The term “symphony,” or rather sinfonia, is in fact present in the early seventeenth century; it was at first frequently applied to vocal compositions (sacrae symphoniae), such as motets with orchestral accompaniment, but soon it came to designate the instrumental introduction to these vocal works and especially to operas. In this fashion the term was used for another century, and we still find many of J. S. Bach’s cantatas opening with a sinfonia. Gabrieli’s spirit animated the first opera symphonies, but Monteverdi, Cavalli, Cesti, and Landi knew how to endow them with their own personality. After Monteverdi, the “curtain raisers” seem to be somewhat uncertain both in form and in name and were called interchangeably sinfonia, toccata, sonata, and several other terms, but toward the middle of the century the sinfonia took on a definite, well-organized form henceforth reserved for its own use.
事实上，17世纪初已有“交响曲”（symphony或写作sinfonia）一词，起先用于声乐作品【圣乐交响曲（sacrae symphoniae）】, 如有乐队伴奏的经文歌，不就便指这些声乐作品的器乐引子，特别是歌剧的器乐引子。如此用了又一个世纪，直到巴赫的康塔塔，还有许多是以sinfonia开始的。加布里埃利的精神产生了最早的歌剧交响曲，但是，蒙特威尔第、卡瓦利、切斯蒂和兰迪知道如何赋以作曲家的个性。蒙特威尔第以后，“歌剧启幕音乐”的形式和名称一致不太肯定，可以随便应用交响曲、托卡塔、奏鸣曲诸称，还有另外的名称，但是到这一世纪中期，交响曲呈具沿用至今的、井然有序的专用形式。
These symphonies were real overtures, as they endeavored—especially the Venetian opera symphonies—to give a condensed picture of the drama they prefaced. As a rule the main thematic material was selected from among the main scenes of the opera. Not sufficiently known to older historians, these mid-seventeenth-century Venetian opera symphonies have acquired great importance in the eyes of the modern musicologist, not only because they constitute another prime source of origin of the classical symphony, but also because they were the first real program overtures. Thus Gluck will have to relinquish the position of “inventor” of the program overture, a title which he never claimed but which was generously awarded him.
这些交响曲是真正的序曲，因为它们企图浓缩地介绍即将表演的戏剧，特别是威尼斯歌剧的交响曲。主要的主题素材选自歌剧的主要场景。老一辈的史学家对这些17世纪中期的威尼斯歌剧交响曲不甚了解，但它们在现代音乐学家眼里十分重要，不仅因为它们是古典交响曲的又一个主要根源，而且因为它们是最早的真正的标题序曲。这样，格鲁克只得摘下其标题序曲“发明者”的桂冠，虽然这一称号不是他自封的，是人们慷慨赐予的。
克劳迪奥·乔瓦尼·安东尼奥·蒙特威尔第（Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi 1567.5.15 - 1643.11.29），意大利作曲家、制琴师。被认为是古典音乐史上一位划时代的人物，他的牧歌创作是这一文艺复兴时期音乐体裁的巅峰，而他的歌剧创作则是这种体裁的奠基之作。他是巴洛克音乐的早期代表。主要的作品包含歌剧《奥菲欧》、《阿莉安娜》、《唐克雷第与克罗林达之战》、《乌里塞还乡》、《波佩亚的加冕》以及牧歌集曲共九册等。其中《奥菲欧》不仅是蒙特威尔第的最早的歌剧作品，也可以算是蒙特威尔第最出名的歌剧。