Giacomo Roppa
Encyclopedia
Giacomo Roppa was an Italian opera
tic tenor
who was active career in Italy's most important opera houses from the 1830s through the 1850s. He also made appearances at the Liceu
in Spain. He is best remembered for creating the role of Jacopo Foscari in the world premiere of Giuseppe Verdi
's I due Foscari
in 1844.
's La straniera
. In 1834 he made his debut at La Fenice
in Venice as Albino in Gaetano Donizetti
's Fausta
. He was also heard at that house as Aladino in the world premiere of Saverio Mercadante
's Emma d'Antiochia on 8 March 1834. In the Fall of 1834 he appeared at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna
as Albino, Flavio in Bellini's Norma
, Geroldo in Francesco Morlacchi
's Tebaldo e Isolina, and Hervey in Gaetano Donizetti
's Anna Bolena
.
In 1835 Roppa appeared at the Teatro Regio di Torino as Guido in Pietro Antonio Coppola
's Gli Illinesi. He was committed there through 1837, singing such roles as Alamiro in Donizetti's Belisario
, Don Pedro in Giuseppe Persiani
's Inês de Castro, Edgardo in Donizaetti's Lucia di Lammermoor
, and Lorenzo in Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi
He made his debut at La Scala
in 1838 as Alphonse in Daniel Auber
's La muette de Portici
, remaining there through 1839. In 1841 he appeared at the opera house
in Livorno as Gennaro in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia
. He returned to Bologna in 1842 where he sang Faone in Giovanni Pacini
's Saffò
and Olnezero in Pietro Torrigiani's La sibilla. In 1843 he returned to Livorno to portray Icilio in Alessandro Nini
's Virginia and Vivaldi in Fabio Campana
's Vannina d'Ornano.
In 1844 Roppa created the role of Jacopo Foscari in the world premiere of Giuseppe Verdi
's I due Foscari
at the Teatro Argentina
in Rome. He was committed to La Fenice again in 1844-1845 where he was heard as Pollione in Bellini's Norma
and the title role Giacomo Meyerbeer
's Robert le diable
. From 1846-1848 he was committed to the Teatro Regio di Parma
where he had a particular triumph as Curiazo in Mercadante's Orazi e Curiazi
and was admired as Jacopo Foscari. From 1848-1851 he was committed to the Liceu
in Barcelona where he was heard in more than 30 opera roles, including Gennaro, Jacopo Foscari, Tamas in Gemma di Vergy
, and the title role in Dom Sébastien
. Some of his last appearances were at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna in 1856 as Carlo in Verdi's I masnadieri
, Matteo Borsa in Verdi's Rigoletto
, and Rodolfo in Luisa Miller
.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
who was active career in Italy's most important opera houses from the 1830s through the 1850s. He also made appearances at the Liceu
Liceu
The Gran Teatre del Liceu , or simply Liceu in Catalan and Liceo in Spanish, is an opera house on La Rambla in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain...
in Spain. He is best remembered for creating the role of Jacopo Foscari in the world premiere of Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's I due Foscari
I due Foscari
I due Foscari is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on a historical play, The Two Foscari by Lord Byron....
in 1844.
Career
In 1832 Roppa portrayed the role of Guelfo in the world premiere of Giuseppe Fournier-Gorre's Francesca da Rimini at the Regio Teatro degli Avvalorati di Livorno. He also appeared at that theatre that year as Osburgo in Vincenzo BelliniVincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...
's La straniera
La straniera
La straniera is an opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini, from a libretto by Felice Romani, based on L'étrangère by Charles-Victor Prévot, vicomte d'Arlincourt...
. In 1834 he made his debut at La Fenice
La Fenice
Teatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of the most famous theatres in Europe, the site of many famous operatic premieres. Its name reflects its role in permitting an opera company to "rise from the ashes" despite losing the use of two theatres...
in Venice as Albino in Gaetano Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
's Fausta
Fausta (opera)
Fausta is a melodramma, or opera, in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was by Domenico Gilardoni, who died while writing it: the remainder was written by Donizetti. The opera debuted on 12 January 1832 at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples, and was written with prima donna Giuseppina...
