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Artist
Giovanni Battista Volpe
italianbaroque17th century
about
Giovanni Battista Volpe (c. 1620 – 1691) was a Venetian Baroque composer and organist, active chiefly in the second half of the 17th century. A nephew of the composer Giovanni Rovetta, he trained with his uncle and later with Francesco Cavalli, one of the leading figures of Venetian opera. Volpe became a member of the Doge’s musical chapel at St. Mark’s Basilica from 1645 onward, eventually serving as first organist (from 1678) and finally as maestro di cappella of the Cappella Marciana (1690–1691) — a prestigious post previously held by Giovanni Legrenzi. As a composer he wrote operas such as La costanza di Rosmonda (1659) and Gli amori d’Apollo e di Leucotoe (1663), and he may have been among the early adopters of the recitativo stromentato (accompanied recitative) in opera — though many of his works are now lost. Volpe also composed sacred music and contributed to the musical life of Venice through editing and mentorship. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.