that would later perform Monteverdi's Orfeo) and by the 1570s, under Cesare's son, the group began performing for the public. Alessandro Striggio eventually became a member of this group and he would later write the libretto for Monteverdi's Orfeo (Kelly, 20). Perhaps a closer look into the life of Monteverdi will help this study of Orfeo become clearer.
             _____Claudio Monteverdi was born in 1567 in the town of Cremona, Italy. As a young boy, he sang in the choir in Cremona Cathedral, under the direction of Marc Antonio Ingegneri (Grove 17: 29). In 1589, Monteverdi left Cremona for Milan, hoping to gain a position in the choir there, which ultimately he did not (Sun, 2). Then in 1591 Monteverdi headed to Mantua joined the Mantuan Ducal court, headed at that time by Duke Vincenzo Gonzoga, as a string player in the orchestra under the direction of Giaches de Wert (Grove 17: 30). He became well known for his ability on stringed instruments. Despite his musical abilities, he was unsuccessful in succeeding the group's director, Giaches de Wert, upon his death. It wasn't until 1601 that he was given the position of maestro di cappella in the Mantuan academy, at which point he was already married, had three children, and was in his mid-thirties (Grove 17: 30).
             By the time he became director, there had already been two productions of an opera based on the myth of Orpheus and Euridice in Italy, in the towns of Milan and Florence. Euridice was composed by Peri, whose librettist (Rinuccini) would later provide the libretto to Caccini's opera of the same name, performed a year after Monteverdi became director, also in Florence. Rinuccini and Peri were firm believers in Mei's conclusion th
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