Il natal di Amore by Giulio Strozzi: interactions and echoes with the early modern literary and operatic world and Monteverdi.

As many scholars of early modern musical theatre certainly know, a careful perusal of literature not specifically meant for music may at times hold pleasant surprises for the discerning musical scholar. This may be particularly rewarding in the study of the first decades of Venetian opera, when librettists were often also active as novelists and/or playwrights and were in any case affiliated to or personally acquainted with members of the most outspoken literary academy of the early seventeenth century, the 'Accademia degli Incogniti', itself very closely involved in the establishment of public opera. Moreover, as several studies have shown, the conception and production of early opera libretti can be better understood if analysed within the context of contemporary purely literary works. And sometimes, as I will try to show here, a literary work, in this case a theatre play, may both have provided inspiration for as well as have been inspired by musical drama. As I hope to demonstrate, the implication of these musico-literary interconnections is the partial disclosure of a tight network of cultural products of the period and the significant role therein played by Claudio Monteverdi's operas, not the least also in providing unconventional and alternative outlooks on gender and gender roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]