Italians

Cecilia came up with a couple of names I hadn't heard of in a recent interview:

Alessandro Striggio Now this guy is in wikipedia (c.1540 - 1592) as the inventor of the madrigal comedy, which is the precursor of opera. If I recall correctly, this is a dramatic piece in madrigal style which might even be staged, but contains no monody, the speech-like solo with continuo singing that was invented by the camarata and marks the beginning of true opera.

Giulio Strozzi Answers.com says: "(b Venice, 1583; d there, 31 March 1652). Italian librettist. He was one of the poets involved in the creation of Venetian opera. Among his librettos are La finta puzza Licori (set by Monteverdi,1627), La finta pazza (Sacrati,1641) and Veremonda (Cavalli,1652). A number of his smaller-scale texts were also set by Venetian composers. Barbara Strozzi was his adopted daughter; the composer and Camerata member Piero Strozzi (c 1550-1610), an amateur musician who fostered new music through the Camerata, was a relative of his."

If I make a list of 20 or 30 Italian composers, she makes a list with people not in my list. This is just to aggravate me.