Previous posts for February 14th are here: Renée Fleming (2020) and Aida Overton Walker (2021)
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Francesco Cavalli (14 February 1602 – 14 January 1676) was an imporatant Venetian opera composer.
New Kid in the Block
Cavalli was the most influential composer in the rising genre of public opera in mid-17th-century Venice. -- Wikipedia
Francesco Cavalli was all the rage
Upon the new Venetian stage;
In fact, the ticket sales declared he
Quite eclipsed old Monteverdi.
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Alexander Dargomyzhsky (14 February [O.S. 2 February] 1813 – 17 January [O.S. 5 January] 1869) was a 19th-century Russian composer, best remembered for his setting of Pushkin's version of the Don Giovanni story, The Stone Guest.
When Pushkin Comes to Shove
His last opera, The Stone Guest, is his most famous work, known as a pioneering effort in melodic recitative, and is notable for having its text taken almost word-for-word from the literary stage work which inspired it. Consequently, the resulting musical drama consists almost entirely of solos given in turn by each character, as in a spoken play. -- adapted from Wikipedia, s.v. "The Stone Guest (Dargomyzhsky)" and "Alexander Dargomyzhsky"
Alexander Dargomyzhsky,
Had a full resounding name,
Which didn't make his path less risky
When seeking operatic fame.
He hit upon a novel theory
Of opera as it then was heard,
And so, to make his theory clear, he
Set some Pushkin word for word.
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