Giovanni Battista Pescetti

(ca. 1704 - 1766)


Italian composer and keyboardist, born in Venice. He studied under Antonio Lotti and from 1725 to 1732 composed operas for Venetian theaters, sometimes collaborating with his friend Baldassare Galuppi. He was in London in 1736 as a harpsichordist and succeeded Porpora as director of the Opera of the Nobility later that year, contributing some operas and pastiche arias for London. By 1747 he was back in Venice as an opera composer, and received an appointment as second organist at St. Mark's in 1762. A number of his operas are based on Metastasio's works, including Siroe re di Persia (Venice, 1731); Alessandro nelle Indie (Venice, 1732); Demetrio (Florence, 1732); Il Farnaspe (Siena, 1750); Artaserse (Milan, 175 1); and Zenobia (Padua, 1761).





VIIF: Ballet and Opera