Santa Stella (c. 1686 – 18 September 1759) was an Italian soprano. She was also known as Santa Stella Scarabelli and after her marriage to

Antonio Lotti Antonio Lotti (5 January 1667 – 5 January 1740) was an Italian composer of the Baroque era. Biography Lotti was born in Venice, although his father Matteo was ''Kapellmeister'' at Hanover at the time. Oral tradition says that in 1682, Lotti be ...

on 12 February 1714 as Santa Lotti or La Santini.

Life

Early career

Her birthplace and origins are unknown, but her stage debut as Santa Stella was as Silene in

Antonio Caldara Antonio Caldara ( – 28 December 1736) was an Italian Baroque composer. Life Caldara was born in Venice (exact date unknown), the son of a violinist. He became a chorister at St Mark's in Venice, where he learned several instruments, probab ...

's opera ''Gli equivoci del sembiante'', which opened the 1703 carnival season at the Teatro Nuovo in

Casale Monferrato Casale Monferrato () is a town in the Piedmont region of Northwest Italy, northwestern Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is situated about east of Turin on the right bank of the Po River, Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montfe ...

. In 1704 she took the lead role in the premiere of ''Il gran Pompeo'' (an opera by an unknown composer) at the same theatre. She sang in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

in 1705 and in various productions at Venice's

Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo The Teatro Malibran, known over its lifetime by a variety of names, beginning with the Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo (or Crisostomo) after the nearby church,Lynn 2005, pp. 101—103 is an opera house in Venice which was inaugurated in 1678 with a ...

and

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 ...

between 1706 and 1708, almost always taking the lead role or

primadonna In opera or ''commedia dell'arte'', a prima donna (; Italian for 'first lady'; : ''prime donne'') is the leading female singer in the company, the person to whom the ''prime'' roles would be given. ''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage pe ...

part. From 1706 to 1714 she also appeared as a singer for the ''camera del duca di Mantova'' in ''La Partenope'' by

. In 1707 she also appeared in that work at Venice's

. No sources survive to show she sang between her marriage and 1717, when she performed in ''Semiramide'' by Pollarolo.

Dresden

In 1717 she and her husband moved to

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, probably both recruited by the

Elector of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

, the future

Augustus III Augustus III (; – "the Saxon"; ; 17 October 1696 5 October 1763) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as Elector of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire where he was known as Frederick Augustus II (). He w ...

, who wished to found an Italian opera house in Dresden. They each received a payment of 9975

thaler A thaler or taler ( ; , previously spelled ) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter o ...

s, the same amount as was later paid to primadonna

Faustina Bordoni Faustina Bordoni (30 March 1697 – 4 November 1781) was an Italian mezzo-soprano. In Hamburg, Germany, the Johann Adolph Hasse Museum is dedicated to her husband and partly to Bordoni. Early career She was born in Venice and brought up und ...

and her husband

Johann Adolf Hasse Johann Adolph Hasse (baptised 25 March 1699 – 16 December 1783) was an 18th-century German composer, singer and teacher of music. Immensely popular in his time, Hasse was best known for his prolific operatic output, though he also composed a co ...

as musical director of the electoral court in Saxony. Her Dresden debut was as Iside in her husband's ''Giove in Argo'' on 25 October 1717. Two years later, on 3 September 1719, she sang in the 'Festival of the planets' mounted to celebrate Augustus' marriage to Maria Josepha, daughter of

Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I (Joseph Jacob Ignaz Johann Anton Eustachius; 26 July 1678 – 17 April 1711) was Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1705 until his death in 1711. He was the eldest son of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor from his thir ...

. The Archduchess of Austria and the Princess of Hungary and Bohemia both attended the new purpose-built opera house. A year later she performed Silvia in ''Ascanio ovvero Gl'odi delusi dal sangue'' (premiered in February 1718 in Dresden in the ''Redoutensaal''). The peak of Santa Stella's career was in the title role of her husband's ''Teofane'', premiered on 13 September 1719 as one of the main musical attractions of the 'Festival of the Planets'', during which she also reprised roles in the two earlier works ''Giove in Argo'' (3 September 1719) and ''Ascanio ovvero Gl'odi delusi dal sangue'' (7 September 1719). The end of the 'Festival of the Planets' also marked the end of Italian opera at the electoral court in Saxony. Stella and her husband's contracts were not renewed and in October 1719 they left Dresden, receiving 160

ducat The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide inter ...

s as travel expenses for the trip back to Venice. Most of the other singers in Dresden were recruited by

Georg Friedrich Händel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well-known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

for his second London opera season, including the

castrato A castrato (Italian; : castrati) is a male singer who underwent castration before puberty in order to retain a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice can also occur in one who, due to an endocrino ...

Senesino Francesco Bernardi (; 31 October 1686 – 27 November 1758), known as Senesino ( or traditionally ), was an Italian contralto castrato, particularly remembered today for his long collaboration with the composer George Frideric Handel. He was ...

, the soprano

Margherita Durastanti Margherita Durastanti (active 1700–1734) was an Italian singer of the 18th century. Vocally, she is best described as a soprano, though later in her career her tessitura descended to that of a mezzo-soprano. First heard of professionally in Man ...

