Poppea set a number of striking precedents that were later adopted by Venetian composers. Its prologue closely resembles literary prologues contained in works of Renaissance drama. In the opera’s opening scene, the allegorical figures of Fortune, Virtue, and Love argue about who has the greater power over the fate of men. In this prologue, as in straight theater at the time, the composer foreshadowed the meaning of opera. Love wins out, of course, as Nerone ultimately divorces his wife and hands Ottavia’s crown to Poppea.

In a significant departure from the mythological preoccupations of earlier Florentine opera, Monteverdi’s librettos reflect a refreshingly modern treatment of character based on history, whose conflicts would have seemed familiar to actual Venetians in the audience. Venetian audiences were also familiar with the historical account of Nerone and Poppea. Busenello’s humanistic treatment of his characters was guided by a desire to portray real human emotion and conflict rather than recreate stories from myth and legend.

The libretto recounts the events of a single day in 65 A.D., beginning with Poppea’s pledge of love to Nerone, who is unhappily married to Ottavia. Ottone, who is betrothed to Poppea, discovers that she has been sharing Nerone’s bed. After Cupid foils Ottavia’s plot to have Ottone murder Poppea, Ottavia is put aside and Poppea takes her place as Nerone’s queen. Glover sees similarities between Roman opera’s fast-moving plots and Busenello’s structuring of the libretto. Poppea’s three-act structure represents a Venetian adaptation of court and Roman operas, which were divided into five acts.

Poppea’s musical structure also set important precedents that were seized upon by later composers. In “Pur ti miro,” Nerone and Poppea’s love duet that concludes the opera, Monteverdi helped fashion the standard for the lyrical form that became modern opera’s staple. The score’s distinction rests on the beauty of such duets, as well as its stunning arias and trios. The composer’s delicate balance of arias and ensembles, complemented by a highly poetic and emotional use of recitative, is revolutionary.

Glover notes that Penelope’s monologue in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse (Act I, scene one), along with “Ottavia’s self-introductory lament in Poppea (Act I, scene 5) are both recitative soliloquies of a distinction unsurpassed by Monteverdi himself or any of his successors.” Because Monteverdi’s Poppea stands out as the quintessential blend of music and drama, Venice became the heart of opera’s evolution.