The author of the text was Signora Laura
Guidiccioni, of the Lucchesini family, renowned in her day for her
poetic gifts and brilliant attainments. Signor Emilio del Cavalieri was
the composer, and he triumphantly announced his music as that "of the
ancients recovered," having power to "excite grief, pity, joy and
pleasure."
These two "musical dramas," as they were called, contained the germs of
modern opera, despite their crudities of harmony and monotonous melody.
That noble songstress, Vittoria Archilei, known as "Euterpe" among her
Italian contemporaries, greatly enhanced the success of the new venture
with her superb voice, artistic skill, musical fire and splendid
intelligence. She "whose excellence in music is generally known," as we
are told, and who was able to "draw tears from her audience" at the
right moment, also aroused enthusiasm for a third work of a similar
nature by the same authors, "Il Giuco della Cieco," that appeared in
1595.
Besides being the first to tell the entire story of a play musically and
to utilize the solo, Cavalieri introduced various ornaments into vocal
music and increased the demands on instrumentation.
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