On 6th August 1619, the gifted singer and composer Barbara Strozzi was baptised in the Cannaregio district of Venice.
Strozzi was acknowledged as the adopted daughter of the poet and librettist Giulio Strozzi, who was believed to have fathered her illegitimately with his servant, Isabella Garzoni.
Giulio Strozzi nurtured Barbara’s musical abilities, even establishing an academy where she could showcase her talents. She became one of the few women in the 17th century to publish her own compositions.
The Academy of the Unknown (Accademia degli Incogniti) was a group of intellectuals in Venice who gathered to discuss various topics, including literature, ethics, aesthetics, religion, and the arts. They were proponents of Venetian opera in the late 1630s and 1640s. Giulio Strozzi formed a musical subgroup, the Academy of the Like-Minded (Accademia degli Unisoni), where Barbara performed as a singer and contributed ideas for discussions.
Talented Composer
In addition to her vocal prowess, Barbara proved to be a talented composer. Her father, therefore, arranged for her to study under the composer Francesco Cavalli.
Barbara Strozzi began her career as a composer in 1644 with the release of a collection of madrigals. Over the next two decades, she published eight collections of music. She is the most prolific composer of printed secular vocal music in the mid-17th century, surpassing even her male peers. She also composed a single volume of sacred songs.
Strozzi was celebrated not only for her music but also for her poetic lyrics, many of which were written for the soprano voice. While she may have penned many of the lyrics herself, some were authored by her father, Giulio.
Despite her accomplishments, rumours circulated that she was a courtesan, possibly spread by envious male contemporaries.
A portrait by Bernardo Strozzi (not a relative) is said to reflect her dual identity as musician and courtesan. It is believed Giovanni Paolo Vidman, an arts patron and early opera supporter, fathered three of her four children.
Barbara Strozzi passed away in Padua in 1677 at the age of 58.
