Operas in General
All the operas are in ENOG 45 (1992).
- Abert, Anna Amalie. Claudio Monteverdi und das musikalische Drama. Lipp-
stadt: Kistner & Siegel, 1954. 354p. ML410 .M7 A14.
Valuable technical accounts of the operas, with musical examples and foot-
notes. Bibliography of about 200 items, name index. - Glover, Jane. “The Venetian Operas.” In The Monteverdi Companion(#1211),
288–315.
Examines the differences in style between the first opera, Orfeo,and the later
works, Il ritorno d’UlisseandL’incoronazione di Poppea. Particular points of
change involve dramatic format, harmony and melody, and orchestral require-
ments. Includes extended descriptions of musical and dramatic elements. - Pirrotta, Nino. “Monteverdi and the Problems of Opera.” In Music and Cul-
ture(#2443), 235–253.
Originally in Italian, in Studi sul teatro veneto fra rinascimento ed età barocca,
ed. Maria Teresa Muraro (Florence: Olschki, 1971), trans. Harris Saunders.
An important study of influences on Monteverdi’s operas, including a detailed
comparison ofOrfeowith Peri’s Euridice. Lesser-known works are also taken
up, with explanation of their impact on Monteverdi. - Pirrotta, Nino. “Theater, Sets and Music in Monteverdi’s Operas.” In Music
and Culture(#2443), 254–270.
Originally in Italian, in Congresso Internazionale(#1208), translated here by
David Morgenstern. A study of the opera premieres in terms of the halls and
modes of presentation. The uncertain venue of the Il ritorno d’Ulissepremiere
is assigned to the SS. Giovanni e Paolo theater, and a sketch of the theater’s
floorplan is included. - Harnoncourt, Nikolaus. The Musical Dialogue: Thoughts on Monteverdi,
Bach, and Mozart.Trans. Mary O’Neill. Ed. Reinhard G. Pauly. Portland,
Ore.: Amadeus, 1989. 220p. ISBN 0-931340-08-X. ML60 .H337.
Originally Der musikalische Dialog: Gedanken zu Monteverdi, Bach und
Mozart(Salzburg: Residenz, 1984). Analyses of performance problems by a
leading practitioner of the authentic performance movement. The essays are
variable in length and approach. Monteverdi’s operas take up p.121–144.
Without notes, bibliography, or index. - McClary, Susan. “Constructions of Gender in Monteverdi’s Dramatic Music.”
COJ1 (1989): 203–223.
An intriguing examination focused on Orfeoand L’incoronazione di Poppea
in the context of altered views about women in the 17th century. Women were
associated with eroticism and seen as a threat to men unless controls were
placed on them. But “traditional hierarchies of authority were subjected to
extraordinary questions during this period of doubt and shifting alliances.”
Footnotes are a guide to most of the current feminist approaches to music. - Cancelled entry.
Claudio Monteverdi 235