musical style was ready to emerge as "drama in music"- and later, under the name of "opera."
