CAVALLI

cavalli, francesco (1599?-1676), italian musical composer, was born at crema in 1599 or 1600. his real name was pier francesco caletti-bruni, but he is better known by that of cavalli, the name of his patron, a venetian nobleman. he became a singer at st mark's in venice in 1617, second organist in 1639, first organist in 1665, and in 1668 _maestro di cappella_. he is, however, chiefly important for his operas. he began to write for the stage in 1639 (_le nozze di teti e di peleo_), and soon established so great a reputation that he was summoned to paris in 1660 to produce an opera (_serse_) at the louvre in honour of the marriage of louis xiv. he visited paris again in 1662, bringing out his _ercole amante_. his death occurred in venice on the 14th of january 1676. twenty-seven operas of cavalli are still extant, most of them being preserved in the library of st mark at venice. monteverde had found opera a musico-literary experiment, and left it a magnificent dramatic spectacle. cavalli succeeded in making opera a popular entertainment. he reduced monteverde's extravagant orchestra to more practical limits, introduced melodious arias into his music and popular types into his _libretti_. his operas have all the characteristic exaggerations and absurdities of the 17th century, but they have also a remarkably strong sense of dramatic effect as well as a great musical facility, and a grotesque humour which was characteristic of italian grand opera down to the death of alessandro scarlatti.