This text deals with the predecessors and early specimens of opera from Poliziano's "Orfeo" (circa 1480) to Monteverdi's "Arianna" (1608). It examines the role played by such poets as Poliziano, Tasso, Guarini, Rinuccini and Chiabrera and the conventions that gradually developed for shaping the dramatic plot with regard to operatic structure - in particular the problem of the finale, which required a happy ending - and the inevitable foil preceding it, the expressive solo singing of a lament, which was often accompanied by an echo. The accent is on the early operas of Peri and Monteverdi and their predecessors, the Intermedi, but frequent references to later operas by Cavalli, Gluck, Mozart, Verdi and Stravinsky relate the origins of the genre to its essence through the centuries. In particular, the enduring fascination with the Orpheus myth, from ancient Greece to Haydn and Stravinsky, is explored in detail. This work is intended for students of music, opera, literature, history of theatre and the Italian Renaissance.