Giuseppe Persiani
Encyclopedia
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. He worked in a variety of opera genres including opera buffa
and wrote an oratorio
named Abigaille and featuring the same character as in the popular Verdi opera, Nabucco
. He was noted for his ability to effectively combine music and drama as well as florid decoration.
His best-known opera, Inês de Castro, from a libretto by Salvadore Cammarano (who also wrote the libretto for Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor
the same year), was created in 1835 for the celebrated mezzo-soprano
Maria Malibran
, who sang the role of the 14th century Portuguese queen of the same name. The opera was first presented at La Scala in January 1837 but by that time, Malibran had died. After some revisions to tailor the role for his wife, the opera was presented in Paris in 1839. While the opera was given about 60 productions over a period of 16 years, after 1851 it was rarely, if ever, presented but was revived in the 20th Century in the Italian town of Jesi
to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Persiani's bith.
His birthplace, the town of Recanati, has named an opera house after the composer, the Teatro Persiani.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
opera
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...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. He wrote his first opera - one of 11 - in 1826 but, after his marriage the soprano Fanny Tacchinardi Persiani
Fanny Tacchinardi Persiani
Fanny Tacchinardi Persiani was an Italian soprano particularly associated with bel canto composers, such as Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, and early Verdi...
, who was to become a significant singer in her time, he devoted much of his efforts to supporting her career. He worked in a variety of opera genres including opera buffa
Opera buffa
Opera buffa is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ‘commedia in musica’, ‘commedia per musica’, ‘dramma bernesco’, ‘dramma comico’, ‘divertimento giocoso' etc...
and wrote an oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
named Abigaille and featuring the same character as in the popular Verdi opera, Nabucco
Nabucco
Nabucco is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the Biblical story and the 1836 play by Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and Francis Cornue...
. He was noted for his ability to effectively combine music and drama as well as florid decoration.
His best-known opera, Inês de Castro, from a libretto by Salvadore Cammarano (who also wrote the libretto for Donizetti'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....
the same year), was created in 1835 for the celebrated mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
Maria Malibran
Maria Malibran
The mezzo-soprano Maria Malibran , was one of the most famous opera singers of the 19th century. Malibran was known for her stormy personality and dramatic intensity, becoming a legendary figure after her death at age 28...
, who sang the role of the 14th century Portuguese queen of the same name. The opera was first presented at La Scala in January 1837 but by that time, Malibran had died. After some revisions to tailor the role for his wife, the opera was presented in Paris in 1839. While the opera was given about 60 productions over a period of 16 years, after 1851 it was rarely, if ever, presented but was revived in the 20th Century in the Italian town of Jesi
Jesi
thumb|250px|Teatro Pergolesi.Iesi is a town and comune of the province of Ancona in the Marche, Italy.It is an important industrial and artistic center in the floodplain on the left bank of the Esino river before its mouth on the Adriatic Sea.-History:Iesi was one of the last towns of the Umbri...
to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Persiani's bith.
His birthplace, the town of Recanati, has named an opera house after the composer, the Teatro Persiani.
Works
- Piglia il mondo come viene, opera buffa in two acts (1826, Florence). Libretto by: Angelo Anelli
- L'inimico gerneroso, opera semiseria in two acts (1826, Florence)
- Attila in Aquileia (Simeone Antonio Sografi), opera seria in two acts (1827, Parma). Libretto by: Simeone Antonio Sografi
- Danao re d'Argo, opera seria in two acts (1827, Florence). Libretto by: Felice RomaniFelice RomaniFelice Romani was an Italian poet and scholar of literature and mythology who wrote many librettos for the opera composers Donizetti and Bellini. Romani was considered the finest Italian librettist between Metastasio and Boito.-Biography:Born Giuseppe Felice Romani to a bourgeois family in Genoa,...
- Gastone di Foix (ders.) (1827, Venedig)
- Il solitario (Calisto Bassi), opera seria 2 Akte (1829, Mailand)
- Eufemio di Messina ovvero La distruzione di Catania (Romani), opera seria 2 Akte (1829 Lucca); also known as I saraceni in Catania (1832 Padua) and Il rinnegato (1837, Naples)
- Costantino in Arles (P. Pola), opera seria 3 Akte (1829, Venedig)
- Inês de Castro, tragedia lirica in three acts (28 January 1835, Teatro San Carlo, Naples) Libretto by: Salvadore Cammarano
- Il fantasma (Romani), opera semiseria in three acts (1843, Paris)
- L'orfana savoiarda, opera seria in three acts (1846, Madrid)