Andrea Adolfati

Who was Andrea Adolfati?

Andrea Adolfati was an Italian composer who is particularly remembered for his output of opera serias. His works are generally conventional and stylistically similar to the operas of his teacher Baldassare Galuppi. Although his music largely followed the fashion of his time, he did compose two tunes with unusual time signatures for his day: an air in 5/4 meter and another in 7/4 meter.

Adolfati studied music composition in Venice with composer Galuppi. After completing his studies he became the maestro di cappella at the Santa Maria della Salute, a position he held until 1745. He then worked in the same capacity at the court in Modena, where his divertimento da camera La pace fra la virtù e la bellezza premiered in 1746. Around the same time he composed some songs and arias for Johann Adolph Hasse's Lo starnuto di Ercole, which was given at the Teatro San Girolamo in 1745 and during Carnival 1746.

In 1748 Adolfati became masestro di cappella at the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata del Vastato in Genoa. On 30 May 1760 he became maestro di cappella of the Padua Cathedral, succeeding Giacomo Rampini,who had died three days earlier, in that post. He remained there for only a short period, as he also died just five months later.