Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) was a German composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, and often considered to be one of the most important composers of the first half of the seventeenth century along with Claudio Monteverdi. He wrote what is thought to be the first German opera, Dafne, performed at Torgau in 1627; the music has since been lost, however.

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