jan 1, 1643 - L'incoronazione di Poppea

Description:

by Monteverdi. "Worlds apart" from L'Orfeo. It was called an "opera regia" (Regal work), "work" being the literal meaning of the word "opera" and the term that has stuck to the genre.

the early commercial opera initiated conventions by which opera has lived, in glory and in infamy, into our own time. Ever since opera opened its doors to a paying public--a public that had to be lured to pay and attend--it has often proved a star-studded circus, associated initially with the carnival season preceding Lent with its parties, parades, and masked dancing. Dazzling virtuoso singing has been an enormous attraction luring public audiences from the start.

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