Hasse, Johann Adolph

(yō´hän ä´dôlf häs´ə), 1699–1783, German composer; pupil of Alessandro Scarlatti. Hasse was court composer at Dresden (1731–63). He wrote masses, oratorios and cantatas, sonatas, and concertos but was known chiefly for over 60 operas, written in a thoroughly Italianized style. They include Artaserse (first version, 1730), which was written for his wife, Faustina Bordoni Hasse, 1700–1781, one of the most celebrated singers of the period.