Tommaso Traetta

Tommaso Traetta (born March 30, 1727, Bitonto, Naples—died April 6, 1779, Venice) was a composer who, with Niccolò Jommelli, was a precursor of Gluck in the 18th-century movement for operatic reform. He studied in Naples and from 1758 to 1765 was music master to Don Felipe, duke of Parma and infante of Spain. He was director of the Conservatorio dell’Ospedaletto, Venice (1765–68) and music director to Catherine the Great of Russia (1768–75).

Traetta, although he did not break completely with the conventional operatic style, sought to reduce its artificiality. He abandoned the traditional sharp distinction between recitative and aria; his recitatives are often orchestrally accompanied and of great emotional power, and his arias frequently advance the dramatic action instead of interrupting it. His harmonies are richer, and his orchestra plays a more prominent musical role than had been common. Like Gluck, he brought the chorus more directly into the action and often included ballet sequences. Widely respected by his contemporaries, he wrote 48 operas, notably Ifigenia in Tauride (1763) and Sofonisba (1762). He also wrote a Stabat Mater and an oratorio, Salomone (1768).