Baroque Composer - One Of The Inventors Of Opera

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Giulio Caccini, one of the earliest great Baroque composers was a very unusual and extraordinary man. His contribution to music and to the development of music history is invaluable.  Giulio acquired his tremendous fame as a composer of innovative solo songs that were a gigantic step from Renaissance music. He was great music teacher that trained dozens of famous musicians who started singing in this new baroque style. One of them sang in Orfeo which was first opera created by the composer Monteverdi.

Giulio Caccini is credited as one of the founders of the genre of opera and an extremely influential creative force of new Baroque music. He was of not of noble origin and was born in 1551 in the family of a simple carpenter in Rome. Five years later his brother Giovanni was born who was destined for fame too as he would become a famous sculptor and architect.

Young Gulio played lute, viola and the harp but his greatest talent was tenor singing that impressed influential family of Medici who brought him to their court in Florence.  He had various engagements there including participation in entertainments like intermedi - one of the precursors of the opera. Gulio sang at the weddings and statesmen meetings accompanying himself on the viol.

He belonged to the close circle of humanists who dedicated their lives to recovering lost masterpieces of antiquity.  We know that Caccini toured Italy too. He visited Rome where music school was still very conservative, yet his singing and music started changing the direction of music there too.

However, with all the mix of intellect and talents, Giulio Caccini was a simple human being easily motivated by greed, jealousy and envy. He also played a terrible part in the tragedy related to the family of Medici.

Pietro, one of the sons of Cosimo Medici married his first cousin Eleonora di Garcia de Toledo.  In the marriage she was having an a love affair. Caccini notified Francesco Medici who became next Duke of Tuscany about the adultery.  Pietro killed Eleonora and then murdered her imprisoned lover Bernardino Antinori.

Caccini was also highly competitive using all means for his career advancement with Medici family. He was the main reason why great composer Cavalieri was kicked out of Florence. He also prohibited his singers to participate in the production of the rival composer Jacopo Peri who is often named as the inventor of the opera.

Giulio Caccini died in Florence in 1618 but he left us another great genius - his daughter Francesca.  She grew to become a famous composer like her father. In fact, Francesca is the most famous and influential female European composer in any genre, between Hildegard of Bingen in the 12th century and the 19th century.  Francesca Caccini was also responsible for creating the first opera by a woman composer.