Editing Claudio Monteverdi (section)

== Life ==
===Cremona: 1567–1591===
Monteverdi was baptised in the church of SS Nazaro e Celso, Cremona, on 15 May 1567. The register records his name as "Claudio Zuan Antonio" the son of "Messer Baldasar Mondeverdo".<ref name=fabbri6>Fabbri (2007), p. 6</ref> He was the first child of the apothecary Baldassare Monteverdi and his first wife Maddalena (née Zignani); they had married early the previous year. Claudio's brother [[Giulio Cesare Monteverdi]] (b. 1573) was also to become a musician; there were two other brothers and two sisters from Baldassare's marriage to Maddalena and his subsequent marriage in 1576 or 1577.<ref name=Carter1>Carter and Chew (n.d.), §1 "Cremona"</ref> Cremona was close to the border of the Republic of Venice, and not far from the lands controlled by the [[Duchy of Mantua]], in both of which states Monteverdi was later to establish his career.<ref name=fabbri6 />

[[File:Cremona Duomo.jpg|right|thumb|Cremona Cathedral, where Monteverdi's teacher Ingegneri was ''maestro di capella'']]

There is no clear record of Monteverdi's early musical training, or evidence that (as is sometimes claimed) he was a member of the Cathedral choir or studied at Cremona University. Monteverdi's first published work, a set of [[motets]], ''{{lang|la|Sacrae cantiunculae}} (Sacred Songs)'' for three voices, was issued in Venice in 1582, when he was only fifteen years old. In this, and his other initial publications, he describes himself as the pupil of [[Marc'Antonio Ingegneri]], who was from 1581 (and possibly from 1576) to 1592 the ''[[maestro di cappella]]'' at [[Cremona Cathedral]]. The musicologist [[Tim Carter (musicologist)|Tim Carter]] deduces that Ingegneri "gave him a solid grounding in [[counterpoint]] and composition", and that Monteverdi would also have studied playing instruments of the [[viol]] family and singing.<ref name=Carter1/><ref>Carter (2002), p. 1</ref><ref name=whenhamxv>Whenham (2007) "Chronology", p. xv.</ref><ref name=Arnold515>Arnold (1980a), p. 515</ref>

Monteverdi's first publications also give evidence of his connections beyond Cremona, even in his early years. His second published work, ''Madrigali spirituali'' (Spiritual Madrigals, 1583), was printed at [[Brescia]]. His next works (his first published secular compositions) were sets of five-part [[madrigal]]s, according to his biographer [[Paolo Fabbri (musicologist)|Paolo Fabbri]]: "the inevitable proving ground for any composer of the second half of the sixteenth century&nbsp;... the secular genre ''par excellence''". The first book of madrigals (Venice, 1587) was dedicated to Count Marco Verità of [[Verona]]; the second book of madrigals (Venice, 1590) was dedicated to the President of the [[Senate]] of Milan, Giacomo Ricardi, for whom he had played the [[viola da braccio]] in 1587.<ref name=Carter1/><ref name=whenhamxv /><ref>Fabbri (2007), p. 15</ref>

===Mantua: 1591–1613===
====Court musician====
[[File:Vincenzo I Gonzaga nel giorno dell%E2%80%99incoronazione.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Duke Vincenzo I Gonzaga in his coronation robes (1587, by {{ill|Jeannin Bahuet|it}})]]

In the dedication of his second book of madrigals, Monteverdi had described himself as a player of the ''vivuola'' (which could mean either [[viola da gamba]] or viola da braccio).<ref name=Arnold515 /><ref>Bates (2002), p. 53</ref>{{refn|The viola da gamba (literally 'violin on the leg'), was held upright between the knees; the viola da braccio ('violin on the arm'), like the modern violin, was held beneath the chin.<ref>Holman (n.d.)</ref>|group=n}} In 1590 or 1591 he entered the service of Duke [[Vincenzo I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua|Vincenzo I Gonzaga]] of Mantua; he recalled in his dedication to the Duke of his third book of madrigals (Venice, 1592) that "the most noble exercise of the ''vivuola'' opened to me the fortunate way into your service."<ref>Holman (1993), p. 577</ref> In the same dedication he compares his instrumental playing to "flowers" and his compositions as "fruit" which as it matures "can more worthily and more perfectly serve you", indicating his intentions to establish himself as a composer.<ref>Fabbri (1994), pp. 27–28</ref>

