Which Baroque composer was organist at the Medici court and authored Le Dafne and L'Euridice?

Which Baroque composer was organist at the Medici court and authored Le Dafne and L'Euridice?

• A. Henry Purcell
• B. Jacopo Peri
• C. Giulio Caccini
• D. Claudio Monteverdi

Answer: (B)

This question tests recognizing the figure who bridged Florentine patronage and the birth of opera. Jacopo Peri fits because he served as organist at the Medici court in Florence and is credited with composing Le Dafne and L'Euridice, two of the earliest operas that established the blend of drama and music that defines Baroque opera. Peri’s ties to the Medici patronage highlight how Florence funded and nurtured this new form, with L'Euridice often cited as a landmark in surviving early opera and Le Dafne among the earliest attempts at setting myth to music. The other composers are strongly associated with different centers or eras—Purcell with English Baroque at Westminster and the Chapel Royal, Monteverdi with Mantua and Venice, and Caccini with early Florentine style but not the specific pair of works in question—so Peri is the best match for both the Medici connection and these particular operas.

This question tests recognizing the figure who bridged Florentine patronage and the birth of opera. Jacopo Peri fits because he served as organist at the Medici court in Florence and is credited with composing Le Dafne and L'Euridice, two of the earliest operas that established the blend of drama and music that defines Baroque opera. Peri’s ties to the Medici patronage highlight how Florence funded and nurtured this new form, with L'Euridice often cited as a landmark in surviving early opera and Le Dafne among the earliest attempts at setting myth to music. The other composers are strongly associated with different centers or eras—Purcell with English Baroque at Westminster and the Chapel Royal, Monteverdi with Mantua and Venice, and Caccini with early Florentine style but not the specific pair of works in question—so Peri is the best match for both the Medici connection and these particular operas.