In 1600, the com­pos­er Emilio de’ Cavalieri wrote bit­ter­ly that he and not Jacopo Peri had invent­ed opera. Rappresentatione di Anima e di Corpo would there­fore seem to have been the very first opera. Cavalieri’s Rappresentatione, with its mix of dance, dra­ma and music has since become a key work in our art history.

There is no inter­mis­sion for this concert.