Strozzi,
Barbara
(1619-c. 1664), Italian composer and singer. Born in Venice, Strozzi was the adopted
daughter of Giulio Strozzi, a noted librettist, poet, and dramatist whose work was set by,
among others, Claudio
Monteverdi.
As a singer she was among the leading Venetian figures of her day, and attracted much
attention—sometimes of a scandalous nature—at the discussions of the Accademia
degli Unisoni, which met at her father’s house. She commissioned two sets of songs
from the composer Nicol? Fontei, but was also highly regarded as a composer in her own right. Her first
book of madrigals
(1644) sets words by her father and shows the strong influence of her teacher, Pier
Francesco Cavalli.
Her later works, for between one and three solo voices, include large-scale cantatas
(such as Lagrime Mie, 1659) as well as collections of shorter arias
(Ariette a Voce Sola, 1657), all showing the dramatic flair and sensitivity to
word-setting that was a hallmark of the seconda
prattica
style, as well as lively rhythms and a singer’s intimate knowledge of the voice.