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Encyclopedia Britannica



STRADELLA, ALESSANDRO (?16451682)

This article appears in Volume V25, Page 976 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: STE-SUS
STRADELLA, ALESSANDRO (?16451682) , Italian composer,
was one of the most accomplished musicians of the 17th century.
The hitherto generally accepted story of his life was first circum-
stantially narrated in Bonnet-Bourdelot's Histoire de la musique
et de ses effets (Paris, 1715). According to this account, Stradella
not only produced some successful operas at Venice, but also
attained so
great
  a reputation by the beauty of his voice that a
Venetian nobleman engaged him to instruct his mistress, Ortensia,
in singing. Stradella, the narrative goes on to say, shamefully
betrayed his trust, and eloped with Ortensia to Rome, whither
the outraged Venetian sent two paid bravi to put him to death.
On their arrival in Rome the assassins learned that Stradella
had just completed a new oratorio, over the performance of
which he was to preside on the following day at S. Giovanni in
Laterano. Taking advantage of this circumstance, they deter-
mined
  to kill him as he left the church; but the beauty of the
music affected them so deeply that their hearts failed them at the
critical
  moment, and, confessing their treachery, they entreated
the composer to !ensure his safety by quitting Rome immediately.
Thereupon Stradella fled with Ortensia to Turin, where, notwith-
standing
  the favour shown to him by the regent of Savoy, he
was attacked one night by another band of assassins, who, headed
by Ortensia's father, left him on the ramparts for dead. Through
the connivance of the French
ambassador
  the ruffians succeeded
in making their escape; and in the meantime Stradella, recovering
from his wounds, married Ortensia, by consent of the regent, and
removed with her to Genoa. Here he believed himself safe; but
a year later he and Ortensia were murdered in their
house
  by a
third party of assassins in the pay of the implacable Venetian.
Recent
  research has shown that Stradella was the son of a
Cavaliere Marc' antonio Stradella of Piacenza, who in 16421643
was vice-marchese and
governor
  of Vignola for Prince Bon-
compagni, who did not wish to live in the dominions from which
he took the title of marchese di Vignola. He was deprived of his
office in 1643 for having surrendered the castle to the papal
troops, although it might have sustained a siege of several days
and the help of the duke of Modena was expected. An elder
brother of Alessandro, Francesco by name, became a member of
the Augustinian order, and seems to have enjoyed the protection
of the
house
  of Este. Alessandro is supposed to have been born
about 1645 or earlier, probably at Vignola, or Monfestino, a town
on the road from Modena to Pistoja, to which his father retired
after his dismissal; but no records of his
birth
  have come to light
in either of these places. The first certain date in his life is
1672, in which year he composed a prologue for the performance
of Cesti's opera La Dori at Rome; and we may conclude that he


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