. He was also heard at that house as Aladino in the world premiere of Saverio Mercadante
Saverio Mercadante
Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While Mercadante may not have retained the international celebrity of Gaetano Donizetti or Gioachino Rossini beyond his own lifetime, he composed as impressive a number of works as either; and his development of...
's Emma d'Antiochia on 8 March 1834. In the Fall of 1834 he appeared at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna
Teatro Comunale di Bologna
The Teatro Comunale di Bologna is an opera house in Bologna, Italy, and is one of the most important opera venues in Italy. Typically, it presents eight operas with six performances during its November to April season....
as Albino, Flavio in Bellini's Norma
Norma (opera)
Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L'infanticidio by Alexandre Soumet. First produced at La Scala on December 26, 1831, it is generally regarded as an example of the supreme height of the bel canto tradition...
, Geroldo in Francesco Morlacchi
Francesco Morlacchi
Francesco Morlacchi was an Italian composer of more than twenty operas. During the many years he spent as the royal Royal Kapellmeister in Dresden, he was instrumental in popularizing the Italian style of opera.-Biography:...
's Tebaldo e Isolina, and Hervey in Gaetano Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
's Anna Bolena
Anna Bolena
Anna Bolena is a tragedia lirica, or opera, in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto after Ippolito Pindemonte's Enrico VIII ossia Anna Bolena and Alessandro Pepoli's Anna Bolena, both telling of the life of Anne Boleyn...
.
In 1835 Roppa appeared at the Teatro Regio di Torino as Guido in Pietro Antonio Coppola
Pietro Antonio Coppola
Pietro Antonio Coppola was an Italian composer and conductor. Born in Enna, he was trained by his father and at the Naples Conservatory. He is chiefly known for his many operas, of which his most famous, Nina pazza per amore, premiered at the Teatro Valle in Rome in February 1835...
's Gli Illinesi. He was committed there through 1837, singing such roles as Alamiro in Donizetti's Belisario
Belisario
Belisario is a tragedia lirica, or opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian libretto after Luigi Marchionni's adaptation of Eduard von Schenk's play. The plot is loosely based on the life of the famous general Belisarius of the 6th century Byzantine Empire...
, Don Pedro in Giuseppe Persiani
Giuseppe Persiani
Giuseppe Persiani was an Italian opera composer. He wrote his first opera - one of 11 - in 1826 but, after his marriage the soprano Fanny Tacchinardi Persiani, who was to become a significant singer in her time, he devoted much of his efforts to supporting her career...
's Inês de Castro, Edgardo in Donizaetti's Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
, and Lorenzo in Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi
I Capuleti e i Montecchi
I Capuleti e i Montecchi is an Italian opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini.The libretto by Felice Romani was a reworking of the story of Romeo and Juliet for an opera by Nicola Vaccai called Giulietta e Romeo. This was based on Italian sources rather than taken directly from Shakespeare...
He made his debut at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
in 1838 as Alphonse in Daniel Auber
Daniel Auber
Daniel François Esprit Auber was a French composer.-Biography:The son of a Paris print-seller, Auber was born in Caen in Normandy. Though his father expected him to continue in the print-selling business, he also allowed his son to learn how to play several musical instruments...
's La muette de Portici
La muette de Portici
La muette de Portici originally called Masaniello, ou La muette de Portici, is an opera in five acts by Daniel Auber, with a libretto by Germain Delavigne, revised by Eugène Scribe...
, remaining there through 1839. In 1841 he appeared at the opera house
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
in Livorno as Gennaro in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia
Lucrezia Borgia (opera)
Lucrezia Borgia is a melodramma, or opera, in a prologue and two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto after the play by Victor Hugo, in its turn after the legend of Lucrezia Borgia. Lucrezia Borgia was first performed on 26 December 1833 at La Scala, Milan with...
. He returned to Bologna in 1842 where he sang Faone in Giovanni Pacini
Giovanni Pacini
Giovanni Pacini was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Pacini was born in Catania, Sicily, the son of the buffo Luigi Pacini, who was to appear in the premieres of many of Giovanni's operas...
