Adriano Banchieri

Italian composer, music theorist, organist and poet of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras (Bologna, 3 September 1568 – Bologna, 1634).

he was interested in converting the madrigal to dramatic purposes.

He was one of the developers of a form called "madrigal comedy" — which was considered to be one of the important precursors to opera. In addition, he was an important composer of canzonettas, a lighter and hugely popular alternative to the madrigal in the late 16th century.