The Letter as Convention in Seventeenth-Century Venetian Opera*

As the genre of opera developed in Venice during the seventeenth century, librettists constantly faced the problem of either devising new plot elements, or, more commonly, rearranging preexisting ones into new configurations. The earliest operas presented in Venice treated subjects ranging from mythological, pastoral, romanzesque, and purely fictional, to historical. Operas increasingly explored the amorous problems of noble or royal figures and, especially as the century wore on, were set against a background of political intrigue in the Roman empire. ¹ To a certain degree, standardization occurred in all levels of opera, from scenery and character types down to the vocabulary and phraseology found in the libretto. Operas routinely included scenes centering on passionate love duets, jealousy, confrontation between former lovers, and reconciliations perhaps brought about by a threat of suicide or murder, as well as comic staples such as an old nurse’s lecherous advice and the same nurse’s flirtation with a young servant.