Antonio Vivaldi learned the craft of music from his father, a violinist in a church orchestra in Venice, Italy. As a child, Vivaldi served in church orchestras and eventually studied for a priest. He was ordained as a priest in 1703, at the age of 25, but he never really served the church in a religious capacity. However, he remained active in music, and served the church as a musician. He began composing sonatas for keyboard instruments around 1705; he also played violin in opera orchestras, and developed quite a love for opera, which is why he composed several of them. This was unusual and controversial, because priests were not supposed to compose for non-church related activities. His first opera was performed when he was 35, in 1713.

From 1709 to 1714, Vivaldi got financial backing from an Italian prince in the city of Mantua, and he continued composing operas, as well as keyboard, vocal, and orchestral works. When the prince stopped supporting him, Vivaldi accepted a position as orchestra conductor at St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice, Italy, which was the same church that his father had played violin in. He held that position for 27 years. He was also the director of a musical conservatory in Venice. By the age of 41, another wealthy patron had begun to provide financial support for Vivaldi . For the next several years he composed operas for opera companies throughout Italy, including Rome and Milan, where audiences were usually the most discriminating.

By 1725, his compositions, including his operas, were well known throughout Europe. His music was more popular in Holland, France, and England than in Italy; many Italinas were uncomfortable with an ordained priest composing operas. Actually, in 1734, one of his operas was banned in Italy. Vivaldi traveled throughout Europe in t he late 1730s and the early 1740s. He lived briefly in Holland, where his music was very popular, and altough there were occasional disagreements with the church over his operas, Vivaldi was still the orchestra conductor of St. Mark's. In 1741, he moved to Vienna, Austria, where he hoped to receive an offer as a court musician or composer. However, he received no offers and died in Vienna.

After he died, Vivaldi's music was rarely perfomed until the twentieth century, when musicians and audiences rediscovered it.Vivaldi claimed to have written 94 operas, but musical scholars have found scores for only 50. Antonio Vivaldi was a pleasant man with bright red hair. That is why he was sometimes referred to as "the red priest". During his lifetime, he was known as an opera composer. Today, although his operas are still performed, his orchestral works are the most popular. One of the most famous orchestral works is "The Four Seasons". You can hear "Spring", one of the four seasons on the Visual and Audio page.