Cristoforo Ivanovich

Cristoforo Ivanovich (1628–1689) was the first historian of Venetian opera, who also wrote several librettos of his own.

Biography
Ivanovich was born in Budua (Budva), at the time part of Venetian Albania (now southeastern Montenegro). According to his testimony, he descended from an old patrician family who settled in Budva after leaving Cetinje. In 1655 he moved to Verona, where he was a member of the Accademia Filarmonica and of the Accademia dei Temperati. In 1657, he moved to Venice, the city where he remained throughout his life. There he became secretary of Leonardo Pesaro, Procurator of San Marco, and later, in 1676, was appointed canon of St Mark's Basilica. From 1663, he wrote several librettos for operas which were performed in the theatres of Venice, Vienna and Piacenza. He catalogued all opera performances held in Venice from 1637 until 1681 in his treatise Memorie teatrali di Venzia (Theatrical Memories of Venice), published in 1680 as part of the collection Minerva al tavolino. He wrote all his works in Italian and nearly all of his librettos are drammi per musica.

Notable works

 * L'amor guerriero (music by Pietro Andrea Ziani, 1663)
 * La Circe (music by Pietro Andrea Ziani, 1665), music by Domenico Freschi, 1679)
 * Coriolano (music by Francesco Cavalli, 1669)
 * La costanza trionfrante (music by Gian Domenico Partenio, 1673, music by Bernardo Pasquini as Dov'è amore è pietà, 1679)
 * Lisimaco (music by Giovanni Maria Pagliardi, 1673)
 * L'africano trionfo di Pompeo (1678)
 * La felicità regnante (serenata, 1681)
 * – Letters, essays, poetry, incl. Memorie teatrali di Venzia (pp. 361 ff)