Alessandro Scarlatti (jan 1, 1660 – jan 1, 1725)

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Important composer of both opera seria and cantatas. His cantata Andate, o miei sospiri ("Go, O my sighs,"), cast as two recitative-aria pairs, illustrates the style of both genres. The recitative sections are free verses of seven- and eleven-syllable lines, lending themselves to flexible declamation, while the arias have shorter lines with a regular meter and a simpler rhyme scheme.

Siciliana and Da Capo aria

The guiding figure behind the rise of Naples as a center of musical performance. The bulk of his voluminous output of operas and cantatas was written for Naples. By reshaping and standardizing the Venetian tradition he inherited, Scarlatti laid the foundation for the next century of operatic development, especially with what came to be known as opera seria.

Was chronically overworked so he standardized his working methods

"Another important operatic convention that scarlatti helped to standardize was a new type of sinfonia, or overture, consisting of a brilliant opening in fanfare style, a central slow episode, and a concluding dance.

In 1706 Scarlatti was honored by the Arcadian Academy, which wanted to restore opera to its original purity, which meant cleansing it of the old Venetian comic and bawdy scenes, with their conniving servants and the like, and returning opera to chaste pastoral or heroic historical tales.

Librettos became vehicles for noble sentiment... happy ending was usual for oepra librettos, even if it contradicted historical fact. The happy ending typically came about because of some act of generosity from a wise ruler. In fact, neoclassical drama celebrated the "divine right of kings."

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