The question of who wrote Monteverdi's last opera, The Coronation of Poppea, is a lot harder to answer than the old joke, 'Who wrote Beethoven's Fifth?' There's no evidence from Monteverdi's lifetime that he was involved with the opera at all. It seems likely that he did compose most of the music, but other composers probably contributed too – and there are at least five suspects in the frame. Lucie Skeaping turns detective to try to unravel the mystery.
As Lucie says 'whoever wrote it, the great [soprano] duet makes a great ending to a great opera'.