Francesco Cavalli
Francesco Cavalli (February 14 1602-1676), Italian musical composer, was born at Crema in 1602. His real name was Pier Francesco Caletti-Bruni, but he is better known by that of Cavalli, the name of his patron, a Venetian "nobleman".He became a singer at St Mark's in Venice in 1616, second organist in 1639, first organist in. 1665, and in 1668 maestro di cappella. He is, however, chiefly important for his operas.
He began to write for the stage in 1639 (Le Nozze di Teti e di Peleo), and soon established so great a reputation that he was summoned to Paris in 1660 to produce an opera (Xerse). He visited Paris again in 1662, bringing out his Ercole amante at the Louvre, which was written in honour of the marriage of Louis XIV. His death occurred in Venice on January 14 1676.
Cavalli was the most influential composer in the rising genre of public opera in mid-17th century Venice. Unlike Monteverdi's early operas, scored for the extravagant court orchestra, Cavalli's operas make use of a small orchestra of strings and basso continuo to meet the limitations of public opera houses.
Cavalli introduced melodious arias into his music and popular types into his libretti. His operas have all the characteristic exaggerations and absurdities of the 17th century, but they have also a remarkably strong sense of dramatic effect as well as a great musical facility, and a grotesque humour which was characteristic of Italian grand opera down to the death of Alessandro Scarlatti.
Cavalli wrote 33 operas, 27 of which are still extant, being preserved in the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana (library of St Mark) at Venice. Copies of some of the operas also exist in other locations.
Operas:
- Le nozze di Teti e di Peleo (1639)
- La Dafne (1640)
- La Didone (1641)
- L'Amore innamorato (1642, music lost)
- La virtù de' strali d'Amore (1642)
- L'Egisto (1643)
- L'Ormindo (1644)
- La Doriclea (1645)
- Il Titone (1645, music lost)
- Il Giasone (1649)
- L'Euripo (1649, music lost)
- L'Orimonte (1650)
- L'Oristeo (1651)
- La Rosinda (1651)
- La Calisto (1652)
- L'Eritrea (1652)
- Il Delio (La Veremonda, l'amazzone di Aragona) (1652)
- L'Orione (1653)
- Il Ciro (1654)
- L'Hipermestra (L'Ipermestra) (1654)
- Il Xerse (1655)
- L'Erismena (1655)
- La Statira (Statira principessa di Persia) (1656)
- L'Artemisia (1657)
- L'Antioco (1659, music lost)
- Il rapimento d'Helena (Elena) (1659)
- L'Ercole (Ercole amante) (1662)
- Scipione affricano (1664)
- Mutio Scevola (Muzio Scevola) (1665)
- Il Pompeo Magno (1666)
- L'Eliogabalo (1667)
- Coriolano (1669, music lost)
- Massenzio (1673, music lost)