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Despite all their good intentions, the Florentine Cammerata was never able to compose a successful opera. This seems unfair. They, after all, invented the opera. The Italian public should have at least respected that fact and pretended they liked the Cammerata’s work. Yet, the early seventeenth century was a time of great war, plagues, and injustice. Unfairness was simply a way of life. The operas of the Cammerata were shoved into the storage shelves of history and opera remained a mere experimental theory until Claudio Monteverdi came along.

Monteverdi was born the oldest son to an under-the-cover doctor. I say ‘under the cover’ because back in the 1500’s it was illegal to practice medicine in certain regions of Italy. In other words, Monteverdi’s dad was a healthcare bootlegger. It can be imagined that a lot of young Monteverdi’s life was spent keeping secrets, under the threat that his dad would be imprisoned.

Monteverdi took music lessons as a young child and learned the art of polyphony. As an adult, Monteverdi took up a music post working for the wealthy Duke of Mantua. While working for the Duke, Monteverdi was greatly influenced by the music director, Giaches de Wert. As Monteverdi’s status grew so did his desire to take over Wert’s position of music director. Much to Monteverdi’s dismay, the job was given to a man named Pallivincio. Pallivincio died soon after, however, (hmmm…) and Monteverdi was finally able to take the esteemed title that he desired.

Amidst this drama of power struggle and intrigue, Monteverdi was building a great admiration for the revolutionary developments devised by the Florentine Cammerata. He was inspired by the Cammerata’s concepts of opera and homophony and he eventually decided to compose an opera himself. Thus, Monteverdi went headlong into the biggest project he had yet attempted. The result was the composition of the opera, The Legend of Orpheus (or, La Favola d’Orfeo, as Monteverdi liked to call it). Monteverdi mastered homophony and created the most emotional music that his public could imagine. He used the orchestra as an important figure in the opera instead of just a coloristic special effect. He also put particular emphasis on the way the music expressed the words that were being sung. The Legend of Orpheus was so expressive that it left the early seventeenth century audience staggering and gasping for breath.

It is important to understand the story of the Legend of Orpheus because a large number of famous opera composers have written their own operatic versions of this story. The story goes as follows:

Orpheus, your basic Greek hero, is famous all over the ancient world for his fancy playing on the lyre. Orpheus loves Euridice, your basic Greek damsel, and they get married. Unfortunately, Euridice dies during the wedding party and Orpheus has to travel down to the underworld to get her back. Thanks to his beautiful lyre playing, the god of the underworld agrees that Orpheus can take his wife back to the land of the living as long as he doesn’t look back at her until they are safely home. Sadly, Orpheus is a total moron. He can’t control himself and looks back at his wife, only to see her falling back into the underworld. THE END… Well almost. The original ending was too depressing for the audience, so Monteverdi changed the story so that the underworld gods give Orpheus another chance, and he lives happily ever after with Euridice. Later in opera history, sad endings became fashionable so more recent operatic versions of the Orpheus myth have remained true to the original, depressing end of the story.

After Orpheus, Monteverdi continued to compose masterful works including the Vespers of 1610 and several more operas. Monteverdi’s influence on the music world was to last for centuries to come.

Listening to Monteverdi

Monteverdi’s music jolted the music world into a new age. He is the first true master of both opera and homophony and his music’s contrast to the music of his predecessors is dramatic. Begin your Monteverdi introduction with his two most famous works: the opera l’Orfeo and the Vespers of 1610. These two works will give you a good idea of what Monteverdi’s music is all about.

Monteverdi Recommendations

Opera

- La Favola d’Orfeo

- l’Arianna (only one aria, Arianna’s Lament, still survives)

- l’Incoraonazione di poppea

Songs, Secular Vocal Music

- Madrigals

Sacred Vocal Music

- Vespers of 1610

Claudio

MONTEVERDI

(1567-1643)

The Man That Let the Fat Lady Sing

“Music is spiritual. The music business is not.”

