Vittoria Bentivoglio was a singer in the 16th century Ferrarese

Ferrara

Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...

 court of Alfonso II d'Este and a member of the first period of the court's concerto delle donne

Concerto delle donne

The concerto delle donne was a group of professional female singers in the late Renaissance court of Ferrara, Italy, renowned for their technical and artistic virtuosity. The ensemble was founded by Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara, in 1580 and was active until the court was dissolved in 1597...

. She was born into the noble Cybò family, and later married a member of the renowned Bentivoglio

Bentivoglio

Bentivoglio was an Italian family of princely rank, long supreme in Bologna and responsible for giving the city its political autonomy during the Renaissance.-History:...

 family. She remained a prominent member of the court even after she stopped singing regularly for the musica secreta

Musica reservata

In music history, musica reservata is either a style or a performance practice in a cappella vocal music of the latter half of the 16th century, mainly in Italy and southern Germany, involving refinement, exclusivity, and intense emotional expression of sung text.The exact meaning, which appears...

. She also danced in the balletto delle donne.