"Giovanni Pergolesi" has been added to your list of bookmarked artists
close
Giovanni Pergolesi
January 4, 1710 - March 16, 1736
born in Jesi, Italy, composed during the Classical period
Biography
Despite his tragically short life, Pergolesi left an impressive oeuvre, including the intermezzo La serva padrona, one of the great examples of the Italian comic opera in the eighteenth century. A successful opera composer, Pergolesi was also a highly esteemed composer of church music, exemplified by his remarkable Stabat Mater.

Following musical studies in his native town, Pergolesi was sent to Naples in the early 1720s. He continued his studies at the Conservatorio dei Poveri di Gesu Cristo, where he also performed as a violinist, also making his debut as a composer. In 1731, Pergolesi received his first commission to compose an opera, which means that he had probably left the conservatory around that time. By early 1732, Pergolesi had composed two operas, which met with minimal success. That year, he became maestro di cappella to Prince Ferdinando Colona Stigliano, a prominent Neapolitan nobleman. Pergolesi's opera Lo frate 'nnamorato was performed, greeted with immense enthusiasm.

In 1733, Pergolesi was commissioned to write an opera for the celebration of the birthday of the Empress of Austria. Performed in 1733, this opera, Il prigioner superbo, contained a two-act intermezzo, La serva padrona, which eventually gained extraordinary popularity as a separate work.