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Italian Baroque composer celebrated for sacred music, operas, and oratorios.Prolific composer active in Venice, Rome, and Vienna; served as Vice-Kapellmeister at the Habsburg imperial court for over 20 years.

• Born illegitimate; his father's financial support enabled early musical training under Giovanni Legrenzi at St. Mark's Basilica in Venice.
• Experienced career instability before Vienna: abruptly dismissed from Mantua after the Gonzaga dynasty collapsed (1707) and faced financial struggles in Rome despite papal patronage.
• Died suddenly weeks after Empress Elisabeth Christine (his primary patron), fueling speculation that grief contributed to his death from heart failure.
• Over 3,400 compositions attributed to him, but approximately 75% remain lost, including many operas performed at Vienna's imperial theater.