Long before Wagner coined the term, opera producers had dreamt of creating the complete work, the ultimate art, a Gesamtkunstwerk. In 1644 the diarist John Evelyn described an opera he saw in Rome in which Gian Lorenzo Bernini had “painted the scenes, cut the Statues, invented the engines, composed the Musique, writ the Comedy, and built the Theatre”. And throughout the 18th century flashy impresarios would enhance opera performances with grand, perspectival sets, sophisticated mechanical effects and menageries of birds and animals.
早在瓦格納(Wagner)創造出「總體藝術(Gesamtkunstwerk)」這一術語之前，歌劇製作人就已經夢想著要創作出完整的作品、終極版的藝術——也就是「總體藝術」。1644年，日記作家約翰•伊夫林(John Evelyn)描述了他在羅馬觀看的一部歌劇：濟安•洛倫佐•貝尼尼(Gian Lorenzo Bernini)爲該歌劇「渲染了場景，製作了雕像，創作了配樂和劇本，並建成了劇場」。整個18世紀，浮華的演出者們使用宏大而透視的佈景、精緻的細節效果以及珍奇的鳥類和各色動物來加強歌劇演出的效果。