"(1) more emphasis on formal arias; (2) the beginning of bel canto (“beautiful singing”) style, and more attention to vocal elegance than to dramatic expression; (3) less use of choral and orchestral music; (4) complex and improbable plots; (5) elaborate stage machinery; and (6) short fanfarelike instrumental introductions, the prototypes of the later overture." Monteverdi - Il ritorno dUlisse in patria
