Monteverdi is regarded by many as the "creator of modern music", and yet we have no theatre in Italy dedicated to celebrating one of its greatest composers.

The Teatro San Cassiano hopes to give Monteverdi the showcase his music so richly deserves.

It's a chilling fact that while Italy remains without the kind of a "Teatro alla Veneziano" of Monteverdi's day (complete with 17th-century stage machinery, special effects, and the ability to stage "HIP" opera to a tiny Venetian theatre with just six rows in its stalls), no one living today has ever seen or heard an opera by the maestro as he, himself, would recognise it.

Just think about that: we have never seen nor heard Monteverdi's operas set as he would recognise them. Imagine then the reconstructed Teatro San Cassiano and seeing and hearing his operas in a theatre dedicated to the "divin' Claudio".

This will be opera rediscovered in its original setting. This will be Venice at its exhilarating best. This will be Monteverdi as he deserves to be remembered.