Giovanni Cosimo Villifranchi (or Villafranchi, 1646–1699) was, according to Robert Lamar Weaver, "the most productive and creative Italian comic librettist in the second half of the 17th century." He wrote the majority of comic works performed at the

Villa Pratolino The Villa di Pratolino was a Renaissance patrician villa in Vaglia, Tuscany, Italy. It was mostly demolished in 1822. Its remains are now part of the Villa Demidoff, 12 km north of Florence, reached from the main road to Bologna. History Th ...

during the last quarter of the seventeenth century. Villifranchi advocated simplicity in comic language, in opposition to the complex linguistic formality of the

commedia erudita ''Commedia erudita'' are Italian comedies written for the enjoyment of scholars in the sixteenth century. They were meant to mimic and emulate the works of Terence and Plautus. Audiences could expect plentiful use of monologues, asides, over-hearin ...

practiced by such earlier Florentine authors as

Giambattista Ricciardi Giovanni Battista was a common Italian given name (see Battista for those with the surname) in the 16th-18th centuries. It refers to "John the Baptist" in English, the French equivalent is "Jean-Baptiste". Common nicknames include Giambattista, Gia ...

.James Samuel Leve, “Humor and intrigue: A comparative study of comic opera in Florence and Rome during the late seventeenth century,” (Ph.D. diss., Yale University, 1998)

References

* Gianturco, Carolyn. "Il Trespolo tutore di Stradella e di Pasquini," ''Venezia e il melodramma nel settecento: Venice'' 1973–5, i, 185–98. * Weaver, Robert Lamar and Norma. ''A Chronology of Music in the Florentine Theater, i: 1590–1750'' (Detroit, 1978); ''ii: 1751–1800'' (Warren, MI, 1993) * Leve, James Samuel . "Humor and intrigue: A comparative study of comic opera in Florence and Rome during the late seventeenth century." Ph.D. diss., Yale University, 1998. 1646 births 1699 deaths Italian opera librettists Italian dramatists and playwrights Italian male dramatists and playwrights {{Italy-writer-stub

References

Further reading