 Johann Joseph Fux (1660 Hirtenfeld/Styria - 1741 Vienna) was undoubtedly the most importan Austrian Baroque composer. It can be taken as a sign of his fame during his lifetime that he was in imperial service starting at the latest in 1698 and then became chapelmaster to Emperor Charles VI in 1715. Fux composed the opera Angelica vincitrice di Alcina for the birth of Prince Leopold 1716 (deceased soon afterwards). The famous stage architect, Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena, designed a set on two islands in a pond in the park of the Favorita Palace for the opera and this affected Fux's instrumentation: there was a stronger brass section in keeping with an open-air performance. The musical example presents the climax of the first act: Alcina orders evil spirits to inhabit Angelica's happy island with monsters. The illustration shows an engraving of the stage scenery used at the time. (E. Stadler)
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