Résumé
Characters in operas are often designed just by their first names. Some of the family names are not realistic and created to make comic effects. Usual family names without any connotation are very rare. Anyway, in some romantic operas not set in Italy, non-Italian family names – even in the title – are employed to create exotic suggestions. About the late 19th century, within more realistic operatic frame, real-life family names seem to increase.