Giovanni Faustini (1615 – 19 December 1651) was an Italian

librettist A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major ...

and opera impresario of the 17th century. He is best remembered for his collaborations with the composer

Francesco Cavalli Francesco Cavalli (born Pietro Francesco Caletti-Bruni; 14 February 1602 – 14 January 1676) was a Venetian composer, organist and singer of the early Baroque period. He succeeded his teacher Claudio Monteverdi as the dominant and leading op ...

Life and career

Faustini was born in

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 ...

. Impresario at the

Teatro San Cassiano The Teatro San Cassiano (or Teatro di San Cassiano and other variants) was the world's first public opera house, inaugurated as such in 1637 in Venice. The first mention of its construction dates back to 1581. The name with which it is best known co ...

Teatro San Moisè The Teatro San Moisè was a theatre and opera house in Venice, active from 1620 to 1818. It was in a prominent location near the Palazzo Giustinian and the church of San Moisè at the entrance to the Grand Canal. History Built by the San Bernaba ...

and Teatro Sant'Apollinare, his 14

libretti A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major l ...

were mostly set by Cavalli, with a few being used by other composers. The libretti Faustini left incomplete at his death were later finished by his brother

Marco Faustini Marco Faustini (17 May 1606 – 7 January 1676) was an Italian theatrical impresario and brother of the impresario and librettist Giovanni Faustini. Biography Marco Faustini was born in Venice. He began his career as an entrepreneur in the summer ...

, who continued his brother's career as impresario at multiple theatres. Three of his librettos are based on mythological themes, but these are exceptions rather than the rule. A typical Faustini plot relies not on myth or classical history but upon his own imagination. He based his creative thinking upon a fundamental pattern of two pair of aristocratic lovers from exotic nations, who undergo a lengthy process of separation and reconciliation, assisted by a good number of clownish servants who provide comic relief. Many devices from Roman comedy and the

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

genre also appear, such as sleeping potions and letters delivered to the wrong person. Faustini was heavily committed to his career as a professional librettist, and his work with Cavalli was of vital importance in the development of Venetian opera.

Librettos

*'' La virtù de' strali d'Amore'' (music by

, 1642) *'' Egisto'' (music by

, 1643; music by

Benedetto Ferrari Benedetto Ferrari ( – 22 October 1681) was an Italian composer, particularly of opera, librettist, and theorbo player. Biography Benedetto Ferrari was born in Reggio Emilia, Reggio nell'Emilia. He worked in Rome (1617–1618), Parma (1619–1 ...

, 1651) *'' Ormindo'' (music by

, 1644) *'' Doriclea'' (music by

, 1645; music by Pietro Andrea Ziani, 1666) *''Titone'' (music by

, 1645) *''Euripo'' (music by

, 1649) *'' Oristeo'' (music by

, 1651) *'' Rosinda'' (music by

, 1651) *''

La Calisto ''La Calisto'' is an Italian opera by Francesco Cavalli from a libretto by Giovanni Faustini based on the mythological story of Callisto (mythology), Callisto. The opera received its first performance on 28 November 1651 at the Teatro Sant'Apol ...

'' (music by

, 1651) *''

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

'' (music by

, 1652) *''Eupatra'' (music by Pietro Andrea Ziani, 1655; music by Giovanni Battista Costanzi, 1730) *'' Elena'' (completed by

Nicolò Minato Count Nicolò Minato (b. Bergamo, ca. 1627; d. Vienna, 28 February 1698) was an Italian poet, librettist and impresario. His career can be divided into two parts: the years he spent at Venice, from 1650 to 1669, and the years at Vienna, from 1669 u ...

; music by

, 1659) *''Il tiranno humiliato d’amore, ovvero Il Meraspe'' (revised by Nicolò Beregan; music by Carlo Pallavicino, 1667) *''Alciade'' (music by Pietro Andrea Ziani, 1667)

References

Bibliography

*B. Brunelli: ''L’impresario in angustie'', Rivista italiana del dramma, iii (1941), 311–41 *J. Glover: ''The Teatro Sant’Apollinare and the Development of Seventeenth-Century Venetian Opera'' (diss., U. of Oxford, 1975) *J. Glover: ''Cavalli'' (London, 1978) *G. Morelli: ''Scompiglio e lamento (simmetrie dell’incostanza e incostanza delle simmetre): ‘L’Egisto’ di Faustini e Cavalli'' (Venice, 1982) *E. Rosand: ''Opera in Seventeenth-Century Venice: the Creation of a Genre'' (Berkeley, 1990) 1615 births 1651 deaths Dramatists and playwrights from the Republic of Venice People from Venice Italian opera librettists Italian opera managers Italian impresarios 17th-century Venetian people Date of birth unknown Italian male dramatists and playwrights {{Opera-bio-stub