Editing Francesco Cavalli (section)

==Music and influence==
Cavalli was the most influential composer in the rising genre of public opera in mid-17th-century Venice. Unlike [[Claudio Monteverdi|Monteverdi's]] early operas, scored for the extravagant court orchestra of [[Mantua]], Cavalli's operas make use of a small orchestra of strings and [[basso continuo]] to meet the limitations of public [[opera house]]s.

Cavalli introduced melodious arias into his music and popular types into his [[Libretto|libretti]]. His operas have a remarkably strong sense of dramatic effect as well as a great musical facility, and a grotesque humour which was characteristic of Italian opera down to the death of [[Alessandro Scarlatti]]. Cavalli's operas provide the only example of a continuous musical development of a single composer in a single genre from the early to the late 17th century in Venice &mdash; only a few operas by others (e.g., Monteverdi and [[Antonio Cesti]]) survive. The development is particularly interesting to scholars because opera was still quite a new medium when Cavalli began working, and had matured into a popular public spectacle by the end of his career.

More than forty-two operas have been attributed to Cavalli. Manuscript scores of twenty-six are extant, preserved in the [[Biblioteca Marciana|Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana]] (Library of St Mark) in Venice. Scores of some of the operas also exist in other locations. In addition, the music of his two last operas (''Coriolano'' and ''Masenzio''), which are clearly attributed to him, is lost. Another twelve or so for which the music is lost have also been attributed to him, but these attributions have either been disproved or remain uncertain. [[Cristoforo Ivanovich]], who published the first chronicle of Venetian opera, ''Minerva al tavolino'' (Venice, 1681), attributed most of the anonymous works from the first 15 years of public performances in Venice to Cavalli, and many of these attributions were repeated by subsequent authors. The American musicologist [[Thomas Walker (musicologist)|Thomas Walker]], writing in ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Opera]]'', considered seven of Ivanovich's attributions and another two by other authors as doubtful.<ref Name=Cavalli_NGO>[[Thomas Walker (musicologist)|Walker, Thomas]] (1992). "Cavalli, Francesco", vol. 1, pp. 783–789, in ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Opera]]'', four volumes, edited by [[Stanley Sadie]]. London: Macmillan.</ref>

In addition to operas, Cavalli wrote settings of the ''[[Magnificat]]'' in the grand [[Venetian polychoral style]], settings of the [[Blessed Virgin Mary|Marian]] [[antiphon]]s, other sacred music in a more conservative manner – notably [[a Requiem Mass]] in eight parts ([[SATB|SSAATTBB]]), probably intended for his own funeral – and some instrumental music.<ref name="BBC" />

===Modern performances===
Cavalli's music was revived in the twentieth century. [[Glyndebourne Festival Opera|The Glyndebourne]] Opera production of ''La Calisto,'' in 1970, is an example.<ref>[[Alex Ross (music critic)|Ross, Alex]], "[http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/05/25/unsung-4 Unsung: Rediscovering the Operas of Francesco Cavalli]." ''[[The New Yorker]]'', 25 May 2009, pp.&nbsp;84–85.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=La Calisto / Glyndebourne Festival 1970 Archives |url=https://www.glyndebourne.com/archive_production/la-calisto-glyndebourne-festival-1970/ |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=Glyndebourne |language=en-US}}</ref> More recently, ''Hipermestra'' was performed at Glyndebourne in 2017.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hipermestra review – Cavalli comes in from the cold|newspaper=The Observer |date=26 May 2017 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/may/26/hipermestra-review-glyndebourne-graham-vick-william-christie-oae|publisher=Guardian|access-date=4 July 2017 |last1=Maddocks |first1=Fiona }}</ref>
The discography is extensive and Cavalli has featured in BBC Radio 3's [[BBC Radio 3#Composer of the Week|''Composer of the Week'']] series.<ref name="BBC">{{cite web | url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00fd36m | title=Composer of the Week | access-date=5 August 2012}}</ref>