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| | opera. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-05 |
 | | It began in Florence, Italy, fostered by the camerata [society], a group of scholars, philosophers, and amateur musicians that included the librettist Ottavio Rinuccini (15621621) and the composers Vincenzo Galilei, Emilio del Cavaliere (c.15501602), Jacopo Peri, and Giulio Caccini. |
 | | It was their aim to promote the principle of monodic musical declamation, i.e., a single melodic line with modest accompaniment inspired by the example of ancient Greek drama; accordingly, the earliest operas took their plots from mythology, the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice being one of the most popular. |
 | | Although fragments of Jacopo Peris Dafne (c.1597) exist, the same composers Euridice (1600), set to verse by Ottavio Rinuccini, is generally considered the first opera. |
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