In 1606 Vincenzo's heir Francesco commissioned from Monteverdi

the opera L'Orfeo, to a libretto by Alessandro Striggio, for the Carnival

season of 1607. It was given two performances in February and March
1607; the singers included, in the title role, Rasi, who had sung in the
first performance of Euridice witnessed by Vincenzo in 1600. This was
followed in 1608 by the opera L'Arianna (libretto by Ottavio
Rinuccini), intended for the celebration of the marriage of Francesco
to Margherita of Savoy. All the music for this opera is lost apart from
Ariadne's Lament, which became extremely popular.[n 4] To this
period also belongs the ballet entertainment Il ballo delle
ingrate.[22][33][34]

Duke Francesco IV The strain of the hard work Monteverdi had been putting into these
Gonzaga, by the studio of and other compositions was exacerbated by personal tragedies. His
Frans Pourbus the Younger wife died in September 1607 and the young singer Caterina Martinelli,
intended for the title role of Arianna, died of smallpox in March 1608.
Monteverdi also resented his increasingly poor financial treatment by
the Gonzagas. He retired to Cremona in 1608 to convalesce, and wrote a bitter letter to Vincenzo's
minister Annibale Chieppio in November of that year seeking (unsuccessfully) "an honourable
dismissal".[35] Although the Duke increased Monteverdi's salary and pension, and Monteverdi
returned to continue his work at the court, he began to seek patronage elsewhere. After publishing
his Vespers in 1610, which were dedicated to Pope Paul V, he visited Rome, ostensibly hoping to
place his son Francesco at a seminary, but apparently also seeking alternative employment. In the
same year he may also have visited Venice, where a large collection of his church music was being
printed, with a similar intention.[22][36]

Duke Vincenzo died on 18 February 1612. When Francesco succeeded him, court intrigues and
cost-cutting led to the dismissal of Monteverdi and his brother Giulio Cesare, who both returned,
almost penniless, to Cremona. Despite Francesco's own death from smallpox in December 1612,
Monteverdi was unable to return to favour with his successor, his brother Cardinal Ferdinando
Gonzaga. In 1613, following the death of Giulio Cesare Martinengo, Monteverdi auditioned for his
post as maestro at the basilica of San Marco in Venice, for which he submitted music for a Mass.
He was appointed in August 1613, and given 50 ducats for his expenses (of which he was robbed,
together with his other belongings, by highwaymen at Sanguinetto on his return to
Cremona).[22][37]

Venice: 1613–1643

Maturity: 1613–1630

Martinengo had been ill for some time before his death and
had left the music of San Marco in a fragile state. The choir had
been neglected and the administration overlooked.[37] When
Monteverdi arrived to take up his post, his principal
responsibility was to recruit, train, discipline and manage the
musicians of San Marco (the capella), who amounted to about
30 singers and six instrumentalists; the numbers could be
increased for major events.[38] Among the recruits to the choir
was Francesco Cavalli, who joined in 1616 at the age of 14; he The basilica of San Marco, Venice
was to remain connected with San Marco throughout his life,
and was to develop a close association with Monteverdi.[39]
Monteverdi also sought to expand the repertory, including not only the traditional a cappella