Duke Vincenzo was keen to establish his court as a musical centre, and sought to recruit leading musicians. When Monteverdi arrived in Mantua, the ''maestro di capella'' at the court was the [[Flanders|Flemish]] musician [[Giaches de Wert]]. Other notable musicians at the court during this period included the composer and violinist [[Salomone Rossi]], Rossi's sister, the singer [[Madama Europa]], and [[Francesco Rasi]].<ref>Stevens (1995), p. 20</ref> Monteverdi married the court singer Claudia de Cattaneis in 1599; they were to have three children, two sons (Francesco, b. 1601 and Massimiliano, b. 1604), and a daughter who died soon after birth in 1603.<ref name=Arnold515 /> Monteverdi's brother Giulio Cesare joined the court musicians in 1602.<ref name = Ab534>Arnold (1980b), pp. 534–535</ref>

When Wert died in 1596, his post was given to [[Benedetto Pallavicino]], but Monteverdi was clearly highly regarded by Vincenzo and accompanied him on his military campaigns in Hungary (1595) and also on a visit to Flanders in 1599.<ref name=Arnold515 /> Here at the town of Spa he is reported by his brother Giulio Cesare as encountering, and bringing back to Italy, the ''canto alla francese''. (The meaning of this, literally "song in the French style", is debatable, but may refer to the French-influenced poetry of [[Gabriello Chiabrera]], some of which was set by Monteverdi in his ''Scherzi musicali'', and which departs from the traditional Italian style of lines of 9 or 11 syllables).<ref name=Carter2 /><ref>Vartolo, Sergio (n.d.), [https://www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_reviews.asp?item_code=8.553317&catNum=553317&filetype=About%20this%20Recording&language=English# "About this recording"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809024457/https://www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_reviews.asp?item_code=8.553317&catNum=553317&filetype=About%20this%20Recording&language=English |date=9 August 2017 }}, liner notes, ''Monteverdi: Scherzi Musicali a Tre Voci'', [[Naxos Records]], Catalogue number 8.553317</ref> Monteverdi may possibly have been a member of Vincenzo's entourage at [[Florence]] in 1600 for the marriage of [[Marie de' Medici|Maria de' Medici]] and [[Henry IV of France]], at which celebrations [[Jacopo Peri]]'s opera ''[[Euridice (Peri)|Euridice]]'' (the earliest surviving opera) was premiered. On the death of Pallavicino in 1601, Monteverdi was confirmed as the new ''maestro di capella''.<ref name=Carter2>Carter and Chew (n.d.), §2 "Mantua"</ref>

====Artusi controversy and ''seconda pratica''====
[[File:Claudio Monteverdi, engraved portrait from 'Fiori poetici' 1644 - Beinecke Rare Book Library (adjusted).jpg|thumb|upright|The only certain portrait of Claudio Monteverdi, from the title page of ''Fiori poetici'', a 1644 book of commemorative poems for his funeral<ref>[[Pamela Askew]], "Fetti's 'Portrait of an Actor' Reconsidered", ''[[The Burlington Magazine]]'', vol. 120, no. 899 (February 1978), pp. 59–65. {{JSTOR|879098}}.</ref>]]

