Francesco Manelli: documents and remarks

F. Manelli, the composer of Andromeda, the first opera performed at Venice (1637), was educated by Stefano Landi in Rome. His career is intertwined with that of his wife, Maddalena, who performed in the ‘opera-torneo’ Ermiona (Padua, 1636). Analogies between the librettos of Ermiona and Andromeda are shown; the latter contains the typical features of the Ferrarese-Roman tradition. La Delia (1639) and L’Adone (1639) are definitely attributed to Manelli. The composer served as impresario for the revivals of La Delia, Monteverdi’s Ulisse (1640) and La maga fulminata (1641) in Bologna. Singers from the chapel of San Marco took part in these performances. Manelli spent the rest of his life (1645-67) in Parma as a singer and musician in the chapel of La Steccata and as a court musician and composer (from 1653). The article publishes heretofore unpublished documents from Venice and Parma.