Claudio Monteverdi

Monteverdi, Claudio (1567–1643), Italian composer. His innovative operas were the predecessors of modern opera, in which aria, recitative, and orchestral accompaniment enhances dramatic characterization. Orfeo (1607) is considered the first modern opera. His other compositions include many madrigals, Vespers (1610), much other sacred music, and the operas The Return of Ulysses to His Country (1641) and The Coronation of Poppaea (1642).

See also: Opera.