At the turn of the 17th century, Monteverdi found himself the target of musical controversy. The influential [[Bologna|Bolognese]] theorist [[Giovanni Maria Artusi]] attacked Monteverdi's music (without naming the composer) in his work ''L'Artusi, overo Delle imperfettioni della moderna musica (Artusi, or On the imperfections of modern music)'' of 1600, followed by a sequel in 1603. Artusi cited extracts from Monteverdi's works not yet published (they later formed parts of his fourth and fifth books of madrigals of 1603 and 1605), condemning their use of [[harmony]] and their innovations in use of musical [[mode (music)|modes]], compared to orthodox [[polyphony|polyphonic]] practice of the sixteenth century.<ref name=Carter2 /> Artusi attempted to correspond with Monteverdi on these issues; the composer refused to respond, but found a champion in a pseudonymous supporter, "L'Ottuso Academico" ("The Obtuse Academic").<ref>Bowers (2007), p. 59</ref> Eventually Monteverdi replied in the preface to the fifth book of madrigals that his duties at court prevented him from a detailed reply; but in a note to "the studious reader", he claimed that he would shortly publish a response, ''Seconda Pratica, overo Perfettione della Moderna Musica (The Second Style, or Perfection of Modern Music)''.<ref>Bowers (2007), p. 63</ref> This work never appeared, but a later publication by Claudio's brother Giulio Cesare made it clear that the ''[[seconda pratica]]'' which Monteverdi defended was not seen by him as a radical change or his own invention, but was an evolution from previous styles (''[[prima pratica]]'') which was complementary to them.<ref>Bowers (2007), p. 66</ref>

This debate seems in any case to have raised the composer's profile, leading to reprints of his earlier books of madrigals.<ref name=Arnold515 /> Some of his madrigals were published in [[Copenhagen]] in 1605 and 1606, and the poet [[Tommaso Stigliani]] (1573–1651) published a eulogy of him in his 1605 poem "O sirene de' fiumi".<ref name=Carter2 /> The composer of [[madrigal comedy|madrigal comedies]] and theorist [[Adriano Banchieri]] wrote in 1609: "I must not neglect to mention the most noble of composers, Monteverdi&nbsp;... his expressive qualities are truly deserving of the highest commendation, and we find in them countless examples of matchless declamation&nbsp;... enhanced by comparable harmonies."<ref>Stevens (1995), p. 214</ref> The modern music historian Massimo Ossi has placed the Artusi issue in the context of Monteverdi's artistic development: "If the controversy seems to define Monteverdi's historical position, it also seems to have been about stylistic developments that by 1600 Monteverdi had already outgrown".<ref>Ossi (2007), p. 100</ref>

The non-appearance of Monteverdi's promised explanatory treatise may have been a deliberate ploy, since by 1608, by Monteverdi's reckoning, Artusi had become fully reconciled to modern trends in music, and the ''seconda pratica'' was by then well established; Monteverdi had no need to revisit the issue.<ref name= Chrissochoidis>{{cite journal|last= Chrissochoidis|first= Ilias|title= The "Artusi–Monteverdi" controversy: Background, content, and modern interpretations|url= https://www.academia.edu/249264|journal= British Postgraduate Musicology|volume= 6|publisher= King's College, London|date= 27 March 2015|access-date= 9 July 2017|archive-date= 31 March 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210331130208/https://www.academia.edu/249264/The_Artusi_Monteverdi_controversy_Background_content_and_modern_interpretations|url-status= live}}</ref> On the other hand, letters to [[Giovanni Battista Doni]] of 1632 show that Monteverdi was still preparing a defence of the ''seconda pratica'', in a treatise entitled ''Melodia''; he may still have been working on this at the time of his death ten years later.<ref>Stevens (1995), pp. 420–422</ref>

====Opera, conflict and departure====
[[File:Francesco Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, by workshop of Frans Pourbus the Younger.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Duke Francesco IV Gonzaga, by the studio of [[Frans Pourbus the Younger]]]]
In 1606 Vincenzo's heir [[Francesco IV Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua|Francesco]] commissioned from Monteverdi the opera ''[[L'Orfeo]]'', to a [[libretto]] by [[Alessandro Striggio the Younger|Alessandro Striggio]], for the [[Carnival]] season of 1607. It was given two performances in February and March 1607; the singers included, in the title role, Rasi, who had sung in the first performance of ''Euridice'' witnessed by Vincenzo in 1600. This was followed in 1608 by the opera ''[[L'Arianna]]'' (libretto by [[Ottavio Rinuccini]]), intended for the celebration of the marriage of Francesco to [[Margaret of Savoy, Vicereine of Portugal|Margherita of Savoy]]. All the music for this opera is lost apart from ''Ariadne's Lament'', which became extremely popular.{{refn|As late as 1932, the composer [[Francesco Malipiero]] commented that of all Monteverdi's works, "only ''Ariadne's Lament'' has prevented us from completely forgetting the most famous composer of the seventeenth century."<ref>Malipiero (1932), p. 383</ref>|group=n}} To this period also belongs the ballet entertainment ''[[Il ballo delle ingrate]]''.<ref name=Carter2 /><ref>Whenham (2007) "Chronology", p. xvii</ref><ref>Pryer (2007), p. 12</ref>

