Claudio Monteverdi's Opera "Orfeo"

Paper Summary:

This paper uses the first two strophes from Act III's aria, "Possente spirito", to demonstrate the brilliant fusion of musical organization with emotional expression in Claudio Monteverdi's 1607 opera "Orfeo". The author points out that the fierce turbulence in Monteverdi's personal life is reflected in the plot of the opera. The paper relates that the opening two strophes, of which the text is quoted in the paper, are accompanied by basso continuo with parts of the first strophe punctuated by two violins and similar punctuation in the second strophe performed by two cornets. The author states that other strophes end in a brief ritornello. The paper explains that, for the vocal style, Monteverdi employs stile rappresentativo, or "the representational style", to convey the passions behind Orpheo's impending request to be allowed into Hades.

From the Paper:

"The spirit of these dotted eighth--sixteenth notes also effectively predicate the final line in the second strophe as Orfeo forwards the argument that since having lost his wife, he has no heart and cannot be alive, and therefore his entrance into Hades would be legitimate. Posing this argument to the ferrymen, Monteverdi paints a picture of Orfeo as coy as he is courageous. The composer makes the conclusion of Orfeo's question also a facetious question, after the preceding phrases in the cornets. It is difficult to hear Orfeo's final line of the second strophe without imagining the demi-god trying to conceal a little grin."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Gustave, Reese. Music in the Renaissance. London: Norton, 1959.
• Maniates, Maria Rika. Mannerism in Italian Music and Culture, 1530-1630. Raleigh: University of North Carolina Press, 1979.
• Dale, Kathleen, Hans Ferdinand Redlich. Claudio Monteverdi, Life and Works. New York: Oxford University Press, 1952.
• Harran, Don. "Guido Casoni on Love as Music, A Theme For All Ages and Studies" Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 54. Miami: Renaissance Society of America, 2001.

More papers on Claudio Monteverdi's Opera "Orfeo":

• Analytical Essay # 132722 : "Monteverdi's Orfeo: Organization and Expression"
• Research Paper # 66914 : "Claudio Monteverdi"

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