Contents: Introduction; Part I Text and Music: Monteverdi's poetic choices, Nino Pirrotta; Madrigal, monody, and Monteverdi's 'via naturale alla immitatione', Gary Tomlinson; Monteverdi's mimetic art: 'L'incoronazione di Poppea', Ellen Rosand; Resemblance and representation: towards a new aesthetic in the music of Monteverdi, Tim Carter. Part II Theory and Genre: Artusi, Monteverdi, and the poetics of modern music, Tim Carter; Gendering modern music: thoughts on the Monteverdi-Artusi controversy, Suzanne G. Cusick; Claudio Monteverdi's Ordine novo, bello et gustevole: the canzonetta as dramatic module and formal archetype, Massimo Ossi; Monteverdi's three genera: a study in terminology, Barbara Russano Hanning. Part III Criticism, Analysis and History: Constructions of gender in Monteverdi's dramatic music, Susan McClary; The Platonic agenda of Monteverdi's Seconda Pratica: a case study from the 8th Book of Madrigals, Geoffrey Chew; Monteverdi, two sonnets and a letter, Anthony Pryer; Tacitus incognito: opera as history in L'incoronazione di Poppea, Wendy Heller. Part IV Institutional, Source and Performance Issues: Musicians at the court of Mantua during Monteverdi's time: evidence from the payrolls, Susan Parisi; Monteverdi's Mantuan 'Orfeo': some new documentation, Iain Fenlon; Transposition in Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610: an 'aberration' defended, Andrew Parrott; La Poppea Impasticciata or, who wrote the music to L'incoronazione (1643)?, Alan Curtis; Monteverdi's 'Mass of Thanksgiving' revisited, Jeffrey G. Kurtzman; Name index.