Vocal works by composers from the birthplace of baroque music Italy from the 17th-18th century. Opera pioneer Claudio Monteverdi used the new concert style in his operas as well as in his major spiritual works. By the time of Antonio Vivaldi, Italian opera dominated the whole of Europe - from Warsaw to London and from Lisbon to St. Petersburg. Vivaldi's operas are as temperamental and sensual as his instrumental concerts.