Claudio Monteverdi (born 1567 in Cremona, died 1643 in Venice) was initially a student of Marco Antonio Ingegneri. In 1519 he became a violinist and singer at the court of Mantua. From there he accompanied the Duke on his travels and became music director in 1601. In 1613 Monteverdi went to Venice and worked in the same position at St Mark’s Cathedral. His madrigals earned him a high reputation early on. However, Claudio Monteverdi is of greatest importance as an opera composer. His work “L’Orfeo” is the first opera of great style in music history. Not only in this opera, but also in all his other operas, he proved to be an extremely successful musical dramatist.