Emilio de' Cavalieri

An Italian composer, organist, choreographer, dancer, and voice teacher. Cavalieri composed for the Medici court in Florence (for Ferdinando) and was a contemporary of Caccini and Peri. It is most likely that Cavalieri was the inventor of the "Rappresentatione" which were staged works and antecedents to the opera (likened to theatrical oratorios). The corpus of his musical literature includes the "rappresentatione," a number of madrigals, and lamentations. Cavalieri was also involved in the production of "intermedi" (musical productions performed between the acts and scenes of dramatic presentations) for the wedding of Fernando and Christine of Lorraine. His were the most elaborate intermedi to date and demonstrated his directorial and organizational prowess. It is arguable that the work Cavalieri accomplished with the intermedi helped him to develop the rappresentatione. ~ Keith Johnson