Stradella, Alessandro / San Giovanni Battista

As a composer who lived a dissolute life and was eventually stabbed to death in Genoa, Stradella nevertheless left his mark on music history. He stands at the crossroads of several stylistic paths and periods, at the intersection of opera and church drama, as his output, especially San Giovanni Battista (John the Baptist), marks the meeting of the great Roman oratorio inherited from Carissimi and Cavalli's Venetian opera. Stradella is also close to the next generation, that of Scarlatti and Handel. His music is characterized by liveliness, expressiveness, and profound humanity. Although San Giovanni Battista enjoyed genuine success at its premiere in 1675, the work was only rediscovered in 1949, when its score was unearthed from a library. This event took place in Perugia, with Maria Callas singing the role of Salome (according to A. Surrans).