As part of the Renaissance (literally ‘rebirth’), which began in Italy in around 1450, the Baroque era was a revolution within a revolution. It saw a break from the Medieval view of humanity as innately sinful. Instead, Renaissance thinking cast individuals as a dynamic force in their own right and gave free rein to human imagination, ingenuity and self-expression. The Protestant movement, which rejected the ethos of the established Catholic ...
Opera first reached Naples when Venetian companies brought their productions to the city after 1648. At that time, the city was recovering from the spate of murders and massacres that had taken place during the revolt against Spanish rule led by the fisherman Tommaso Aniello Masaniello. Masaniello was killed in 1647 by agents working for the Spanish Viceroy Count d’Onate. The introduction of opera in Naples was part of the ...
The writing and performance of Baroque music and opera relied heavily on wealthy patrons, who often employed musicians in their private orchestras and opera houses. Among these patrons were the aristocratic Barberini family, who made their fortune in the Florentine cloth business. Moving to Rome, the Barberini became one of the city’s most powerful family dynasties. Maffeo Barberini (1568–1644), elected Pope Urban VIII in 1623, was an influential opera enthusiast, and ...
When the Teatro San Cassiano, the first public opera house, opened in 1637, the Venetian nobility rapidly decamped from the private homes in which performances had previously been given and rented the best box seats for each opera season. The public had to make do with the lower parterre, or ‘pit’. The San Cassiano was built and owned by an aristocratic family, the Trons. The first opera staged there was L’Andromeda ...
Opera began as an elite art. The first operas were created and performed for small, select audiences at wealthy courts in such cultural centres as Florence, Mantua, Parma and Rome. However, in 1637 the first public theatre in Venice, the Teatro San Cassiano opened, and the ‘invitation only’ nature of opera changed. The Venetian opera houses were funded by the city’s patrician families, and paid for mostly by the sale of subscription ...
‘Alceste, or the Triumph of Alcide’ Composed in 1674, Lully’s Alceste, ou le triomphe d’Alcide, a tragédie lyrique with a prologue and five acts, had a double link with ancient Greek culture. The libretto, by Philippe Quinault, was based on Alcestis, a tragedy by the ancient Greek dramatist Euripides that in turn derived from the legend of Alcestis, wife of Admetus, King of Thessaly: Admetus had been promised immortality as long ...
Although ostensibly ‘English’, Dido and Aeneas owes its ancestry to Italian and French operatic influences. Although the recitatives follow the rhythms and inflexions of the English language, they were clearly modelled on Italian monody. Purcell followed the already established tradition of taking the plots of operas from ancient myth and legend. This one came from ancient Rome, as the hero, the Trojan prince Aeneas, was by tradition an ancestor of ...
Premiered: 1643, Venice Libretto by Giovanni Faustini Background Egisto and Clori, two lovers from Delos, have been captured by pirates and sold to different masters. On the day of her marriage to Lidio, Climene has also been captured and sold to the same master as Egisto. Act I One year later, Egisto and Climene have escaped and returned to her home island of Zakynthos, both anxious to be reunited with their former lovers. Unfortunately, however, ...
Premiered: 1602, Florence Libretto by Ottavio Rinuccini, after Ovid Prologue The figure of Tragedy introduces the opera, explaining that to make the story suitable for marriage celebrations, the original ending has been altered. Act I The act opens in an Arcadian village, with Euridice preparing for her marriage to Orfeo, along with nymphs and shepherds who sing of the couple’s beauty. Orfeo is similarly celebrating with his friend Arcetro and other shepherds, when a messenger, ...
‘The Golden Apple’ Premiered: 1668, Vienna Libretto by Francesco Sbarra Prologue Personifications of the Habsburg territories gather in praise of Austria and its emperor, Leopold I. Act I During a banquet in Giove’s palace, Discordia, goddess of strife, throws a golden apple inscribed ‘to the most beautiful’ among the assembled goddesses. Venere, Pallade and Giunone all claim it, and Giove decrees that the prince Paride will decide. Paride and the nymph Ennone are together on Mount ...
‘Saint Alexius’ Premiered: 1632, Rome Libretto by Giulio Rospigliosi Prologue The figure of Roma (Rome), surrounded by a chorus of slaves, dedicates the performance to the Prince of Polonia (Poland). Act I Eufemiano, a Roman senator and Alessio’s father, encounters Adrasto, a knight returning from war. While pleased to see Adrasto, Eufemiano mourns the disappearance of his son Alessio. Meanwhile, Alessio, an ascetic, is offered lodgings at his father’s house by the pages Marzio and Curzio. ...
‘The Coronation of Poppea’ L’incoronazione di Poppea, composed in 1642, has been called Monteverdi’s greatest opera. It was one of the first operas to be based on history rather than mythology. The action takes place in Rome in ad 65. The eponymous heroine is the mistress and, later, wife of the Emperor Nero. The libretto was by Busenello, who took his text from the annals of the ancient Roman historian Tacitus ...
‘Orpheus, a Legend in Music’ L’Orfeo, favola in musica consists of a prologue and five acts – a prolonged performance for its time. Monteverdi used several devices to extend the action of the opera. He wrote recitatives to be performed between the duets, as well as polyphonic madrigals, of which he was a master. Further additions included dances. The opera, commissioned by the Gonzaga family for the carnival of 1606–07, was first ...
‘The Story of the Soul and the Body’ Premiered: 1600, Rome Libretto by Agostino Manni and Dorisio Isorelli Prologue The figures of Avveduto and Prudenzio (both mean ‘Prudence’) discuss at length the various facets of human nature and appeal to the audience to learn from what they will see in this allegorical opera. Act I The character Tempo (Time) presents a monologue on the transience of human life and Intelletto (Intellect) discusses spiritual hopes and desires. ...
Premiered: 1707, Venice Libretto by Girolamo Frigimelica Roberti Act I King Farnace and Stratonica, Mitridate’s mother, have usurped the Pontus throne by killing Mitridate’s father. Mitridate, the true heir, has sought refuge in Egypt; his sister, Laodice, awaits his return and dreams of avenging her father’s death. Egypt and Pontus are set to form an alliance and Laodice is called to court, where she is mocked by Farnace and argues with her mother. Act ...
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