This Week in Classical Music: April 28, 2025. Alessandro Scarlatti. It was just a month ago that, while writing about the music of Naples, we illustrated it with a wonderful aria from one of Alessandro Scarlatti’s operas, Tigrane, which premiered in that city, in Teatro San Bartolomeo, in February of 1715 (the aria, Sussurrando il venticello, or Whispering the breeze, could be found here; the soprano is Elizabeth Watts). Scarlatti was born in Palermo on May 2nd of 1660. After moving between Palermo, Rome, and Naples, Alessandro’s family settled in Rome in 1672. The obvious musical talent of the young Scarlatti attracted the attention of many important Romans; Gian Lorenzo Bernini invited him to live in his palazzo, while Bernini’s son was the godfather of Scarlatti’s first child. Cardinal Pamphili, one of the most important patrons of music in Rome, provided Scarlatti with his poetry to be set to music and introduced him to Queen Christina, another important person in the arts scene. In short order, Christina made Scarlatti her Maestro di capella. His first opera, Gli equivoci nel sembiante, was composed in 1679 and was successful not just in Rome but also in other Italian cities. By 1683, he had written six operas (here’s the aria O cessate di piagarmi from his opera Il Pompeo from 1683). Pope Innocent XI disliked opera, and because of that, new productions were staged only in the private theaters of the nobility, like Queen Christina’s, or foreign dignitaries, who could flout the Pope’s displeasure. One such patron was a Neapolitan duke of Maddaloni, who, in 1683, convinced Scarlatti to move to Naples.
Naples was then a Spanish possession. The Viceroy, Gaspar Méndez de Haro, previously served as the Spanish ambassador to Rome, where he became a devotee of Scarlatti’s music. Thus, Scarlatti was assured of the most important patronage in the city. This relationship was also the cause of great jealousy among the Neapolitan musicians, as the Viceroy made Scarlatti his Maestro di capella. Scarlatti was writing about two operas a year; first they would be staged at the royal palace and then produced in the Teatro San Bartolomeo. Almost single-handedly, Scarlatti made Naples into an opera center to rival Venice. In 1685, his first of the eventual five Neapolitan children was born: the boy was named Domenico, and he would become a composer, at least as famous as his father.
While in Naples, Scarlatti continued to maintain a relationship with many Roman patrons. In 1689, Queen Christina died, but soon a new important patron would appear, Pietro Ottoboni. Cardinal Ottoboni was the grandnephew of Pope Alexander VIII (see our entry on this illustrious patron of the arts here). Pope Alexander came from Venice, where opera was king. He removed many restrictions imposed by his predecessor, Pope Innocent XI. Pietro Ottoboni, the Cardinal, rich off the nepotism of his granduncle, lavished much of his wealth on arts and music, Scarlatti being one of his main beneficiaries. Ottoboni wrote the libretto for one of Scarlatti’s operas, La Statira (two more libretti would follow). Another cardinal, Benedetto Pamphili, wrote the libretto for one act of La santa Dimna and staged it at the theater of his own Palazzo Doria Pamphili. Some of Scarlatti’s patrons came from afar; one of them, Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany, was himself an excellent musician. Unfortunately, all operas written by Scarlatti for Ferdinando are lost. Here, on the other hand, is an aria from the same period, S'io non t'amassi, from the 1697 opera La Caduta de' Decemviri. The countertenor Dmitry Egorov is accompanied by La Stagione Frankfurt under the direction of Michael Schneider.
Alessandro Scarlatti, 2025
This Week in Classical Music: April 28, 2025. Alessandro Scarlatti. It was just a month ago that, while writing about the music of Naples, we illustrated it with a wonderful aria from one of
Alessandro Scarlatti’s operas, Tigrane, which premiered in that city, in Teatro San Bartolomeo, in February of 1715 (the aria, Sussurrando il venticello, or Whispering the breeze, could be found here; the soprano is Elizabeth Watts). Scarlatti was born in Palermo on May 2nd of 1660. After moving between Palermo, Rome, and Naples, Alessandro’s family settled in Rome in 1672. The obvious musical talent of the young Scarlatti attracted the attention of many important Romans; Gian Lorenzo Bernini invited him to live in his palazzo, while Bernini’s son was the godfather of Scarlatti’s first child. Cardinal Pamphili, one of the most important patrons of music in Rome, provided Scarlatti with his poetry to be set to music and introduced him to Queen Christina, another important person in the arts scene. In short order, Christina made Scarlatti her Maestro di capella. His first opera, Gli equivoci nel sembiante, was composed in 1679 and was successful not just in Rome but also in other Italian cities. By 1683, he had written six operas (here’s the aria O cessate di piagarmi from his opera Il Pompeo from 1683). Pope Innocent XI disliked opera, and because of that, new productions were staged only in the private theaters of the nobility, like Queen Christina’s, or foreign dignitaries, who could flout the Pope’s displeasure. One such patron was a Neapolitan duke of Maddaloni, who, in 1683, convinced Scarlatti to move to Naples.
Naples was then a Spanish possession. The Viceroy, Gaspar Méndez de Haro, previously served as the Spanish ambassador to Rome, where he became a devotee of Scarlatti’s music. Thus, Scarlatti was assured of the most important patronage in the city. This relationship was also the cause of great jealousy among the Neapolitan musicians, as the Viceroy made Scarlatti his Maestro di capella. Scarlatti was writing about two operas a year; first they would be staged at the royal palace and then produced in the Teatro San Bartolomeo. Almost single-handedly, Scarlatti made Naples into an opera center to rival Venice. In 1685, his first of the eventual five Neapolitan children was born: the boy was named Domenico, and he would become a composer, at least as famous as his father.
While in Naples, Scarlatti continued to maintain a relationship with many Roman patrons. In 1689, Queen Christina died, but soon a new important patron would appear, Pietro Ottoboni. Cardinal Ottoboni was the grandnephew of Pope Alexander VIII (see our entry on this illustrious patron of the arts here). Pope Alexander came from Venice, where opera was king. He removed many restrictions imposed by his predecessor, Pope Innocent XI. Pietro Ottoboni, the Cardinal, rich off the nepotism of his granduncle, lavished much of his wealth on arts and music, Scarlatti being one of his main beneficiaries. Ottoboni wrote the libretto for one of Scarlatti’s operas, La Statira (two more libretti would follow). Another cardinal, Benedetto Pamphili, wrote the libretto for one act of La santa Dimna and staged it at the theater of his own Palazzo Doria Pamphili. Some of Scarlatti’s patrons came from afar; one of them, Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany, was himself an excellent musician. Unfortunately, all operas written by Scarlatti for Ferdinando are lost. Here, on the other hand, is an aria from the same period, S'io non t'amassi, from the 1697 opera La Caduta de' Decemviri. The countertenor Dmitry Egorov is accompanied by La Stagione Frankfurt under the direction of Michael Schneider.