ABSTRACT
The first generation of Italian operas were all court, that is private, entertainments, whether produced in Florence, Mantua, Rome or Turin. In mid-December, d'Estrees presents the first opera that could be called French, though its production team and performers are local Romans. Opera made its way to Paris only in 1645, where, after acquiring a French text and French dancing and singing, it became one of the glories of the royal court. Both the idea of a mobile professional force and seigneurial patronage emerge as necessary causes of the first opera given before the court in Paris. Mazarin's rapid and intense political advancement encompasses a period in which musical drama first flourished in Rome. Mazarin left Rome permanently in December 1639, but he continued to receive letters from Castelli about the operas being done in Rome. After 1640, Mazarin still seemed to be looking towards Rome, but without success. Castelli kept him informed of the Carnival events.
