After the plague in Venice in 1630, Monteverdi, a devout believer, wrote a Mass of thanksgiving and was ordained as a priest, though he never officiated.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Monteverdi, known as 'the father of opera', was a passionate musician and uncompromising innovator who transformed music from the Renaissance to the Baroque.
Composer Biography
Claudio Monteverdi, born in Cremona in 1567, came from a family that included lute-makers, and his father was a surgeon who encouraged his sons in music.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Nikolaus Harnoncourt, a conductor and cellist who admired Monteverdi, stated that Monteverdi's music remains vital and living, never becoming 'early music'.
Historical Context
In 1637, Venice opened the world's first public opera house, the Teatro San Cassiano, placing Monteverdi in the right place at the right time for operatic development.
Critical Reception
Monteverdi's opera L'incoronazione di Poppea was last performed in 1681-82 and not revived until 1905, falling into obscurity for several centuries.
Composition History
Monteverdi's opera L'Orfeo, which tells the story of the bard Orpheus, was first performed in 1607 at the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua by the Accademia degli Invaghiti, or 'Academy of the Lovestruck'.
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Monteverdi: Teatro d'amore
Fiori musicali
Monteverdi
Monteverdi: L'incoronazione di Poppea (Realised by Raymond Leppard; Abridged Version)
Monteverdi: Memories
Monteverdi e il suo tempo
Monteverdi: Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda & Madrigals
Monteverdi & Frescobaldi: Madrigali
Lamenti
Monteverdi: Balli e balletti. Orfeo, Tirsi e Clori, Il ballo delle ingrate
