History of Opera 1 – Origins

During Carnival of 1598, at the modest Palazzo Corsi in Florence (Italy), a ‘work of music’ (un opera in musica) was performed that, by modern standards, could be considered an opera, the first opera of history (but most of the music is lost). PLAYLIST - Theatre and more: 00:03 Aria Dalle più alte sfere, music: Emilio de’ Cavalieri (sung by Emma Kirkby) 00:20 Spectacle ‘La Pellegrina’ 1589, written by Girolamo Bargagli of Siena, stage design Bernardo Buontalenti 01:35 The marriage of Ferdinand I de’ Medici with Christine de Lorraine 03:23 Opera ‘Daphne’ 1598, music: Jacopo Peri, libretto: Ottavio Rinuccini 04:44 The Florentine Camerata 07:54 Aria: The ‘Prologo’ of ‘La Tragedia’ 11:48 Opera ‘Eurydice’ 1600, music: Jacopo Peri, libretto: Ottavio Rinuccini 15:00 Recitative, the sung dialogue between Orpheus and Pluto 17:00 Maria de’ Medici’s marriage by proxy with Henry IV 18:24 Opera with intermedi: ‘Il rapimento di Cefalo’ 1600, most of the music was composed by Giulio Caccini, libretto: Gabriello Chiabrera 22:32 Aria ultima: Chi mi confort’ahimè (only one line) 24:10 Opera ‘L’Orfeo’ (Orpheus) 1607, music: Claudio Monteverdi, libretto: Alessandro Striggio the younger 26:51 Aria: Signor, quell’infelice