Francesca Caccini

Who was Francesca Caccini?

Francesca Caccini was an Italian composer, singer, lutenist, poet, and music teacher of the early Baroque era. She was also known by the nickname "La Cecchina", originally given to her by the Florentines and probably a diminutive of "Francesca". She was the daughter of Giulio Caccini, and was one of the best-known and most influential female European composers between Hildegard of Bingen in the 12th century and the 19th century. Her stage work, La liberazione di Ruggiero, has been widely considered the first opera by a woman composer.