Abstract In its earliest years opera emerged as an enhancement of festivities designed to glorify the rule of dynasties in city-states or the power of cardinals in Rome. Its arrival in Venice led to a radical transformation in its very essence and a new beginning in its history. Coming from Rome in 1637, what the first opera troupe found upon arriving in Venice was not a dynasty to glorify (unless it was Venice herself) but thriving commerce and, especially during carnival, a teeming international, pleasure-seeking public. Opera took root immediately, on an entirely new basis: in one form or another, the public paid to be admitted to the theater, and the introduction of this new commercial factor speedily had its effect on what the public was offered. Opera very soon learned to adapt itself to the new consumers: scenic effects remained a high priority, but now solo singing grew tremendously in importance. More and more, composers strove to exploit the solo voice in constructing their scores, and star opera singers began to dominate the operatic stage (as they do to this day). It was Venetian opera, in turn, that dominated wherever opera found a new venue, whether in Italy or abroad. And except where supported by kings or other rulers, its economic underpinnings reflected the lessons learned in Venice. The details of operatic production in seventeenth-century Venice are nowhere so clearly described as in the following extracts from a book by the theatrical chronicler Cristoforo lvanovich published in 1681. Entitled Minerva al tavolino (Minerva at her desk), it is a catalogue of all the operas produced at Venice’s numerous theaters from 1637 to the date of publication, with an appendix (from which we quote) describing the theaters themselves and how they functioned.