The Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) wrote several works for the stage between 1604 and 1643, including ten in the then-emerging opera genre. Of these, both the music and libretto for three are extant: L'Orfeo (1607), Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (1640) and L'incoronazione di Poppea (1643). Seven other opera projects are known; four were completed and performed during Monteverdi's lifetime, while he abandoned another three at some point. The libretto has survived for some of these lost operas.
The opera genre emerged during Monteverdi's earlier career, first as courtly entertainment trying to revive Greek theatre.[1] The first known work to be regarded as an opera in the modern sense is Dafne (1598) by Jacopo Peri, and his Euridice (1600) is the earliest surviving one.[2] Since Monteverdi served as the court composer for the Gonzaga family from 1590 to 1612, he likely joined Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga in Florence for the 6 October 1600 premiere of Euridice.[3] While Monteverdi's own impressions of the work are unknown, the duke realised the potential of this new art form and sought to gain prestige from the patronage of it.[4] Therefore, he commissioned Monteverdi in late 1606 for a work which is now considered as the "birth of Western Opera",[5]L'Orfeo, on a libretto by Alessandro Striggio the Younger.[6]
The term opera was not widely used until the late 17th century, so Monteverdi's musical stage works were known by various names such as favola in musica (musical fable), dramma in musica (musical drama), or tragedia in musica (musical tragedy).[1] Monteverdi was instrumental in developing and popularizing the genre for public musical theatre, his L'Orfeo is the earliest opera still regularly performed.[10][11]
Monteverdi composed L'Orfeo, a favola in musica (story in music), to a libretto by Alessandro Striggio for the annual carnival season in Mantua in 1607. Commissioned by the Accademia degli Invaghiti[it], it was premiered at the Ducal Palace on 4 February 1607.[22] The work is the earliest opera still frequently performed and recorded.[23] The libretto is written with dramatic instinct, different from earlier experiments in the new genre.[24]
L'Arianna, a tragedia in musica (tragedy in music), was written for the wedding celebrations of Duke Vincenzo's oldest son and heir Francesco and Margaret of Savoy. The libretto by Rinuccini is based on the Greek Ariadne myth. It was premiered at the Ducal Palace on 28 May 1608.[25]
Le nozze di Tetide, a favola marittima (maritime story),[lower-alpha 3] was a project for the wedding celebrations of Duke Ferdinando and Catherine de' Medici. Monteverdi was given the libretto by Scipione Agnelli without an author's name, which he criticised in a December 1616 letter.[26] He began the composition,[27] until the commission was withdrawn in January 1617.[28]
Andromeda
Andromeda is a favola in musica commissioned by Don Vincenzo Gonzaga for the Mantua Carnival of March 1618, set to a libretto by Marigliani. Due to Monteverdi's disinterest it took two years to complete and premiered during the 1620 Carnival season, 1–3 March.[29][30] The music is lost, but the libretto, long believed lost, was rediscovered in 1984.[31]
Armida abbandonata was written to a libretto by Torquato Tasso,[lower-alpha 4] and intended for the wedding celebrations of Duke Odoardo of Parma and Margherita de' Medici. Monteverdi completed the score, but the performance was canceled due to the duke's death at the end of December 1627. Only a song for three voices, "Come dolce oggi l'auretta", survives.[32][33]
La finta pazza Licori
(English: "The feigned madwoman Licori")
La finta pazza Licori was commissioned by the Mantua court secretary, Alessandro Striggio the Younger, probably to celebrate the ascension of Duke Vincenzo II.[19][33] The work is the first known attempt at a comic opera,[34] but Striggio did not like Strozzi's libretto and cancelled the commission in September 1627.[32]
Proserpina rapita, an anatopismo,[lower-alpha 6] was composed to a libretto by Strozzi for the wedding celebrations of Lorenzo Giustiniani and Giustiniana Mocenigo, and premiered at the Mocenigo Palace in Venice on 16 April 1630.[35] Only a song for three voices, "Come dolce oggi l'auretta", survived.[20]
Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria
(English: "The return of Ulysses to his homeland")
The exact genre of this work is uncertain and referred to in a number of ways: an "opera", an "operatic composition", or a favola marittima ("sea story"), the name by which Monteverdi first described it.[14][15]
The words were not written specifically for the opera as they were adapted from poems by Tasso.[17]
Only a single song for three voices, "Come dolce oggi l'auretta", survives.[20]
Known as an "anatopismo", but the meaning of the term is unknown.[21]
Alternatively known as Le nozze d'Enea e Lavinia or Le nozze d'Enea in Lavinia
Sternfeld, F.W. (1986). "The Orpheus myth and the libretto of Orfeo" in Whenham, John (ed.): Claudio Monteverdi: Orfeo. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-0-521-24148-9.
Sonneck, O. G. (1913). ""Dafne", the First Opera. A Chronological Study". Sammelbände der Internationalen Musikgesellschaft. 15 (1): 102–110. JSTOR929391. (subscription required)
