The romantic Italian flute literature, represented by flautists/composers such as Briccialdi, De Michelis and Paggi, was largely influenced by Italian opera. It brims with paraphrases and variations on famous arias from operas by Bellini, Verdi, Donizetti and Rossini. De Michelis' Notturnino does not resort to operatic themes, but the melodic material clearly belongs to the same period in terms of style.
