13 questions · Music
Claudio Monteverdi, born in 1567 in Cremona (the city soon to become world-famous for its violin makers) published his first compositions at 15. As singer, viol player and composer he entered the service of the Duke of Mantua, where he worked for more than two decades: underpaid and often ill-treated, but artistically bolder than anyone of his time. In Mantua, in 1607, came his masterstroke: 'L'Orfeo', the story of the singer Orpheus trying to bring his Eurydice back from the underworld. It was not the very first opera: but it is the earliest one still in the repertoire: Monteverdi was the first to show what the new genre could really do. He defended his madrigals against conservative critics with a self-assured doctrine: the 'seconda pratica' permits breaking the rules when the expression of the text demands it: music serves the word, not the other way round. In this, Monteverdi embodies the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque like no one else. In 1613 came the call to Italy's most prestigious musical post: maestro di cappella at St Mark's in Venice. There he wrote sacred music of the first rank, as early as 1610 he had published the magnificent 'Vespers of 1610'. In his seventies he witnessed another revolution: Venice opened the world's first public opera houses: opera for a paying public rather than for princes. The old man supplied their masterpieces: 'The Return of Ulysses' and 'The Coronation of Poppea'. Did you know that Monteverdi was ordained a priest at about 65? He died in Venice in 1643 and was buried in the Frari church: the man who taught opera to walk.
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Renaissance to Baroque
He is considered the founder of Baroque music and the perfecter of the Renaissance madrigal.
💡 Did you know? Monteverdi stands at the transition from Renaissance to Baroque; he is regarded as one of the inventors of opera.
Cremona
The city soon became world-famous for its violin makers: Amati, Stradivari, Guarneri.
💡 Did you know? Monteverdi was born in Cremona: the same city as the famous violin makers Stradivari and Amati.
L'Orfeo
The story of the singer Orpheus, premiered at the Mantuan court: not the first opera ever, but the first that lasted.
💡 Did you know? „L'Orfeo“ of 1607 is the oldest opera still regularly performed: the start of a 400-year genre.
St Mark's
Italy's most prestigious musical post: he held it until his death in 1643.
💡 Did you know? As choirmaster at St Mark's in Venice, Monteverdi held the most prestigious musical post in Italy.
Vespers of 1610
A job application on the grandest scale: it may have helped him win the Venice post.
💡 Did you know? The „Vespers“ of 1610 boldly unite old and new styles: a monumental sacred masterpiece.
the seconda pratica
Rule-breaking is permitted when the text's expression demands it: his manifesto against conservative critics.
💡 Did you know? With the „seconda pratica“, Monteverdi defended the right to break the strict rules of counterpoint when the text demanded it: music should serve the word.
madrigals
His nine books of madrigals mirror half a century of music history: from Renaissance polyphony to dramatic concerto style.
💡 Did you know? In his nine books of madrigals one can follow, as in slow motion, the shift from Renaissance polyphony to the dramatic Baroque style.
The Coronation of Poppea
Written at about 75, for the first time an opera centred on historical people instead of gods.
💡 Did you know? „The Coronation of Poppea“ was one of the first operas about historical rather than mythological figures and boldly lets the scheming villains triumph.
the first public opera house
Opera for a paying public instead of princely courts: the septuagenarian supplied its masterpieces.
💡 Did you know? In 1637 the first public opera house opened in Venice: opera went from courtly luxury to entertainment for a paying public, and the aged Monteverdi wrote new works for it.
Mantua
Underpaid and often ill-treated: yet 'L'Orfeo' and the Vespers were written there.
💡 Did you know? For over two decades Monteverdi served at the court of Mantua: often poorly paid and overworked, which embittered him.
priesthood
After plague years and personal crises: he carried on in his post at St Mark's regardless.
💡 Did you know? He is buried in the Frari church in Venice.
Venice
After three decades as maestro of St Mark's: all Venice turned out to mourn him.
💡 Did you know? In old age Monteverdi was ordained a priest and died in 1643 in Venice, an esteemed master.
Foto: Bernardo Strozzi · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Monteverdi was an Italian composer at the transition from Renaissance to Baroque and one of the inventors of opera.
💡 Did you know? His opera „L'Orfeo“ of 1607 is the oldest still regularly on opera-house programmes today.
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