The torments of love conveyed by a contemporary of Monteverdi in the context of an operatic celebration of 17th-century Venice. L’Incoronazione di Poppea is renowned not only as Monteverdi’s last work but also his most affecting. Almost equally famous, however, is the historical oddity that its sublime conclusion is almost certainly not his work. Sung as Nero and his new wife drift off in amoral bliss, ‘Pur ti miro’ has been attributed to various of Monteverdi’s Venetian contemporaries. However, among the most plausible candidates is Filiberto Laurenzi. Very little is known of his life except for his encounter with the soprano Anna Renzi, considered the first diva in the history of opera. She not only studied under Laurenzi, but also let him manage her career, following him when he left Rome for Venice.
Works:
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Ceresini: Al desir troppo ingordo
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Gabrieli, A: Madrigale: Io mi son giovinetta (D. Ferrabosco) (III/11)
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Gabrielli: Ricercar No. 7 in D minor
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Laurenzi: Così mi lasci ingrato
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Laurenzi: Nuove leggi e nuove emende (from La finta savia)
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Laurenzi: Oh, cara libertà
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Laurenzi: Oh, come come in fretta (from La finta savia)
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Laurenzi: Perché cruda
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Laurenzi: Se mi coglie (from La finta savia)
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Laurenzi: Sovra il dorso di Giove (from La finta savia)
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Laurenzi: Stolta Melanto (from La finta savia)
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Laurenzi: Tant'armi inventate (from La finta savia)
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Monteverdi: L'incoronazione di Poppea
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Monteverdi: Pur ti miro (I gaze upon you) from L'Incoronazione di Poppea
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Uccellini: Sonatas, Op. 4: Aria ottava
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Uccellini: Sonate, correnti et arie, Op. 4