Alessandro Striggio, LA / FAVOLA D’ ORFEO / RAPPRESENTATA IN MUSICA / Il Carneuale dell’Anno MDCVII. / Nell’Accademia de gl’INVAGHITI di MANTOVA; /Sotto i felici auspizij del Serenissimo Sig. DVCA / benignissimo protettore. / IN MANTOVA, per Francesco Osanna Stampatore Ducale. 1607

Orfeo was the first successful musical drama, a milestone in opera history; it was also the first by Claudio Monteverdi. It was represented for the first time in Mantova, on February 24, 1607: this event too bears testimony to the cultural abundance and to the attention of the Vincenzo Gonzaga’s court’s to all the novelties in spectacular art. A presentation is given of the libretto by Alessandro Striggio jr., who was a man of remarkable culture and precise musical competence, pointing out how he was able to infuse the verse with particular musicality and to collaborate understandingly with Monteverdi musical project. The principal characteristics and the structure of the opera, seen as a genre, are analyzed showing also how classical and pastoral elements are mixed with scene exhibitions typical of the Intermedi.