's Saffò
Saffò
Saffò is an opera in three acts by Giovanni Pacini on a libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on a play by Franz Grillparzer, after the legend of the ancient Greek poetess Sappho.-Performance history:...
and Olnezero in Pietro Torrigiani's La sibilla. In 1843 he returned to Livorno to portray Icilio in Alessandro Nini
Alessandro Nini
Alessandro Nini was an Italian composer of operas and church music, also chamber music and symphonies. Of the eight operas he composed, La marescialla d'Ancre is considered his best work. He also contributed to a portion of Messa per Rossini. Specifically the fifth section of II...
's Virginia and Vivaldi in Fabio Campana
Fabio Campana
Fabio Campana was an Italian composer, opera director, conductor, and singing teacher who composed eight operas which premiered between 1838 and 1869. He was born in Livorno, the city where his first two operas premiered, but in the early 1850s he settled in London...
's Vannina d'Ornano.
In 1844 Roppa created the role of Jacopo Foscari in the world premiere of Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's I due Foscari
I due Foscari
I due Foscari is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on a historical play, The Two Foscari by Lord Byron....
at the Teatro Argentina
Teatro Argentina
The Teatro Argentina is an opera house and theatre located in the Largo di Torre Argentina, a square in Rome, Italy. It is one of the oldest theatres in Rome, and was inaugurated on January 31, 1732 with Berenice by Domenico Sarro....
in Rome. He was committed to La Fenice again in 1844-1845 where he was heard as Pollione in Bellini's Norma
Norma (opera)
Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L'infanticidio by Alexandre Soumet. First produced at La Scala on December 26, 1831, it is generally regarded as an example of the supreme height of the bel canto tradition...
and the title role Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer was a noted German opera composer, and the first great exponent of "grand opera." At his peak in the 1830s and 1840s, he was the most famous and successful composer of opera in Europe, yet he is rarely performed today.-Early years:He was born to a Jewish family in Tasdorf , near...
's Robert le diable
Robert le diable (opera)
Robert le diable is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer, often regarded as the first grand opera. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and Casimir Delavigne and has little connection to the medieval legend of Robert the Devil. Originally planned as a three-act opéra comique, "Meyerbeer persuaded...
. From 1846-1848 he was committed to the Teatro Regio di Parma
Teatro Regio di Parma
Teatro Regio di Parma is a famous 19th century opera house and opera company in Parma, Italy. The theatre was originally known as the Teatro Ducale....
where he had a particular triumph as Curiazo in Mercadante's Orazi e Curiazi
Orazi e Curiazi
Orazi e Curiazi is an opera by the Italian composer Saverio Mercadante. It takes the form of a tragedia lirica in three acts. The libretto, by Salvadore Cammarano is based on the Roman legend of the fight between the Horatii and the Curiatii...
and was admired as Jacopo Foscari. From 1848-1851 he was committed to the Liceu
Liceu
The Gran Teatre del Liceu , or simply Liceu in Catalan and Liceo in Spanish, is an opera house on La Rambla in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain...
in Barcelona where he was heard in more than 30 opera roles, including Gennaro, Jacopo Foscari, Tamas in Gemma di Vergy
Gemma di Vergy
Gemma de Vergy is a tragedia lirica or tragic opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti from a libretto by Emanuele Bidéra. It is based on the tragedy Charles VII chez ses grands vassaux by Alexandre Dumas père, which was later to become the subject of the opera The Saracen by the Russian composer...
, and the title role in Dom Sébastien
Dom Sébastien
Dom Sébastien, Roi de Portugal is a French grand opera in five acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe, based on Paul Foucher's play Don Sébastien de Portugal , a historic-fiction about King Sebastian of Portugal and his ill-fated 1578 expedition to Morocco...
. Some of his last appearances were at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna in 1856 as Carlo in Verdi's I masnadieri
I masnadieri
I masnadieri is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Andrea Maffei, based on Die Räuber by Friedrich von Schiller....
, Matteo Borsa in Verdi's Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
, and Rodolfo in Luisa Miller
Luisa Miller
Luisa Miller is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play Kabale und Liebe by Friedrich von Schiller. The first performance was given at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on December 8, 1849...
.