Giovanni Francesco Busenello

Giovanni Francesco Busenello (24 September 1598 – 27 October 1659) was a Venetian lawyer, librettist and poet of the 17th century.

Biography Born to an upper-class family of Venice, he is believed to have studied at the University of Padua, where according to himself he was taught by Paolo Sarpi and Cesare Cremonino. He began to practice law in 1623, and is thought to have been highly successful in his chosen profession. He was a member of several literary academies, notably the Umoristi, the Imperfetti, and the Accademia degli Incogniti: the last of these was to dominate the literary aspect of Venetian opera for many years. Busenello's verse output was prolific, and included several poems addressed to singers. His poetry was greatly influenced by Giambattista Marino. He died at Legnaro, near Padua. and "the true mastery of the epic libretto."

Busenello also wrote a sixth libretto that he did not publish in his 1656 collected works, La Discesa di Enea all'Inferno (1640), identified by Arthur Livingston, the leading scholar on Busenello.