Cavalli, Francesco

(real name, Pietro Francesco Caletti). Born Feb. 14, 1602, in Crema; died Jan. 14, 1676, in Venice. Italian composer. Son and pupil of a cathedral choirmaster in Crema.

Cavalli completed his musical education in Venice, where he lived from 1616. In 1617 he became a singer (tenor), at St. Mark’s Basilica, and then its organist and conductor. He wrote church music (notably his Requiem), but basically he composed operas and was a leading master of the Venetian school. He wrote 42 operas, including The Marriage of Teti and Peleo (1639), Didone (1641), Jason (1649), Xerxes (1654), and Mutio Scevola (1665). Almost all his operas were commissioned by Venetian theaters.