Born in Tivoli or Rome itself, the singer, lutenist and composer Giulio Caccini studied with Giovanni Animuccia and in the 1560s was taken to Florence by Cosimo I de Medici, who encouraged the further development of his abilities. He won a reputation as a singer and was associated with the early discussions of the Florentine Camerata that led to his use of the so-called stile recitativo, the style of singing that followed, as far as possible, the intonations of speech. Italian monody, accompanied by basso continuo, a chordal instrument and a bass instrument, was an important element in the newly developing form of opera.

Stage and Vocal Works

Caccini’s opera Euridice, the result of a collaboration in which Jaco...