ABSTRACT
Opera, as an art form in which music was more than incidental, developed in Italian court circles in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Monteverdi was one of its earliest masters. Many of the early productions were in temporary performance spaces, but often spectacular in their staging. Public opera dates from 1637 in Venice when the first purpose-built opera house, Teatro San Cassiano, was opened. This house was also distinctive in that for the first time the orchestra was placed immediately in front of the stage, instead of musicians performing on the stage itself. Following its public launch, Venice became obsessed with the new art form; at least 16 new theatres for opera were built in the city between 1637 and 1700.
