Adriana Basile
Born: c. 1580 Posillipo
Died: c. 1640 Rome
BIOGRAPHY SOURCES
Italian virtuoso singer, composer and instrumentalist, Adriana Basile, was born into an artistic and musical family. Her siblings included brothers, Giovanni Battista, a poet, and Lelio, a composer; her sisters Margherita and Vittoria were both singers. Basile eventually married a nobleman, Mutino Baroni, and had three children: Camillo, Leonora (also a singer & composer), and Caterina.
Basile began performing for the Mantuan court in 1610 with members of her family where she was paid a considerable salary. She also performed in Alessandro Guarini’s Licori, ovvero L’incanto d’amore in Mantua in 1621. Basile traveled to Florence, Naples, Rome and Modena between 1618-1620 and Venice in 1623. Her Manutan service expired in 1626 and she spent the rest of her life in Naples and Rome, where she continued performing.
Monteverdi noted that Basile was more gifted than famous Medici singer, Francesa Caccini, with whom she sometimes sang. He also suggested that she and her sisters write their own music for a dramatic piece they all planned to sing in.
Compositionally, it is known that Basile sent a canzonetta to Isabella of Savoy in 1620. She also likely improvised her writing based upon poetry, which she did in competition with Francesca Caccini. None of her music survives today.