Jacopo Peri
A Florentine singer-composer whose experiments with dramatic music birthed the very first operas, changing the course of Western art.
1561–1633 (age 72)·Italian composer and singer·Birthday: August 20
Biography
In the intellectual hothouse of late 16th-century Florence, Jacopo Peri was a musician at the center of a revolution. He was part of the Camerata, a group of thinkers and artists obsessed with reviving the power of ancient Greek drama. Their theory was that text should be supreme, sung in a style that followed speech. Peri, a respected singer and composer, put theory into practice. Around 1597, he created 'Dafne,' a work now considered the first opera, though most of its music is lost. His 1600 work 'Euridice,' written for a Medici wedding, survives as the earliest complete opera. With its pioneering 'stile recitativo'—a melodic speech—Peri didn't just write a play with songs; he invented a new art form where music served drama, paving the way for Monteverdi and centuries of opera to follow.
#1 When Jacopo Was Born
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Jacopo's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1561Born
1566Started school
1574Became a teenager
1577Could drive
1579Could vote
1582Turned 21
1591Turned 30
1601Turned 40
1611Turned 50
1621Turned 60
1631Turned 70
1633Died at 72
Key Achievements
- Composed 'Dafne' (c. 1597), widely regarded as the first work in the opera genre.
- Created 'Euridice' (1600), the earliest surviving complete opera.
- Pioneered the use of 'stile recitativo,' a speech-like singing style crucial to early opera.
- Was a key member of the Florentine Camerata, the group that theorized early operatic form.
Did You Know?
He was nicknamed 'Il Zazzerino' for his long blond hair.
He worked as a singer and organist at the Medici court in Florence.
Much of his non-operatic music, including madrigals, is lost.
“Let the word be the master of the harmony, not its servant.”
