Home > Baker's Student Encyclopedia of Music > Madrigal Comedy, Madrigal Opera

A chain of MADRIGALS united in content and forming a dramatic sequence. A contemporary of the early DRAMMA PER MUSICA. The best-known composers of madrigal comedy are Orfeo Vecchi and Adriano Banchieri. A distant relative of the COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE, its origins may be found in RENAISSANCE madrigal collections with a common theme, often found in courtly weddings.