- Francesco Rasi
Francesco Rasi (
May 14 1574 –November 30 1621 ) was an Italian composer, singer (tenor ),chitarrone player, and poet. He studied at theUniversity of Pisa and in 1594 he was studying withGiulio Caccini . He may have been inCarlo Gesualdo 's retinue when he went toFerrara for his wedding in 1594. In 1598 he joined the court of Duke Vincent I inMantua , and probably served the Gonzaga family the rest of his life, with whom he travelled all over Italy and as far afield asPoland . He sang in the first performances ofJacopo Peri 's "Euridice" and Caccini's "Il rapimento di Cefalo " in 1600. In 1607 he created the title role inClaudio Monteverdi 's "Orfeo ", and in 1608 sang in the first performances ofMarco da Gagliano 's "Dafne". [Porter]In 1610 in
Tuscany Rasi and his accomplices were sentenced to behanged, drawn, and quartered for the murder of is stepmother's servant and the attempted murder of his stepmother, however because of the protection of the Gonzaga family he escaped, and his sentence was eventually annulled with the agreement that he never return toArezzo , his birthplace. [Porter]He wrote an opera, "Cibele, ed Ati", which seems not to have been performed and whose music does not survive, and another
libretto , "Elvidia rapita". He published poetry, including in the anthology "La cetra di sette corde", and a good deal ofmonody which survives in the anthologies "Vaghezze di musica" (1608) and "Madrigali" (1610). Almost all of these are written for tenor voice, suggesting that they were written to display Rasi's own skill as a singer, and they follow in the style of Caccini's compositions. [Parisi]Rasi was a well respected singer, whose skill in ornamentation and diminution, beautiful voice, and ability to sing with grace and feeling, led to him being involved in the first performances of many of the first operas. [Parisi]
References
*William V. Porter. "Francesco Rasi", "Grove Music Online", ed. L. Macy (accessed
July 10 2007 ), [http://www.grovemusic.com/ grovemusic.com] (subscription access).
*Susan Parisi. "Francesco Rasi (opera)", "Grove Music Online", ed. L. Macy (accessedJuly 10 2007 ), [http://www.grovemusic.com/ grovemusic.com] (subscription access).Notes
Persondata
NAME=Rasi, Francesco
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Italian composer, singer, instrumentalist, poet
DATE OF BIRTH=May 14 1574
PLACE OF BIRTH=Arezzo
DATE OF DEATH=November 30 1621 )
PLACE OF DEATH=Mantua
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