Rosanna Scalfi Marcello facts for kids
Rosanna Scalfi Marcello (born 1704 or 1705 – died after 1742) was a talented Italian singer and composer. She lived in Venice during a time when music was very important.
Her Life Story
Rosanna Scalfi started as a "gondola singer" in Venice. This meant she sang popular songs called arie di battello from gondolas, which are the famous boats used in Venice. Around 1723, a well-known Italian nobleman and composer named Benedetto Marcello became her singing teacher.
They secretly married in a religious ceremony on May 20, 1728. Rosanna was twenty-four years old at the time. However, this marriage was not fully legal because they did not complete all the official civil requirements. Benedetto Marcello was a nobleman, and marrying someone who was not from a noble family was complicated.
After Benedetto Marcello passed away in 1739 from tuberculosis, their marriage was officially declared invalid by the state. This meant Rosanna could not inherit any of his money or property. She was left without support. In 1742, she tried to get financial help from Benedetto's brother, Alessandro Marcello. However, her requests were turned down. In the same year, she performed in an opera called Artaserse by Giuseppe Antonio Paganelli.
Her Music
Rosanna Scalfi Marcello composed twelve cantatas. A cantata is a type of vocal music, usually for one or two voices with musical instruments. She wrote these cantatas for an alto voice (a lower female voice) and basso continuo (a group of instruments that play the bass line and chords). She also wrote most, if not all, of the words for her songs.
A collection of her music, titled Twelve Cantatas for Alto Voice and Basso Continuo, was published around 1730. More recently, in 2012, a modern version of this music was published by Deborah Hayes and John Glenn Paton. This new edition includes information about Rosanna's life, notes on her lyrics and music, and tips for performing her songs. It also has the original Italian words and their English translations.
List of Cantatas
- Io ti voglio adorar
- In questo giorno
- Quand'io miro in oriente
- Solcare il mar tranquillo
- Dunque fia vero
- Mirar quei chiari lumi
- Arde quest'alma
- Ferma, Fileno ingrato
- Mio cor, alfin sei vinto
- Arder di due pupille
- Ecco il momento
- Se mai non sieno
In Other Works
Rosanna Marcello also appears as a character in an opera by Joachim Raff. This opera, called Benedetto Marcello, was created in 1878. In the opera, Rosanna's part is sung by a mezzo-soprano, which is a female singing voice lower than a soprano.
