Renaissance English play was absolutely unique, and not simply because William Shakespeare wrote throughout that time period. Drama was essentially classified into three types: opera, pantomime, and creative drama. Creative drama included works by Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Kyd, John Webster, and Henry Vinson. Opera is an Italian word meaning "work" or "performance," and it is what we think of as a musical theater piece today. It first appeared in Italy in the late 14th century and early 15th century, and it was here that it became popular among the upper class. The earliest known written account of an English opera occurs in a book called Libro di Buoni Costumi (1350), which describes a performance at the court of Edward II. The work there described is likely an early attempt at an English language opera! In England, during the reign of Elizabeth I, opera came back with a vengeance and within a few decades it was all anyone could talk about. The most famous English composer of his time, Thomas Morley, wrote several operas including The Fairy-Queen (1572). These pieces were so popular that even though they were in English they were still referred to as "opera." Pantomime is the term used for dramatic performances that include dancing.