The strain of the hard work Monteverdi had been putting into these and other compositions was exacerbated by personal tragedies. His wife died in September 1607 and the young singer [[Caterina Martinelli]], intended for the title role of ''Arianna'', died of [[smallpox]] in March 1608. Monteverdi also resented his increasingly poor financial treatment by the Gonzagas. He retired to Cremona in 1608 to convalesce, and wrote a bitter letter to Vincenzo's minister Annibale Chieppio in November of that year seeking (unsuccessfully) "an honourable dismissal".<ref>Stevens (1995), pp. 46–54</ref> Although the Duke increased Monteverdi's salary and pension, and Monteverdi returned to continue his work at the court, he began to seek patronage elsewhere. After publishing his [[Vespro della Beata Vergine|Vespers]] in 1610, which were dedicated to [[Pope Paul V]], he visited Rome, ostensibly hoping to place his son Francesco at a [[seminary]], but apparently also seeking alternative employment. In the same year he may also have visited Venice, where a large collection of his church music was being printed, with a similar intention.<ref name=Carter2 /><ref name=Arnold516>Arnold (1980a), p. 516</ref>

Duke Vincenzo died on 18 February 1612. When Francesco succeeded him, court intrigues and cost-cutting led to the dismissal of Monteverdi and his brother Giulio Cesare, who both returned, almost penniless, to Cremona. Despite Francesco's own death from smallpox in December 1612, Monteverdi was unable to return to favour with his successor, his brother [[Ferdinando Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua|Cardinal Ferdinando Gonzaga]]. In 1613, following the death of [[Giulio Cesare Martinengo]], Monteverdi auditioned for his post as ''maestro'' at the [[basilica of San Marco]] in Venice, for which he submitted music for a Mass. He was appointed in August 1613, and given 50 [[ducats]] for his expenses (of which he was robbed, together with his other belongings, by highwaymen at [[Sanguinetto]] on his return to Cremona).<ref name=Carter2 /><ref name= Stevens83>Stevens (1995), pp. 83–85</ref>

===Venice: 1613–1643===
====Maturity: 1613–1630====
[[File:Veneza47.jpg|thumb|right|The basilica of [[St Mark's Basilica|San Marco]], Venice]]

Martinengo had been ill for some time before his death and had left the music of San Marco in a fragile state. The choir had been neglected and the administration overlooked.<ref name= Stevens83/> When Monteverdi arrived to take up his post, his principal responsibility was to recruit, train, discipline and manage the musicians of San Marco (the ''capella''), who amounted to about 30 singers and six instrumentalists; the numbers could be increased for major events.<ref name= Fabbri128>Fabbri (2007), pp. 128–129</ref> Among the recruits to the choir was [[Francesco Cavalli]], who joined in 1616 at the age of 14; he remained connected with San Marco throughout his life, and developed a close association with Monteverdi.<ref name=Cavalli>Walker and Alm (n.d.)</ref> Monteverdi also sought to expand the repertory, including not only the traditional ''[[a cappella]]'' repertoire of Roman and Flemish composers, but also examples of the modern style which he favoured, including the use of [[basso continuo|continuo]] and other instruments.<ref name= Fabbri128/> Apart from this he was of course expected to compose music for all the major feasts of the church. This included a new [[Mass (Catholic Church)|mass]] each year for [[Holy Cross Day]] and Christmas Eve, [[cantata]]s in honour of the Venetian [[Doge (title)|Doge]], and numerous other works (many of which are lost).<ref>Fabbri (2007), pp. 134–135</ref> Monteverdi was also free to obtain income by providing music for other Venetian churches and for other patrons, and was frequently commissioned to provide music for state banquets. The [[Procurator of San Marco|Procurators of San Marco]], to whom Monteverdi was directly responsible, showed their satisfaction with his work in 1616 by raising his annual salary from 300 [[ducat]]s to 400.<ref name=Carter3 />

