One of the traditions that dominated Italian opera in the early nineteenth century was allowing the singers an opportunity to show off their abilities upon their entrance. If the composer did not supply an entrance aria, or give the singer one they felt was suited to their voice, the singer would just go and grab a “trunk aria”. The nickname “trunk aria” was a reference to the fact that singers, as travelling performers, had trunks that contained not only their costumes, but also the musical scores of these “replacement” arias, which conveniently appeared as required.
Here we have a collection of Donizetti entrance arias from 1818-1834.
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