One of the most enduring products of the Renaissance theatre was the opera. It grew out of experiments by the Camerata, a Florentine society of poets and musicians that at the end of the 16th century sought to revive Greek tragedy. The men who formed the Camerata believed that the Greeks had originally recited or chanted their plays to music, and in setting out to recreate these conditions, the Camerata used music to heighten the poetic qualities of the dialogue. Heavily influenced by the intermezzi that were currently in fashion, the first attempts were on mythological subjects (Daphne, Orpheus, etc.). ...(100 of 31765 words)