Claudio Monteverdi

Claudio Monteverdi

(1567 - 1643 )

Claudio Monteverdi: was born in Cremona in May 15th, 1567 and died in November 29th, 1643 in Venice. It 'was an Italian composer.

His work as a composer marks the transition from Renaissance music to Baroque music. The evolution of musical language was one of his main concerns, along with the so-called "prince of musicians," Carlo Gesualdo.

Monteverdi wrote one of the first works in which he would develop a dramatic plot, or an opera, L'Orfeo, and was lucky enough to enjoy his success while he was alive.

Works

The only complete works of Monteverdi which have come down to us are:

• L'Orfeo, “favola in musica” ( tale in music) with a prologue and 5 acts on a libretto by Alessandro Striggio, represented for the first time in Mantova in 1607;

L'Orfeo is the first opera by Monteverdi, considered the first masterpiece of the history of opera.

The libretto follows the text by Poliziano, the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus, who in vain attempts to rescue his dead lover Eurydice from Hades, the underworld. However, there are few variations, the most important of which is its happy ending, with the rise of Orpheus in the sky, accompanied by Apollo. There he can behold the image of Euridice forever in the stars.

L'Orfeo is marked by its dramatic power and lively orchestration. It is an early example of a composer assigning specific instruments to parts; the instrumentation in the case of L'Orfeo is explicit. The plot is clearly delineated with musical contrasts, and the melodies are linear and clear; much of the writing uses the style of monody, a musical texture where a single voice would sing over a clearly subservient instrumental accompaniment. With this opera Monteverdi had created an entirely new style of music, the dramma per musica, literally "play written to be set to music". This idea of theatrical works set to music was taken from the notion that the Ancient Greeks had sung their plays.

Monteverdi's operas are usually labelled "early Baroque," or sometimes "pre-Baroque." He also added duets, dances, ensemble madrigals and ballettos, greatly expanding the artistic complexity of the genre.

The style of singing used can be divided into recitative and in the form of “aria” .

• The Return of Ulysses to Ithaca, dramma per musica in a prologue and 3 acts, libretto by Giacomo Badoaro, from Homer's Odyssey, represented for the first time in Venice in 1639-1640;

• The Coronation of Poppea, in a prologue and 3 acts, libretto by Gian Francesco Busenello, Annals of Tacitus, from the Lives of the Caesars of Suetonius and dall'Octavia of Pseudo-Seneca, represented for the first time in Venice in 1642 -- 1643.

The opera Arianna (1608) came to us only the famous Lament of Ariadne.