The relative freedom which the Republic of Venice afforded him, compared to the problems of court politics in Mantua, are reflected in Monteverdi's letters to Striggio, particularly his letter of 13 March 1620, when he rejects an invitation to return to Mantua, extolling his present position and finances in Venice, and referring to the pension which Mantua still owes him.<ref>Stevens (1995), pp. 188–194</ref> Nonetheless, remaining a Mantuan citizen, he accepted commissions from the new Duke Ferdinando, who had formally renounced his position as Cardinal in 1616 to take on the duties of state. These included the ''[[Ballo#The baroque ballo|balli]]'' ''Tirsi e Clori'' (1616) and ''Apollo'' (1620), an opera ''[[Lost operas by Claudio Monteverdi#Andromeda (1618–20)|Andromeda]]'' (1620) and an ''[[intermedio]]'', ''[[Lost operas by Claudio Monteverdi#Le nozze di Tetide (1616–17)|Le nozze di Tetide]]'', for the marriage of Ferdinando with [[Catherine de' Medici, Governor of Siena|Caterina de' Medici]] (1617). Most of these compositions were extensively delayed in creation – partly, as shown by surviving correspondence, through the composer's unwillingness to prioritise them, and partly because of constant changes in the court's requirements.{{refn|Monteverdi's letters provide a detailed account of the various procrastinations and delays.<ref>Stevens (1995), pp. 106–150</ref>|group=n}} They are now lost, apart from ''Tirsi e Clori'', which was included in the seventh book of madrigals (published 1619) and dedicated to the Duchess Caterina, for which the composer received a pearl necklace from the Duchess.<ref name=Arnold516 /><ref name=Carter3 /><ref>Arnold (1980a), p. 531</ref> A subsequent major commission, the opera ''[[Lost operas by Claudio Monteverdi#La finta pazza Licori|La finta pazza Licori]]'', to a libretto by [[Giulio Strozzi]], was completed for Fernando's successor [[Vincenzo II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua|Vincenzo II]], who succeeded to the dukedom in 1626. Because of the latter's illness (he died in 1627), it was never performed, and it is now also lost.<ref name=Arnold516 />

[[File:Monteverdiletter.jpg|thumb|left|Letter from Monteverdi to Enzo Bentivoglio in Ferrara, 18 September 1627, ([[British Library]], MS Mus. 1707), discussing the composer's ''intermezzo, Didone ed Enea''<ref>See Stevens (1995), pp. 370–373.</ref>]]

Monteverdi also received commissions from other Italian states and from their communities in Venice. These included, for the Milanese community in 1620, music for the Feast of [[St. Charles Borromeo]], and for the [[Florence|Florentine]] community a [[Requiem Mass]] for [[Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Cosimo II de' Medici]] (1621).<ref name=Carter3 /> Monteverdi acted on behalf of Paolo Giordano II, Duke of [[Bracciano]], to arrange publication of works by the Cremona musician Francesco Petratti.<ref>Stevens (1995), pp. 151–153</ref> Among Monteverdi's private Venetian patrons was the nobleman Girolamo Mocenigo, at whose home was premiered in 1624 the dramatic entertainment ''[[Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda]]'' based on an episode from [[Torquato Tasso]]'s ''[[La Gerusalemme liberata]]''.<ref>Carter (2007) "Musical sources", p. 29</ref> In 1627 Monteverdi received a major commission from [[Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma|Odoardo Farnese]], Duke of [[Parma]], for a series of works, and gained leave from the Procurators to spend time there during 1627 and 1628.<ref name=Arnold516 />

