Italian Late Renaissance composer Don Carlo Gesualdo (c. 1560-1613), prince of Venosa and nephew of Cardinal (Saint) Charles Borromeo, is remembered not only for his great compositional skills but also for ordering the murder of his adulterous wife and her lover. Beginning in a rather conservative fashion, his later works were chromatic and sensual, evoking comparisons to Wagner, whom he preceded by over 200 years.
Musica Classica Classical Music Dictionary article includes life, works, and illustration of the composer with his uncle, Cardinal Borromeo, and the cover of one of his madrigals. www.karadar.it/Dictionary/gesualdo.html
Entry at the Lied and Art Songs Text Page with list of vocal works linked to lyrics, including some English translations. www.recmusic.org/lieder/g/gesualdo.html
Biography dealing with his wife's adultery, his killing of her and her lover, a plunge into insanity, and eventual, graphic death from the Classical Composers Database. Includes portrait. www.classical-composers.org/cgi-bin/ccd.cgi?comp=gesualdo
Find A Grave entry with summary of life and works, birth and death information, portrait, picture of church where buried and of the Castle Gesualdo, and interactive memorial. www.findagrave.com/../..
Biography extolling the power of his music and the shame and sorrow of his personal life with bibliography and notes. By Rocco Brancati, reprinted by MusicWeb. www.musicweb.uk.net/gesualdo.htm
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