2/5. When Monteverdi lost both his wife and his favourite pupil within six months of one another, he buried himself in his work, producing an extraordinary collection of madrigals on the themes of love and death. He also completed an opera, CArianna, and a ballet for the lavish wedding celebrations for the Duke of Mantua's son. Donald Macleod introduces these works, which helped establish Monteverdi's reputation both in Italy and the rest of Europe. Repeated from Tuesday at 12 noon