Claudio Monteverdi

(1567-1643)

Monteverdi was an extraordinarily gifted composer who composed successfully in all the styles of his era.  This is astounding because of how radically styles changed from what is called pervading imitation of the Renaissance to the homophonic style of the early Baroque.  His L'Orfeo is the earliest opera still performed often today.

As his career progressed, he moved to Venice to work at San Marco.  He wasted no time by starting Venetian commercial opera.

His most popular operas are:

• L'Orfeo (1607) to a libretto by Alessandro Striggio, first performed in Mantua.

• Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (SV 325, The Return of Ulysses to his Homeland), Librettist Giacomo Badoaro Language Italian Based on Homer's Odyssey Premiere 1639–1640 Carnival season Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice 

• L'incoronazione di Poppea  (SV 308, The Coronation of Poppea) with a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello, first performed in 1643 also in Venice.

Many of his works have been lost forever. This piece is all that is left of one of his earliest operas.