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2 unusual facts about Concerto delle donne


Concerto delle donne

The singers of the second era of the concerto delle donne were officially ladies-in-waiting of Duchess Margherita Gonzaga d'Este, but were hired primarily as singers.

Giulio Cesare Brancaccio

The first record of Brancaccio being at the court of Alfonso d'Este II in Ferrara is in 1577, singing with the ladies of the first period of the Concerto delle donne, the amateurs Lucrezia Bendidio, Leonora Sanvitale, and Vittoria Bentivoglio.


Isabella Bendidio

Isabella Bendidio (Marchesa Bentivoglio) (13 September 1546 – after 1610) was a Ferrarese noblewoman who, along with her sister Lucrezia Bendidio, sang in the first incarnation of the concerto delle donne as part of the court's musica secreta.

Laura Peverara

Alfred Einstein identified Laura as a member of the renowned musica secreta ensemble il Concerto delle donne in Ferrara.


see also

Lucrezia Bendidio

Another sister, Taddea, married Giovanni Battista Guarini; their daughter Anna Guarini was a singer in the concerto delle donne during the second period.