Gaetano Monti (born

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, c. 1750 – died there, c. 1816) was an Italian composer. His name is first recorded in 1758, when he was eight years old, singing in a small part in a performance of ''Il curioso del suo proprio danno'' by

Niccolò Piccinni Niccolò Piccinni (; 16 January 1728 – 7 May 1800) was an Italian composer of symphonies, sacred music, chamber music, and opera. Although he is somewhat obscure today, Piccinni was one of the most popular composers of opera—particularly the ...

. His first opera, ''Adriano in Siria'', was performed in

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

in 1775, and he was later named

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

of the Treasury Chapel at

Naples Cathedral The Naples Cathedral (; ), or the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary (), is a Roman Catholic cathedral, the main church of Naples, southern Italy, and the seat of the Archbishop of Naples. It is widely known as the Cathedral of Saint Januarius ...

; there he remained until 1788. Moreover, in 1776 he became an

impresario An impresario (from Italian ''impresa'', 'an enterprise or undertaking') is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, Play (theatre), plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film producer, film or ...

at the

Teatro San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is a historic opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and a ...

. Most of his works were ''

opere buffe Opera buffa (, "comic opera"; : ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramma bernesc ...

'', and were seen in theatres in Rome,

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, and Naples. His most popular works were ''Le donne vendicate'' and ''Lo studente''. It was believed at one time that he was the brother of the poet

Vincenzo Monti Vincenzo Monti (19 February 1754 – 13 October 1828) was an Italian poet, playwright, translator, and scholar, the greatest interpreter of Italian Neoclassicism in all of its various phases. His verse translation of the ''Iliad'' is considered o ...

, but this is uncertain.

Operas

*'' Adriano in Siria'' (opera seria, libretto by

Pietro Metastasio Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (3 January 1698 – 12 April 1782), better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio (), was an Italian poet and Libretto, librettist, considered the most important writer of ''opera seria'' libretti. Early ...

, 1775,

) *''Il

cicisbeo In 18th- and 19th-century Italy, the ''cicisbeo'' ( , , ; plural: ''cicisbei'') or () was the man who was the professed gallant or lover of a woman married to someone else. With the knowledge and consent of the husband, the cicisbeo attended hi ...

discacciato'' (opera buffa, 1777,

) *''La fuga'' (opera buffa, libretto by Giovanni Battista Lorenzi, 1777,

) *''Il geloso sincerato'' (opera buffa, libretto by Giovanni Battista Lorenzi, 1777,

) *''La contadina accorta'' (intermezzo, 1781, Rome) *''Le donne vendicate'' (opera buffa, libretto by Giuseppe Palomba, 1781,

) *''Il Molaforbice'' (opera buffa, libretto by Giuseppe Palomba, 1781,

) *''Lo sposalizio per dispetto'' (dramma giocoso, libretto by Giovanni Bertati, 1781,

Venezia Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

) *''La viaggiatrice di bell'umore'' (intermezzo, 1782, Rome) *''Lo studente'' (opera buffa, libretto by Francesco Saverio Zini, 1783,

) *''La donna fedele'' (opera buffa, libretto by Francesco Saverio Zini, 1784,

)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Monti, Gaetano Italian Classical-period composers Italian opera composers Italian male opera composers Neapolitan school composers Italian organists Italian male organists Composers from Naples 1750s births 1810s deaths Year of death uncertain Musicians from the Kingdom of Naples