Italian opera "Dafne" by Jacopo Peri was the earliest composition considered opera, as understood today. Peri's works, however, did not arise out of a creative vacuum in the area of sung drama. An underlying prerequisite for the creation of opera proper was the practice of monody. Monody is the solo singing/setting of a dramatically conceived melody, designed to express the emotional content of the text it carries, which is accompanied by a relatively simple sequence of chords rather than other polyphonic parts. Italian composers began composing in this style late in the 16th century, and it grew in part from the long-standing
Gastone Brilli-Peri Gastone Brilli-Peri Count Gastone Brilli-Peri (24 March 1893 – 22 March 1930) was an Italian racing driver, who won the 1925 Italian Grand Prix in an Alfa Romeo P2, securing the inaugural World Manufacturers' Championship title for Alfa Romeo. Known simply as "Brilli", his face had been permanently scarred in an accident during a Tour of Italy motorcycle race. He used to race wearing a hat similar to a Basque beret, which is now known in Italy as a "brilliperi". Brilli-Peri was born in Florence into a noble family. He debuted in a bicycle race in 1907, aged 14. In