Ruggier Trofeo (c. 1550 - September 19, 1614) was an Italian composer and organist. His name is sometimes rendered as Ruggiero De Trofeis. Trofeo appears to have been a native 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 ...

; an anthology of music by natives of that city contains one madrigal by him, and in his 1589 book of ''

canzonette In music, a canzonetta (; pl. canzonette, canzonetti or canzonettas) is a popular Italian secular vocal composition that originated around 1560. Earlier versions were somewhat like a madrigal but lighter in style—but by the 18th century, especial ...

'' he is described as being a "Mantuan". He was most likely a pupil of Francesco Rovigo, as several of the older composer's works were at one point combined with his own for publication. He served as organist of the

Mantua Cathedral Mantua Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di San Pietro apostolo; Duomo di Mantova) in Mantua, Lombardy, northern Italy, is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to Saint Peter. It is the seat of the Bishop of Mantua. History An initial structure probabl ...

during the winter of 1576-77, acting as deputy for Annibale Coma. By 1587 he had become the organist of the

Basilica palatina di Santa Barbara The Basilika Palatina di Santa Barbara is the Royal chapel, Palatine Chapel of the House of Gonzaga in Mantua, Italy. History Built at the request of the Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga and built by the Mantua, Mantuan Architect Giovan Battista Bertan ...

, in the same city. In May of that year, Trofeo was seriously wounded in an encounter with his patron, Guglielmo Gonzaga, over a woman. Musicologist David Mason Greene describes the incident thus:

In 1587, Duke Guglielmo found him in a back street chatting with a woman whose company he deemed unfitting for a church organist, and when Trofeo told him to mind his business, the duke punctured him to a considerable depth with his sword. What the duke was doing in a back street, history does not say, and he died three months later anyhow.

Other sources further record that the duke was in disguise at the time, which may account for Trofeo's reaction to his request; they also note that Gonzaga's death three months after the incident likely prevented the musician from suffering further punishment for his disobedience. In the 1590s Trofeo took a position as organist at

San Marco, Milan San Marco is a church in Milan, northern Italy. History According to tradition, the church was dedicated to St. Mark, patron of Venice, after the help given by that city in the war against Frederick Barbarossa in the 12th century. However, th ...

; sometime early in the next century he moved to

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, performing at

Turin Cathedral la, Ecclesia Sancti Johannis Baptista , native_name = Duomo di Torino , native_name_lang = Italian , image = DuomoTorino.jpg , caption = The Cathedral in 2019 , imagelink = , pushpin map = Italy Turin , pushpin mapsize = , map caption = ...

while acting as ''

maestro di cappella (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

'' for the chamber chapel of the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

. It was in that city that Trofeo died. His son Giovanni Cristoforo was an organist as well. Trofeo composed a handful of works for his instrument, and in 1589 published a book of ''canzonette''. He also produced music for instrumental ensemble. studied with Trofeo, likely just before he relocated to Turin; a handful of letters between the two survive, in which Borsieri apologizes for and explains his decision to abandon music for other pursuits.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Trofeo, Ruggier 1550s births 1614 deaths Italian classical composers Italian male classical composers Italian classical organists Male classical organists Cathedral organists 16th-century Italian composers 16th-century classical composers 17th-century Italian composers 17th-century classical composers 17th-century male musicians Musicians from Mantua