- Vincenzo Grimani
Vincenzo Grimani (b Venice or Mantua, 15 May 1652 or 26 May 1655; d Naples, 26 Sept 1710) was an Italian cardinal, diplomat, and
opera librettist . He is best remembered for having supplied the libretto forGeorge Frideric Handel 's early operatic success Agrippina, though he also supplied libretti for "Elmiro re di Corinto", byCarlo Pallavicino , and "Orazio" byG. F. Tosi . All the operas were produced at theTeatro S Giovanni Grisostomo , which he owned, while the remainder of his family owned several other Venetian opera houses.Politically he was allied to the
Habsburg cause, and this alliance and his importance diplomatically to the Habsburgs led to him being made a cardinal in 1697. He further received the honour of viceroyalty atNaples in 1708.His libretti are markedly different from the later moralizing tone of
Metastasio andApostolo Zeno , whose ideas came to dictate "opera seria ". His libretto for Agrippina is marked out by its amorality and the domination of aria over recitative. His portrayal of the Emperor Claudius has been perceived as an oblique attack on the character ofPope Clement XI . Grimani frequently clashed with Clement in the course of protecting the interests of the Habsburgs at the Vatican.References
Harris S. Saunders: "Grimani, Vincenzo", "Grove Music Online" ed L. Macy (Accessed 5 December 2006), [http://www.grovemusic.com/ grovemusic.com] , subscription access.
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