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| Composers Biography - Languages - |  |
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Antonio Cesti
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After serving as a choirboy at Arezzo, Cesti joined the Franciscan order at the provincial congregation at Volterra in 1637. Cesti's career took an important turn with the performance of "Orontea" at the Teatro dei S.S. Apostoli, Venice, in 1649. It enjoyed exceptional popularity throughout Italy for several decades. Two new operas, "Alessandro vincitor di se stesso" and "Il Cesare amante", were performed in Venice in 1651. "L'Argia" was performed at Innsbruck to celebrate the visit of the recently abdicated Queen Christina of Sweden. 
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Cesti's early Venetian operas represented the first significant competition for Cavalli, who had virtually ruled the stage since Monteverdi's death. He generally avoided the descending chromatism ostinato basses so effectively used by Cavalli in his earlier operas. Cesti composed all his later operas except "Il Tito" as private court entertainments rather than for public theatres.
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