Camerata, Florentine society of intellectuals, poets, and musicians, the first of several such groups that formed in the decades preceding 1600. The Camerata met about 1573–87 under the patronage of Count Giovanni Bardi. The group’s efforts to revive ancient Greek music— building on the work of the theorist Girolamo Mei—were an important factor in the evolution of monody, expressive solo song with simple chordal accompaniment. Leading members of the Camerata were the theorist Vincenzo Galilei (father of the astronomer Galileo) and the composer Giulio Caccini. Slightly later groups further developed the new ideas to produce the first operas (see opera: Suitable literary materials).