Alessandro Scarlatti

Alessandro Scarlatti, the influential late 17th and early 18th century operatic composer, born in Palermo in May 1660, composed his first opera, “Gli Equivoci nel Sembiante,” (The Misdirection of Appearances), in 1679. It was performed in Rome, winning Scarlatti public acclaim and the patronage of Queen Christina of Sweden.

Christina had abdicated her throne in 1654 and moved to Rome, becoming an important patron of music there.

Gli Equivoci is an opera for only four characters: two sopranos, two tenors.

In 1680 Scarlatti composed L’honesta negli amore, (Honesty in Love), which included the enduring aria Già il sole dal Gange (Already the Sun over the Ganges) and in 1683 Il Pompea, the final work he would write while receiving Christina’s largesse.

By 1684 Scarlatti became the Maestro di Cappella in Naples, and here he produced a series of operas that made him the founder of a Neapolitan school.