Monteverdi's musical direction received the attention of foreign visitors. The Dutch diplomat and musician [[Constantijn Huygens]], attending a Vespers service at the church of SS. Giovanni e Lucia, wrote that he "heard the most perfect music I had ever heard in my life. It was directed by the most famous Claudio Monteverdi&nbsp;... who was also the composer and was accompanied by four [[theorbo]]s, two [[cornett]]os, two bassoons, one ''basso de viola'' of huge size, organs and other instruments&nbsp;...".<ref>Wistreich (2007), p. 261</ref> Monteverdi wrote a mass, and provided other musical entertainment, for the visit to Venice in 1625 of the [[Władysław IV Vasa|Crown Prince Władysław]] of Poland, who may have sought to revive attempts made a few years previously to lure Monteverdi to Warsaw.<ref name=Carter3 /> He also provided chamber music for [[Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg]], when the latter was paying an incognito visit to Venice in July 1625.<ref>Stevens (1995), p. 345</ref>

Correspondence of Monteverdi in 1625 and 1626 with the Mantuan courtier Ercole Marigliani reveals an interest in [[alchemy]], which apparently Monteverdi had taken up as a hobby. He discusses experiments to transform lead into gold, the problems of obtaining [[mercury (element)|mercury]], and mentions commissioning special vessels for his experiments from the glassworks at [[Murano]].<ref>Stevens (1995), pp. 289–301</ref>

Despite his generally satisfactory situation in Venice, Monteverdi experienced personal problems from time to time. He was on one occasion – probably because of his wide network of contacts – the subject of an anonymous denunciation to the Venetian authorities alleging that he supported the Habsburgs. He was also subject to anxieties about his children. His son Francesco, while a student of law at [[University of Padua|Padua]] in 1619, was spending in Monteverdi's opinion too much time with music, and he, therefore, moved him to the [[University of Bologna]]. This change did not have the desired result, and it seems that Monteverdi resigned himself to Francesco having a musical career – he joined the choir of San Marco in 1623. His other son Massimiliano, who graduated in medicine, was arrested by the [[Roman Inquisition|Inquisition]] in Mantua in 1627 for reading [[Index Librorum Prohibitorum|forbidden literature]]. Monteverdi was obliged to sell the necklace he had received from Duchess Caterina to pay for his son's (eventually successful) defence. Monteverdi wrote at the time to Striggio seeking his help, and fearing that Massimiliano might be subject to torture; it seems that Striggio's intervention was helpful. Money worries at this time also led Monteverdi to visit Cremona to secure for himself a church [[Canon (priest)|canonry]].<ref name=Carter3>Carter and Chew (n.d.), §3 "Venice"</ref><ref>Stevens (1995), p. 402</ref>

====Pause and priesthood: 1630–1637====
A series of disturbing events troubled Monteverdi's world in the period around 1630. [[War of the Mantuan Succession|Mantua was invaded by Habsburg armies]] in 1630, who besieged the [[1629–1631 Italian plague|plague-stricken town]], and after its fall in July looted its treasures, and dispersed the artistic community. The plague was carried to Mantua's ally Venice by an embassy led by Monteverdi's confidante Striggio, and over a period of 16 months led to over 45,000 deaths, leaving Venice's population in 1633 at just above 100,000, the lowest level for about 150 years. Among the plague victims was Monteverdi's assistant at San Marco, and a notable composer in his own right, [[Alessandro Grandi]]. The plague and the after-effects of war had an inevitable deleterious effect on the economy and artistic life of Venice.<ref>Norwich (1983), pp. 537–540</ref><ref name =Wenhamxx>Whenham (2007) "Chronology", p. xx</ref><ref name=Arnold617>Arnold (1980c), p. 617.</ref> Monteverdi's younger brother Giulio Cesare also died at this time, probably from the plague.<ref name = Ab534/>

By this time Monteverdi was in his sixties, and his rate of composition seems to have slowed down. He had written a setting of Strozzi's ''[[Lost operas by Claudio Monteverdi#Proserpina rapita (1630)|Proserpina rapita]] ([[Persephone#Abduction myth|The Abduction of Proserpina]])'', now lost except for one vocal trio, for a [[House of Mocenigo|Mocenigo]] wedding in 1630, and produced a Mass for deliverance from the plague for San Marco which was performed in November 1631. His set of ''Scherzi musicali'' was published in Venice in 1632.<ref name=Carter3 /> In 1631, Monteverdi was admitted to the [[tonsure]], and was ordained [[deacon]], and later [[Priesthood in the Catholic Church|priest]], in 1632. Although these ceremonies took place in Venice, he was nominated as a member of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Cremona|Diocese of Cremona]]; this may imply that he intended to retire there.<ref name=Wenhamxx /><ref name=Arnold617 />

