Claudio Monteverdi
Bernardo Strozzi, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Claudio Monteverdi's musical career began in 1582, at the age of fifteen, with the publication of a book of madrigals. Although these early compositions were written in the prevailing Renaissance polyphonic style and not especially original, they showcased the young composer’s talent and skill.

In 1590, he left his home in Cremona in northern Italy and moved to the nearby city of Mantua, securing a job as a musician and composer for the duke there. In Mantua, he met a singer at the court named Claudia Cattaneo. They married in 1599 and had three children together (although their only daughter died in infancy.)

In Mantua, Monteverdi began to develop a new style of writing using a homophonic texture, with a clear division between melody and accompaniment. The result was the first opera, L'Orfeo, which told the story of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Inspired by ancient Greek theater, an opera is essentially a play with actors singing, rather than speaking, accompanied by an orchestra. There are three basic forms in which the dialogue can be sung in an opera:

• Recitative: In a recitative, the singers simply make their way through the lyrics with minimal accompaniment. While there is pitch and some semblance of melody, there is minimal structure and forward motion.
• Aria: An aria is a section with a highly developed musical form, recurring motifs, and unified musical ideas. An aria is usually a solo section, although duets and trios are not uncommon.
• Chorus: A chorus is where a large number of people are all singing together, usually to advance the plot in some way or comment on the decisions of the main characters.

Orpheus and Eurydice (1637)
Peter Paul Rubens, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The orchestra accompanies the singers, but also plays on its own. The opera will be preceded by an Sinfonia ("without words") or Overture (French for "opening"). An entr'act is performed at the beginning of each act; in intermissions between acts, the orchestra may play an intermezzo.

Claudia fell ill and died in 1607, leaving him with their two young sons. Depressed and feeling under-appreciated, he kept composing, writing another opera and penning Vespers of the Blessed Virgin in 1610, possibly seeking a more prestigious position in Rome.

When Giovanni Gabrieli died in 1613, Monteverdi moved to the Republic of Venice and took over his position as maestro di capella at Saint Mark's Basilica, greatly enhancing his fame and stylistic influence. Although he continued to write madrigals and operas, the rest of his career focused largely on sacred choral music.

After the plague struck Venice in 1630, possibly claiming the life of Monteverdi’s brother, he decided to become a priest and was ordained in 1632 at the age of 65. Despite this, he continued to compose, writing another popular opera ten years later, L’incoronazione di Poppea, a historical drama about Roman Emperor Nero. He died the following year after a short illness.