- Claudio Monteverdi

Listening to Monteverdi



Claudio MONTEVERDI (1567-1643) *The Man That Let the Fat Lady Sing* “Music is spiritual. The music business is not.” - Claudio Monteverdi Despite all their good intentions, the Florentine Cammerata was never able to compose a successful opera. This seems unfair. They, after all, invented the opera. The Italian public should have at least respected that fact and pretended they liked the Cammerata’s work. Yet, the early seventeenth century was a time of great war, plagues, and injustice. Unfairness was simply a way of life. The operas of the Cammerata were shoved into the storage shelves of history and opera remained a mere experimental theory until Claudio Monteverdi came along. Monteverdi was born the oldest son to an under-the-cover doctor. I say ‘under the cover’ because back in the 1500’s it was illegal to practice medicine in certain regions of Italy. In other words, Monteverdi’s dad was a healthcare bootlegger. It can be imagined that a lot of young Monteverdi’s life was spent keeping secrets, under the threat that his dad would be imprisoned. Monteverdi took music lessons as a young child and learned the art of polyphony. As an adult, Monteverdi took up a music post working for the wealthy Duke of Mantua. While working for the Duke, Monteverdi was greatly influenced by the music director, Giaches de Wert. As Monteverdi’s status grew so did his desire to take over Wert’s position of music director. Much to Monteverdi’s dismay, the job was given to a man named Pallivincio. Pallivincio died soon after, however, (hmmm…) and Monteverdi was finally able to take the esteemed title that he desired. Amidst this drama of power struggle and intrigue, Monteverdi was building a great admiration for the revolutionary developments devised by the Florentine Cammerata. He was inspired by the Cammerata’s concepts of opera and homophony and he eventually decided to compose an opera himself. Thus, Monteverdi went headlong into the biggest project he had yet attempted. The result was the composition of the opera, The Legend of Orpheus (or, La Favola d’Orfeo, as Monteverdi liked to call it). Monteverdi mastered homophony and created the most emotional music that his public could imagine. He used the orchestra as an important figure in the opera instead of just a coloristic special effect. He also put particular emphasis on the way the music expressed the words that were being sung. The Legend of Orpheus was so expressive that it left the early seventeenth century audience staggering and gasping for breath. It is important to understand the story of the Legend of Orpheus because a large number of famous opera composers have written their own operatic versions of this story. The story goes as follows: Orpheus, your basic Greek hero, is famous all over the ancient world for his fancy playing on the lyre. Orpheus loves Euridice, your basic Greek damsel, and they get married. Unfortunately, Euridice dies during the wedding party and Orpheus has to travel down to the underworld to get her back. Thanks to his beautiful lyre playing, the god of the underworld agrees that Orpheus can take his wife back to the land of the living as long as he doesn’t look back at her until they are safely home. Sadly, Orpheus is a total moron. He can’t control himself and looks back at his wife, only to see her falling back into the underworld. THE END… Well almost. The original ending was too depressing for the audience, so Monteverdi changed the story so that the underworld gods give Orpheus another chance, and he lives happily ever after with Euridice. Later in opera history, sad endings became fashionable so more recent operatic versions of the Orpheus myth have remained true to the original, depressing end of the story. After Orpheus, Monteverdi continued to compose masterful works including the Vespers of 1610 and several more operas. Monteverdi’s influence on the music world was to last for centuries to come. Listening to Monteverdi Monteverdi’s music jolted the music world into a new age. He is the first true master of both opera and homophony and his music’s contrast to the music of his predecessors is dramatic. Begin your Monteverdi introduction with his two most famous works: the opera l’Orfeo and the Vespers of 1610. These two works will give you a good idea of what Monteverdi’s music is all about. Monteverdi Recommendations Opera - La Favola d’Orfeo - l’Arianna (only one aria, *Arianna’s Lament, still survives) - l’Incoraonazione di poppea* Songs, Secular Vocal Music - Madrigals Sacred Vocal Music - Vespers of 1610
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