Francesco Cavalli facts for kids

Imaginary portrait of Francesco Cavalli

Francesco Cavalli (born Pietro Francesco Caletti-Bruni; February 14, 1602 – January 14, 1676) was a famous composer, organist, and singer from Venice. He lived during the early Baroque period of music. Cavalli took over from his teacher, Claudio Monteverdi, to become the most important opera composer in the middle of the 17th century. He was a key person in Venetian music, writing over 40 operas. Most of these were first performed in Venice's theaters. Some of his most well-known operas are Ormindo (1644), Giasone (1649), and La Calisto (1651).

Life of a Musical Genius

Cavalli was born in Crema, which was a part of the Venetian Republic at the time. When he was 14, in 1616, he became a boy soprano (a high-pitched singer) at St Mark's Basilica in Venice. This was a great chance for him to learn from the famous composer Claudio Monteverdi.

Cavalli kept growing in his career. He became the second organist at St Mark's in 1639. Later, in 1665, he became the first organist. By 1668, he was named maestro di cappella, which means the music director. He changed his name to "Cavalli" because of his supporter, a Venetian nobleman named Federico Cavalli.

Even though he wrote a lot of church music, he is mostly remembered for his operas. He started writing for the stage in 1639 with Le nozze di Teti e di Peleo. This was soon after the first public opera house, the Teatro San Cassiano, opened in Venice. Cavalli became so famous that he was invited to Paris. He stayed there from 1660 to 1662, performing his opera Xerse and creating Ercole amante. He passed away in Venice when he was 73 years old.

Cavalli's Music and Its Impact

Cavalli was the most important composer for public opera in Venice during the mid-17th century. Unlike Monteverdi's early operas, which used huge orchestras, Cavalli's operas used smaller groups. He typically used strings and a basso continuo (a small group of instruments providing the bass line and harmony). This was because public opera houses had less space and money than royal courts.

Cavalli added beautiful, flowing songs called arias to his music. He also used popular stories in his opera scripts, known as libretti. His operas were very dramatic and musically clever. They also had a funny, sometimes strange, sense of humor. This humor was common in Italian opera for many years.

Cavalli's operas are special because they show how opera changed over time. When he started, opera was quite new. By the end of his career, it had become a popular public show. He wrote 41 operas, and 27 of them still exist today. Most of these are kept safe in the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana (Library of St Mark) in Venice.

Besides operas, Cavalli also wrote church music. He created grand settings of the Magnificat in the Venetian polychoral style, which means music for multiple choirs. He also wrote Marian antiphons and other sacred pieces. One notable work is a a Requiem Mass for eight voices, which he probably wrote for his own funeral.

Cavalli's Operas

Modern Performances of Cavalli's Works

Cavalli's music became popular again in the 20th century. For example, the Glyndebourne opera festival put on a production of La Calisto. More recently, Hipermestra was performed at Glyndebourne in 2017. Many recordings of his music are available. Cavalli has also been featured on BBC Radio 3's Composer of the Week series.

See also

In Spanish: Francesco Cavalli para niños

• Music of Venice