ANTONIO CESTI (1623-1669)
A composer and singer, he was the most celebrated musician of his time and dominated the European scene as one of the most important exponents of Baroque musical theatre. Cesti’s christian name was Pietro but it was changed to Antonio when he joined the Franciscan Order and became a minor monk in a monastery, which he left in 1659, having been released from his religious vows. His brilliant career began in Venice and continued in Innsbruck. He triumphed in Vienna with his most famous opera, the ‘Pomo d’Oro’ (1668), represented in great style in the Imperial Court at the wedding of Leopoldo I of Austria. He came back to Tuscany and in Florence he became Chapel Master to the court of the Medici family and he died there in 1669, probably having been poisoned by his rivals.
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