Stradella

Stradella, ALESSANDRO, a singer, musical performer and composer of the 17th century whose works did much to raise the standard of ltalian taste. Little is known concerning the details of his life. It is said that he eloped from Venice with Ortensia, the wife of a nobleman who had befriended him, and that after many perilous escapes the two were murdered at Genoa by assassins sent to track their steps. On one occasion, at Rome, his life had been saved through the effect produced by his great oratorio, San Giovanni Battista, on the assassins who were walting for him at the church door. He also composed sonatas, cantatas, etc.