====Late flowering: 1637–1643====
[[File:Frari (Venice) Cappella dei milanesi- tomb of Claudio Monteverdi.jpg|thumb|Monteverdi's tomb in the church of [[Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari]]]]

The opening of the [[Teatro San Cassiano|opera house of San Cassiano]] in 1637, the first public opera house in Europe, stimulated the city's musical life<ref name=Arnold617 /> and coincided with a new burst of the composer's activity. The year 1638 saw the publication of Monteverdi's eighth book of madrigals and a revision of the ''Ballo delle ingrate''. The eighth book contains a ''ballo'', "Volgendi il ciel", which may have been composed for the Holy Roman Emperor, [[Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand III]], to whom the book is dedicated. The years 1640–1641 saw the publication of the extensive collection of church music, ''[[Selva morale e spirituale]]''. Among other commissions, Monteverdi wrote music in 1637 and 1638 for Strozzi's "Accademia degli Unisoni" in Venice, and in 1641 a ballet, ''La vittoria d'Amore'', for the court of [[Piacenza]].<ref name = Wenhamxxi>Wenham (2007) "Chronology", p. xxi.</ref><ref>Arnold (1980a), p. 530</ref>

Monteverdi was still not entirely free from his responsibilities for the musicians at San Marco. He wrote to complain about one of his singers to the Procurators, on 9 June 1637: "I, Claudio Monteverdi&nbsp;... come humbly&nbsp;... to set forth to you how Domenicato Aldegati&nbsp;... a [[Bass (voice type)|bass]], yesterday morning&nbsp;... at the time of the greatest concourse of people&nbsp;... spoke these exact words&nbsp;...'The Director of Music comes from a brood of cut-throat bastards, a thieving, fucking, he-goat&nbsp;... and I shit on him and whoever protects him&nbsp;...{{' "}}.<ref>Stevens, (1995) pp. 431–432</ref>{{refn|[[Denis Stevens]] notes, in his edition of Monteverdi's letters: "Strange that these words, once unfairly applied to the composer, might now be used with some justification to describe the more unruly among his interpreters."<ref>Stevens (1995), p. 432, note ''k''</ref>|group=n}}

Monteverdi's contribution to opera at this period is notable. He revised his earlier opera ''L'Arianna'' in 1640 and wrote three new works for the commercial stage, ''Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria'' (''The Return of [[Odysseus|Ulysses]] to his Homeland'', 1640, first performed in Bologna with Venetian singers), ''[[Lost operas by Claudio Monteverdi#Le nozze d'Enea con Lavinia (1641−2)|Le nozze d'Enea e Lavinia]]'' (''The Marriage of [[Aeneas]] and [[Lavinia]]'', 1641, music now lost), and ''[[L'incoronazione di Poppea]]'' (''The Coronation of [[Poppea]]'', 1643).<ref>Arnold (1980a), p. 517.</ref> The introduction to the printed scenario of ''Le nozze d'Enea'', by an unknown author, acknowledges that Monteverdi is to be credited for the rebirth of theatrical music and that "he will be sighed for in later ages, for his compositions will surely outlive the ravages of time."<ref>Stevens (1995), p. 434</ref>

In his last surviving letter (20 August 1643), Monteverdi, already ill, was still hoping for the settlement of the long-disputed pension from Mantua, and asked the Doge of Venice to intervene on his behalf.<ref>Stevens (1995), pp. 435–436</ref> He died in Venice on 29 November 1643, after paying a brief visit to Cremona, and is buried in the [[Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari|Church of the Frari]]. He was survived by his sons; Masimilliano died in 1661, Francesco after 1677.<ref name=Arnold516/>