The idea of power in 17th-century opera

The Baroque opera is superior to classic Italian spoken tragedy in its treatment of the foundation and justification of sovereign power and the relations of power to law and morality. Operas discussed include Monteverdi’s Incoronazione di Poppea, Cavalli’s Calisto, and Cesti’s Orontea; the plays are Orbecche, by Giraldi Cinzio; Ippanda, by Giovan Battista Alberi, and Il tradimento per l’onore, by Giacinto Andrea Cigognini.