Monteverdi, Claudio, mahn tuh VAIR dee, KLOW dyoh (1567-1643), was an Italian composer. His works greatly influenced the change from the strict style of Renaissance music to the emotional style of the baroque movement (see Baroque). He is often considered the first important composer of opera, and his Orfeo (1607) the first modern opera. Only two of his other operas have survived in complete form--The Return of Ulysses (1641) and The Coronation of Poppea (1642), a great masterpiece.