Caterina Martinelli (c. 1589-1608) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

opera singer Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

, who was employed by Duke Vincenzo I of

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

from 1603 until her death in 1608. The title role in Claudio Monteverdi's opera '' L'Arianna'' was written for Martinelli, but she died prior to its premier.

Life

Martinelli was born in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1589. In 1603, she came to Mantua at the request of Duke Vincenzo, who originally intended for her to be trained in Florence first but later changed his mind. After arriving in Mantua, she lived in Monteverdi's household. While little is known about her life after she arrived in Mantua, it is presumable that she sang regularly at the court and that Monteverdi wrote many pieces of music for her. Until her death, she was the Duke's preferred soprano in the court. Martinelli died of small pox on March 9, 1608. The Duke had a marble tomb built for her and ordered that Carmelite Priests should celebrate

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

and

Offices An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...

in her memory every year on the anniversary of her death. At the request of the Duke, Monteverdi composed a setting of a

sestina A sestina (, from ''sesto'', sixth; Old Occitan: ''cledisat'' ; also known as ''sestine'', ''sextine'', ''sextain'') is a fixed verse form consisting of six stanzas of six lines each, normally followed by a three-line envoi. The words that end ...

written in her memory by

Scipione Agnelli Scipione Agnelli (1586 – 1 October 1653) was an Italian Catholic bishop, scholar and jurist. Life Born in Mantua, Agnelli was the son of Count Lepido Agnelli, in the service of the House of Gonzaga, and Girolama Pavese. He was educated at t ...

, a Mantuan bishop.Strainchamps 171

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinelli, Caterina Italian operatic sopranos 1608 deaths Year of birth uncertain 17th-century Italian women opera singers Singers from Rome Deaths from smallpox Infectious disease deaths in Italy