Antonio Cesti

Antonio Cesti (1623–1669), baptised Pietro, was an Italian Baroque composer, tenor and organist, among the most celebrated musicians of his generation. Born at Arezzo, he joined the Franciscans in 1637 but turned to secular music at Volterra. His career as a singer and opera composer conflicted with his religious calling, and by 1650 he had been reprimanded.

His first operas appeared in Venice in 1651. From 1652 he served Archduke Ferdinand Charles at Innsbruck, where he gave L'Argia for Queen Christina of Sweden and premiered Orontea in 1656.

He entered the papal chapel in Rome in 1660 and became vice-Kapellmeister at Vienna in 1666, staging Il pomo d'oro for the court. He died in Florence in 1669.