Francesco Araia (b Naples, 25 June 1709; d ? c1770) was an Italian composer. By the time he was 25 he had had operas given at the main Italian centres. In 1735-40 he was maestro di cappella to Empress Anne of Russia at St Petersburg; during a second spell there (1742-59), under Empress Elizabeth, he wrote heroic operas. His Cephalus and Procris (1755) is the first opera known to have been sung in Russian. In 1759 he retired to Italy, though he returned to his post during the brief reign of Peter III (1762).
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