Calisto Bassi (beginning of the 19th century, in Cremona – c. 1860, in

Abbiategrasso Abbiategrasso, formerly written Abbiate Grasso. (local lmo, Biegrass ; lmo, label= Milanese, Biaa ), is a ''comune'' and town in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy, situated in the Po valley approximately from Milan and ...

) was an Italian opera

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

. Bassi wrote many original librettos and was also active as translator into Italian of several librettos from other languages. For many years he was also stage director at La Scala in Milan.

Original librettos

Translations

This is a partial list of librettos translated into Italian by Bassi. Location and date refer to the first performance of the translated version. * ''L'assedio di Corinto'' (from ''

Le siège de Corinthe ''Le siège de Corinthe'' (English: ''The Siege of Corinth'') is an opera in three acts by Gioachino Rossini set to a French libretto by Luigi Balocchi and Alexandre Soumet, which was based on the reworking of some of the music from the composer ...

''), music by

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...

(Parma, Teatro Ducale, 31 January 1828) * ''Guglielmo Tell'' (from ''

Guillaume Tell ''William Tell'' (french: Guillaume Tell, link=no; it, Guglielmo Tell, link=no) is a French-language opera in four acts by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Victor-Joseph Étienne de Jouy and L. F. Bis, based on Friedrich Sc ...

''), music by Gioachino Rossini (Lucca,

Teatro del Giglio The Teatro del Giglio (Theater of the Giglio) is the historic city theater and opera house located in Piazza del Giglio #13 and #15 in the center of Lucca, region of Tuscany, Italy. History The prior Teatro Pubblico (Public Theater), inaugurated i ...

, 17 September 1831) * ''La muta di Portici'' (from ''

La muette de Portici ''La muette de Portici'' (''The Mute Girl of Portici'', or ''The Dumb Girl of Portici''), also called ''Masaniello'' () in some versions, is an opera in five acts by Daniel Auber, with a libretto by Germain Delavigne, revised by Eugène Scr ...

''), music by

Daniel Auber Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (; 29 January 178212 May 1871) was a French composer and director of the Paris Conservatoire. Born into an artistic family, Auber was at first an amateur composer before he took up writing operas professionally when ...

(Rome,

Teatro Valle Teatro may refer to: * Theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific p ...

, Spring 1835) * ''Roberto il Diavolo'' (from ''

Robert le diable ''Robert le diable'' (''Robert the Devil'') is an opera in five acts composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer between 1827 and 1831, to a libretto written by Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne. ''Robert le diable'' is regarded as one of the first grand o ...

''), music by Giacomo Meyerbeer (Lisbon, 2 September 1838) * ''Il Postiglione di Longjumeau'' (from ''

Le postillon de Lonjumeau ''Le postillon de Lonjumeau'' (''The Postillion of Lonjumeau'') is an opéra-comique in three acts by Adolphe Adam to a French libretto by Adolphe de Leuven and Léon Lévy Brunswick. The opera has become the most successful of Adam's works, ...

'' for

Adolphe Adam Adolphe Charles Adam (; 24 July 1803 – 3 May 1856) was a French composer, teacher and music critic. A prolific composer for the theatre, he is best known today for his ballets ''Giselle'' (1841) and '' Le corsaire'' (1856), his operas '' Le po ...

) ** music by Pietro Antonio Coppola (Milan, Teatro alla Scala, 6 November 1838) ** music by A. A. Speranza (Turin, Teatro Sutera, Spring 1845) * ''La figlia del reggimento'' (from ''

La fille du régiment ' (''The Daughter of the Regiment'') is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti, set to a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard. It was first performed on 11 February 1840 by the Paris Opéra ...

''), music by Gaetano Donizetti (Milan, Teatro alla Scala, 30 October 1840) * ''La Favorita'' (from ''

La favorite ''La favorite'' (''The Favourite'', sometimes referred to by its Italian title: ''La favorita'') is a grand opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play ''Le com ...

''), music by Gaetano Donizetti (Milan, Teatro alla Scala, 6 August 1843) * ''I Martiri'' (from ''

Les martyrs ''Les martyrs'' (''The Martyrs'') is a four-act grand opera by Gaetano Donizetti set to a French libretto by Eugène Scribe. The libretto was based on one written by Salvadore Cammarano for an original Italian version known as '' Poliuto'', whic ...

'', adaptation of

Poliuto ''Poliuto'' is a three-act ''tragedia lirica'' (or tragic opera) by Gaetano Donizetti from the Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, which was based on Pierre Corneille's play ''Polyeucte'' written in 1641–42. It reflected the life of the e ...

), music by Gaetano Donizetti (Lisbon, 15 February 1843) * ''Roberto Bruce'' (from ''

Robert Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventuall ...

''), music by Gioachino Rossini (1847) * ''L'anima in pena'' (from ''L'âme en peine''), music by

Friedrich von Flotow Friedrich Adolf Ferdinand, Freiherr von Flotow /flo:to/ (27 April 1812 – 24 January 1883) was a German composer. He is chiefly remembered for his opera ''Martha'', which was popular in the 19th century and the early part of the 20th. Life ...

(1847) * ''Mosè'' (from '' Moïse et Pharaon''), music by Gioachino Rossini (Naples, Teatro San Carlo, 1849) * ''Gerusalemme'' (from ''

Jérusalem ''Jérusalem'' is a grand opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was to be an adaptation and partial translation of the composer's original 1843 Italian opera, ''I Lombardi alla prima crociata''. It was the one opera which he regarded ...

''), music by Giuseppe Verdi (Milan, Teatro alla Scala, 26 December 1850) * ''I Guelfi ed i Ghibellini'' (from ''

Les Huguenots () is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, it premiered in Paris on 29 February 1836. Composition history ...

'') (Trieste, Teatro Grande, Carnival 1851) * ''Il Profeta'' (from ''

Le prophète ''Le prophète'' (''The Prophet'') is a grand opera in five acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer, which was premiered in Paris on 16 April 1849. The French-language libretto was by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, after passages from the ''Essay on the ...

''), music by Giacomo Meyerbeer (Florence,

Teatro della Pergola The Teatro della Pergola is an historic opera house in Florence, Italy. It is located in the centre of the city on the Via della Pergola, from which the theatre takes its name. It was built in 1656 under the patronage of Cardinal Gian Carlo de' Med ...

, 26 December 1852) * '' Alessandro Stradella'', music by Friedrich von Flotow (Genua, Teatro Carlo Felice, Autumn 1863)

Sources

* *

External links

* 19th-century births Year of birth unknown 1860 deaths Italian opera librettists Writers from Cremona Italian translators 19th-century translators Italian male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Italian male writers {{Italy-writer-stub