Anna Renzi (c.1620-after 1660) was a leading Italian opera singer of the mid-17th century, renowned for her acting ability as well as her voice. She has been described as the first prima donna. She sang in Rome and Venice, where she appeared in the role of Ottavia in the premiere of Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea. She was the subject of Le glorie della signora Anna Renzi (1644), a collection of encomiums edited by Giulio Strozzi, which has been called "one of the first operatic fan books". Alex Ross writes:
the poet Giulio Strozzi acclaimed her as a singer of “admirable and singular intelligence,” whose delivery seemed “not memorized but born at the very moment”—even after she had given a particular role twenty-six times. Renzi said little, watching those around her and adopting their mannerisms as the occasion demanded. Onstage, she disappeared into her characters, indulging in high comedy one night and high tragedy the next.[1]