Claudio Monteverdi

Premiered in Mantua in 1607, 'L'Orfeo' is one of the earliest operas still regularly performed today. It established opera as a viable art form by combining rich orchestration with a fully developed dramatic narrative based on the Greek myth of Orpheus.

Monteverdi served as the music director at St. Mark's Basilica in Venice from 1613 until his death in 1643. During this period he also wrote operas for the newly opened public opera houses in Venice, including 'L'incoronazione di Poppea' (1643).

Monteverdi's work spans the transition from the polyphonic Renaissance style to the dramatic, bass-driven style of the early Baroque. His 1610 publication 'Vespro della Beata Vergine' (Vespers of 1610) demonstrates both traditions, pairing intricate Renaissance counterpoint with virtuosic solo singing.

In the early 1600s, the theorist Giovanni Maria Artusi published a treatise attacking Monteverdi for breaking the established rules of Renaissance counterpoint with unprepared dissonances. Monteverdi's brother Giulio Cesare defended him in a preface to the 'Scherzi musicali' (1607), arguing for a 'second practice' where the words dictated the music, not the rules of harmony.