Melchiorra Brigida Scarlatti

Melchiorra Brigida Scarlatti was born in Palermo in 1663 and died in Naples in December 1736. She was the sister of the composer Alessandro Scarlatti, and her biography is known above all through her family ties and the episodes that surrounded her.

She travelled to Rome in June 1672. It is not known for certain whether she was involved in the scandals in Rome and Naples attributed to her, nor can she be securely identified with the "Scarlati" who was the mistress of Giovanni de Leone, secretary of justice to the viceroy, through whose influence Alessandro was appointed master of the royal chapel in February 1684. There is no record that she was a professional singer.

In 1688 she married Nicola Pagano, double bass player in the royal chapel. In May 1708 her husband leased the Teatro dei Fiorentini for six years, but the venture failed and in 1709 its backers replaced him with another impresario.