The 1628 wedding festivities in Parma of Duke Odoardo Farnese and Margherita de' Medici of Florence set the stage for a rich environment of competition and debate between Sigismondo d'India and Claudio Monteverdi. In trying to win favor for this celebratory event, d'India presented two laments, the Lamento d'Armida and the Lamento di Didone, to the impresario for the Parma festivities, Marquis Enzo Bentivoglio, which bear a marked resemblance to Monteverdi?s Lamento d'Arianna. The extant Lamento di Didone is characterized by a number of the same rhetorical, topological, and musical tropes as Monteverdi's famous lament. D'India failed to secure the commission, which was offered to Monteverdi instead, most likely because of his daring musical language. D'India's musical conservatism and adherence to an older courtly convention based on Monteverdi in his laments demonstrate a failure to recognize current tastes, whereas Monteverdi had clearly progressed beyond his earlier works, demonstrating a more innovative treatment of the lament and winning favor in Parma at the 1628 festivities.

Works: Sigismondo d?India: Il lamento di Didone (36-44).

Sources: Monteverdi: Il lamento d?Arianna (40-43).

Index Classifications: 1600s

Contributed by: Elizabeth Elmi