Giovanni Antonio Boretti (around 1640 in Rome - December 17, 1672 in Venice) was an Italian opera singer.
He was a bass and composer who is mainly known for his eight operas.
In regards to Boretti is essentially only known what is mentioned in the prefaces to the libretti of his operas.
His Roman origins are known. It is possible that Guid'Antonio Boretti was from Gubbio,
active in Rome from 1619 to 1646. His father is mentioned as singer of the opera La maga fulminata (Venice 1638).
It is certain that he was a singer by the introductions of the opera ''Le fortune di Rodope e Damira'' (Pietro Andrea Ziani,
Turin 1662) and his own work ''Alessandro Amante'' (1667).
He is said to have sung at the ''Basilica of Sant' Antonio'' in Padua from 1659 to 1661.
His first opera - ''La Zenobia'' (1666) was also the first of the librettist Matteo Noris.
It was about Septimia Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra who lived during the third century.
The premiere took place at the ''Teatro San Cassiano'' where comedies were usually performed from 1659.
The work is dedicated to Filippo Giuliano Mazarin Mancini. The libretto tells us
that Boretti appeared in the role of Satrapenkönig (Satrap's King) and that the scenery was painted by Francesco Santurini (1627-1682).
For the Venetian carnival season 1667/68 at the ''Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo'',
the opera ''Eliogabalo'' by Francesco Cavalli was announced as a drama about the Roman Emperor Elagabal.
However, the premiere was cancelled at short notice. Instead Boretti's ''Eliogabalo'' was performed with a new libretto by Aurelio Aureli. While with Cavalli the greedy and
the indulgent emperor is murdered in the end, he survives in Boretti's composure and repents of his sins.
The Cavalli version was premiered in Crema in 1999 and then in Brussels, Innsbruck,
Paris, Amsterdam and elsewhere. Boretti's opera on the other hand has up to now been forgotten.
From April 3, 1672, Boretti was engaged as assistant chapel conductor (Kapellmeister) at the court of Parma.
He died in Venice in December of the same year while preparing his last operas.
''Domitiano and Claudio Cesare'' premiered ten days after his death.
Posthumously, his opera ''Eliogabalo'' was also performed in his native Rome,
on January 4, 1673, at the ''Teatro Tordinona''. This work was shown again in Venice in 1687
but under a different title.
Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Antonio_Boretti

Note: Translated from the German version of Wikipedia into English