Pier-Leone Ghezzi

This exuberant group portrait may represent the music, acting, and dramatic narrative of the opera. At its center a woman holds a laurel wreath, an attribute of poets. The gentleman at left holds a theatrical mask, while the musician at right plays a lute. Behind them, two men appear to comment on their performance. The characters’ highly individualized faces indicate that the models were recognizable personalities in Italian society, as artists and patrons of the arts.