(Sa-va’-re-o Mâr-ka-dan’-ta) 1795–1870 Italian composer Mercadante was one of the greatest opera composers contemporary with Donizetti, Bellini and Verdi, although his works are now rarely performed. He studied composition with Zingarelli and wrote his first opera in 1819. His first major success was with Elisa e Claudio (1821), which established his European reputation. Il giuramento (‘The Oath’, 1837), one of ...
A conically bored baritone instrument, the serpent is supposed to have been invented by Edmé Guillaume in 1590. Like its close relative, the cornett, it is sounded by buzzing the lips into an ivory-, horn- or metal-cup mouthpiece which, in turn, agitates the air column. Its 213-cm (84-in) length is undulating in appearance, giving it ...
(Fa’-leks Men’-del-son) 1809–47 German composer Mendelssohn was born into a cultured banking family, who in 1816 converted from Judaism to Christianity, adding ‘Bartholdy’ to their name. Felix studied the piano, theory and composition, and showed early talent, writing his first piece at the age of 11. There were also important non-musical inspirations for his composing at this ...
1810–76, Italian Although Francesco Maria Piave’s fame rests on his libretti written for Verdi, he produced texts for several other composers of the Romantic era. These included Michael Balfe, Antonio Cagnoni (1828–96), Saverio Mercadante (1795–1870) and Giovanni Pacini (1796–1867): Piave supplied Pacini with the libretto for his Lorenzino de’ Medici (1845), which was first performed in Venice. By ...
1759–1805, German Friedrich von Schiller, the great German poet, playwright and historian, trained for the Church, the army, the law and military medicine before he finally found his niche. It happened when, at his own expense, Schiller published his revolutionary drama Die Raüber (‘The Robbers’, 1781). When the play was staged in Mannheim ...
Developing instrumental technologies and increased expressive demands ensured that the orchestra grew in both size and variety during the nineteenth century. Italian opera, perhaps unexpectedly, given its devotion to the beauty of the voice, showed considerable imagination with composers such as Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791–1864) and Saverio Mercadante (1795–1870) making use of saxhorns, bass clarinets and the viola ...
1858–1924, Italian Puccini’s unerring instinct for strong melody and evocative harmony, coupled with his ability to bring to life passionate and sensual relationships, has made him one the most popular of opera composers. Puccini brought Italian opera into the twentieth century, synthesizing music and drama in a symphonic idiom, but retaining the voice as the focal ...
1794–1858, Italian The Italian bass Luigi Lablache enjoyed a career lasting over 40 years. He possessed a magnificent, sonorous voice with a wide range, impressive stage presence and the ability to sing both comic and tragic roles, many of which he created. His repertoire was vast and included Figaro in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, King ...
The early Romantic era was a period that saw a move in all the arts towards greater expression and a loosening of structures and forms. In music this meant an expanding and freeing up of existing classical forms such as the symphony, and the development of newly expressive genres such as the symphonic poem. Opera took on bigger, more ...
Through a long history of tradition, the language of opera is Italian. The early history of the art-form is rooted in the language – Mozart’s greatest operas are set to Italian librettos – and the wealth of Italian opera composers in the early nineteenth century (Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Cherubini, Spontini, Mercadante) is testimony to the ...
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