Routledge Orpheus in the Academy: Monteverdi's First Opera and the Accademia degli Invaghiti (Routledge Research in Music)

This book introduces a new perspective on Claudio Monteverdi's Orfeo (1607), a work widely regarded as the 'first great opera', by exploring the influence of the Mantuan Accademia deglia Invaghiti, the group which hosted the opera’s performance, and to which the libretto author, Alessandro Striggio the Younger, belonged. Arguing that the Invaghiti played a key role in shaping the development of Orfeo, the author explores the philosophical underpinnings of the Invaghiti and Italian academies of the era. Drawing on new primary sources, he shows how the Invaghiti’s ideas about literature, dramaturgy, music, gender, and aesthetics were engaged and contested in the creation and staging of Orfeo. Relevant to researchers of music history, performance, and Renaissance and Baroque Italy, this study sheds new light on Monteverdi’s opera as an intellectual and philosophical work. Review "Schwindt‘s fascinating account is a highlight in the vast scholarship on Monteverdi’s Orfeo. The musical analysis is compelling and readers will be drawn to the rich literary and cultural tapestry embedded in this innovative study." ―Susan Lewis, co-author of Claudio Monteverdi: A Research and Information Guide "Schwindt‘s fascinating account is a highlight in the vast scholarship on Monteverdi’s Orfeo. The musical analysis is compelling and readers will be drawn to the rich literary and cultural tapestry embedded in this innovative study." Susan Lewis, co-author of Claudio Monteverdi: A Research and Information Guide About the Author Joel Schwindt is Assistant Professor of Core Studies (Music History), Boston Conservatory at Berklee. He holds a PhD in Musicology from Brandeis University.