Monteverdi – L’Orfeus || Act 1, (iv) Ma se il nostro gioir – et al

While not the first opera, L’Orfeo is considered to be the first that fulfilled the potential inherent in the early opera form and secured its place as a relevant art form. Especially commended is Monteverdi’s rewarding use of recitative, more musical than the academic sketches of his predecessors, and generally more interesting than that from later ages, when arias became the focal point of musical attention.