Editing Claudio Monteverdi (section)

====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/>