Sacrati, Francesco

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Sacrati, Francesco

Sacrati, Francesco , Italian composer; b. Parma (baptized), Sept. 17, 1605; d. probably in Modena, May 20, 1650. He was one of the earliest composers for the opera theaters that opened in Venice after 1637; was also a pioneer of opera buffa before the rise of the Neapolitan school. He wrote an opera, La Delia, for the opening of the Teatro Crimani dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice Qan. 20, 1639); there followed La finta pazza (Teatro Novissimo, Venice, Jan. 14, 1641), also one of the earliest Italian operas performed in Paris (Salle du Petit Bourbon, Dec. 14, 1645). Other operas by Sacrati were Bellerofonte (Venice, 1642), L’Ulisse errante (Venice, 1644), and L’isola d’Aleina (Bologna, 1648). All of his operas are lost. In 1649 he became maestro di cappella to the Modena court. Research by A. Curtis suggests that Sacrati played a major role in preparing the final form of Monteverdi’s last opera, L’incoronazione di Poppea.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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