Andrea Adolfati


Andrea Adolfati was an Italian composer who is particularly remembered for his output in the opera seria genre. His works are generally conventional and stylistically similar to the operas of his teacher Baldassare Galuppi. Although his music largely followed the fashion of his time, he did compose two tunes with unusual time signatures for his day: an air in [Quintuple meter|] meter and another in [Septuple meter|] meter.
Adolfati studied music composition in Venice with composer Galuppi. After completing his studies he became the maestro [di cappella] at the Santa Maria della Salute, a position he held until 1745. He then worked in the same capacity at the court in Modena, where his divertimento da camera La pace fra la virtù e la bellezza premiered in 1746. Around the same time he composed some songs and arias for Johann Adolph Hasse's Lo starnuto di Ercole, which was given at the Teatro San Girolamo in 1745 and during Carnival 1746.
In 1748 Adolfati became maestro di cappella at the Basilica della [Santissima Annunziata del Vastato] in Genoa. On 30 May 1760 he became maestro di cappella of the Padua Cathedral, succeeding Giacomo Rampini, who had died three days earlier, in that post. He remained there for only a short period, as he also died just five months later.

Operas

  • Artaserse
  • La pace fra la virtù e la bellezza
  • Didone abbandonata
  • Il corsaro punito
  • Arianna
  • La gloria e il piacere
  • Adriano in Siria
  • Il giuoco dei matti
  • Ifigenia
  • Ipermestra
  • Vologeso
  • La clemenza di Tito
  • ''Sesostri re d'Egitto''

Other works

  • Miserere for 4 voices and instruments
  • Nisi Dominus for 1 voice, basso continuo
  • Laudate for 4 voices
  • In exitu for 5 voices and instruments
  • Domine ne in furore for 4 voices and instruments
  • 6 cantatas for soprano and instruments
  • Già la notte s'avvicina
  • Filen, crudo Fileno
  • Perdono amata Nice
  • Ingratissimo Tirsi
  • No, non turbarti, o Nice
  • Cantata for 2
  • Various arias
  • 6 sonatas for 2 violins, 2 flutes, 2 horns, bassoon, and contrabassoon
  • Sinfonia in F major
  • Overture in D major