There is music; there is drama. There is musical drama. Monteverdi's 1607 take on the Orpheus legend is in a category of its own, however. It is, mostly justifiably, considered the first unequivocal opera in Western music history. And, it's a great work to boot! That Monteverdi wrote such a wealth of other great music (L'incoronazione di Poppea and the madrigals spring to mind), and was an important, though casual, musical philosopher (there's that small matter he addressed in the preface to the Fifth Book of Madrigals), is a bonus, and nothing short of astounding.

This month's clip, the opening of Orpheus, is a brilliant, stirring way to kick-start the opera.