Alessandro Scarlatti

The second of eight children, of whom several became musicians, Alessandro Scarlatti left his native Sicily in 1672 and enjoyed his earliest successes as an opera composer in Rome. But it was in Naples, where he was appointed maestro di cappella to the city's viceroy in 1684, that he was rewarded with his greatest triumphs: the fame of his operas, like that of his sacred and instrumental works, spread from town to town until his name was on the lips of all Italians. His next port of call was Rome, where he became maestro di cappella at Santa Maria Maggiore and enjoyed the patronage of Cardinal Ottoboni, but neither there nor in Venice was he able to find and audience for his talents. So he returned to Naples for the climax of his career, in which he continued to grace every genre that he essayed. Often described as one of the creators of Neapolitan opera, he raised opera seria to new and glorious heights and influenced many later composers.