, the alto

Vittoria Tesi Vittoria Tesi Tramontini, also known as "La Fiorentina" or "La Moretta" (the Florentine or the Moorish or brunette girl) (13 February 1701 in Florence – 9 May 1775 in Vienna) was an Italian opera singer (later singing teacher) of the 18th cen ...

and the bass

Giuseppe Maria Boschi Giuseppe Maria Boschi (born Viterbo !--According to the reference; the previous Mantua, however, accords with the Italian Wikipedia, and may be correct.-->; '' fl'' 1698–1744) was an Italian bass singer – though in modern terms a baritone ...

(who had sung in Handel's '' Agrippina'' in Italian in 1709).

Post-Dresden

Stella's career after 1719 remain unclear. She may be identifiable with an artiste named 'Santa Santini' who performed in ''La costanza nel trionfo ovvero l'Irene'' by Francesco Peli in 1737 in Munich and in ''Ciro riconosciuto'' by

Leonardo Leo Leonardo Leo (5 August 1694 – 31 October 1744), more correctly Leonardo Ortensio Salvatore de Leo, was a Baroque music, Baroque composer. Biography Leo was born in San Vito degli Schiavoni (currently known as San Vito dei Normanni, province of ...

in Turin in 1739.

Selected roles (1705-1714)

From 1705 to 1714 she sang in several works by

Tomaso Albinoni Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni (8 June 1671 – 17 January 1751) was an Italian composer of the Baroque era. His output includes operas, concertos, sonatas for one to six instruments, sinfonias, and solo cantatas. While famous in his day as an opera co ...

Carlo Francesco Pollarolo Carlo Francesco Pollarolo (ca. 1653 – 7 February 1723) was an Italian composer, organist, and music director. Known chiefly for his operas, he wrote a total of 85 of them as well as 13 oratorios. His compositional style was initially indebted t ...

and her husband Antonio Lotti.

Albinoni

* Elisa in ''Astarto'' (November 1708, Teatro San Cassiano) * Engelberta in ''Engelberta'' (January 1709, Venice, Teatro San Cassiano) * Emilia in ''Il tiranno eroe'' (December 1710, Venice, Teatro San Cassiano)

Pollarolo

* Igene in ''Igene, regina di Sparta'' (May 1708, Vicenza, Teatro nuovo di Piazza) * Lavinia in ''Il falso Tiberino'' (January 1709, Venice, Teatro San Cassiano) * Anagilda in ''Publio Cornelio Scipione'' (January 1712, Venice,

) * Semiramide in ''Semiramidi'' (January 1714, Venice,

)

Lotti

* Argene in ''Sidonio'' (Pietro Pariati), 'dramma per musica' in 5 acts (20 November 1706, Venice, Teatro San Cassiano) * Elena in ''Achille placato'' (Urbano Rizzi), 'tragedia per musica' in 5 acts (5 February 1707, Venice, Teatro San Cassiano) * Zoe in ''La forza del sangue'' (Francesco Silvani), dramma per musica in 3 atti (14 November 1711, Venice,

) * Irene in ''Irene augusta'' (Francsco Silvani), 'dramma per musica' in 3 acts (22 November 1713, Venice,

)

Analysis

She was praised by her contemporaries as one of the most-important and best-known lyrical singers of her time, as shown by her inclusion under the sub-heading ''Opera'' in ''Allgemeine Theorie der schönen Künstedi'' by

Johann Georg Sulzer Johann Georg Sulzer (; 16 October 1720 in Winterthur – 27 February 1779 in Berlin) was a Swiss professor of Mathematics, who later on moved on to the field of electricity. He was a Wolffian philosopher and director of the philosophical section ...

. A long analysis and description of her speaking and singing voice is to be found in the ''curriculum vitae'' by

Johann Joachim Quantz Johann Joachim Quantz (; 30 January 1697 – 12 July 1773) was a German composer, flute, flutist and flute maker of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. Much of his professional career was spent in the court of Frederick the Great, where he s ...

as part of the "historical-critical contribution to the registration of music" by

Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg (21 November 1718 – 22 May 1795) was a German music critic, music theorist and composer. Described as "one of Germany's leading mid 8th-entury music critics," he was friendly and active with many figures of the Enlig ...

. The castrato

Pier Francesco Tosi Pier Francesco Tosi (c. 16531732) was a castrato singer, composer, and writer on music. His ''Opinoni de' cantori antichi e moderni...'' was the first full-length treatise on singing and provides a unique glimpse into the technical and social asp ...

wrote in his ''Opinioni de' cantori antichi e moderni'' that "with a penetrating Sweetness of Voice, anta Stella hadgained the Hearts of all her Hearers".J. E. Galliard
''Observations on the Florid Song'', Williard, London 1743, S. 103–104
/ref>

References

External links

*
Caratterizzazione di Santa Stella Lotti nel curriculum vitae di Quantz.
In:

: ''contributi storico-critici alla registrazione della musica.'' Volume 1 Schütze, Berlino, pagg. 213-214 *
Elenco delle produzioni liriche a cui partecipò Santa Stella
nel sistema di documentazione Corago dell'Università di Bologna {{DEFAULTSORT:Stella, Santa category:1680s births category:1759 deaths category:Italian operatic sopranos