Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano (28 August 186712 November 1948) was an Italian composer, mainly of

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

s. He was born in

Foggia Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known ...

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

, southern Italy, and studied under Paolo Serrao at the Conservatoire of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. His first opera, ''Marina'', was written for a competition promoted by the music publishers Casa Sonzogno for the best one-act opera, remembered today because it marked the beginning of Italian ''

verismo In opera, ''verismo'' (, from , meaning "true") was a post-Romantic operatic tradition associated with Italian composers such as Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano, Francesco Cilea and Giacomo Puccini. ''Verismo'' as an ...

''. The winner was Mascagni's ''

Cavalleria rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; Italian for "rustic chivalry") is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 short story of the same name and subsequent play b ...

''. Giordano, the youngest contestant, was placed sixth among seventy-three entries with his ''Marina'', a work which generated enough interest for Sonzogno to commission the staging of an opera based on it in the 1891–92 season. The result was ''

Mala vita ''Mala vita'' (Wretched Life) is an opera in three acts composed by Umberto Giordano to a libretto by Nicola Daspuro adapted from Salvatore Di Giacomo and Goffredo Cognetti's verismo play of the same name. Giordano's first full-length opera, ' ...

'', a gritty ''verismo'' opera about a labourer who vows to reform a prostitute if he is cured of his tuberculosis. This work caused something of a scandal when performed at the

Teatro Argentina The Teatro Argentina (directly translating to "Theatre Argentina") is an opera house and Theater (structure), theatre located in Largo di Torre Argentina, a square in Rome, Italy. One of the oldest theatres in Rome, it was constructed in 1731 an ...

, Rome, in February 1892. It played successfully in Vienna, Prague and Berlin and was re-written as '' Il Voto'' a few years later, in an attempt to raise interest in the work again. Giordano tried a more romantic topic with his next opera, ''

Regina Diaz ''Regina Diaz'' is an opera in two acts composed by Umberto Giordano to a libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci. It premiered on 5 March 1894 at the Teatro Mercadante in Naples. The libretto is based on Lockroy's and Edmond Bado ...

'', with a

libretto 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 theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti (17 March 186330 May 1934) was an Italian librettist. Biography He was best known for his friendship and collaboration with the composer Pietro Mascagni. Most of his libretti were written in collaboration with Guido M ...

and

Guido Menasci Guido Menasci (24 March 1867 – 27 December 1925) was an Italian opera librettist. His best-known work is ''Cavalleria rusticana'' written with Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti. He also provided the libretti for Mascagni's'' I Rantzau'', ''Zanetto' ...

(1894), but this was a failure, taken off the stage after just two performances. Umberto Giordano, Italian composer

Giordano then moved to

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and returned to ''verismo'' with his best-known work, ''

Andrea Chénier ''Andrea Chénier'' () is a verismo opera in four acts by Umberto Giordano, set to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica, and first performed on 28 March 1896 at La Scala, Milan. The story is based loosely on the life of the French poet Andr ...

'' (1896), based on the life of the French poet

André Chénier André Marie Chénier (; 30 October 176225 July 1794) was a French poet of Greek and Franco-Levantine origin, associated with the events of the French Revolution of which he was a victim. His sensual, emotive poetry marks him as one of the precur ...

. ''

Fedora A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). ''A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern''. R. M. McBride Company. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides ...

'' (1898), based on

Victorien Sardou Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 18318 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-centur ...

's play, featured the rising young tenor

Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyrical tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles (74) ...

. It was also a success and is still performed today. His later works are much less known, but occasionally revived and in the case of ''

La cena delle beffe ''La cena delle beffe'' (''The Jesters' Supper'') is an opera in four acts composed by Umberto Giordano to an Italian libretto by Sem Benelli adapted from his 1909 play of the same name. The opera premiered on 20 December 1924 at La Scala. Mil ...

'' (based on the play of the same title by

Sem Benelli Sem Benelli (August 10, 1877 – December 18, 1949) was an Italian playwright, essayist and librettist. He provided the texts for several noted Italian operas, including Italo Montemezzi's ''L'amore dei tre re'' and ''L'incantesimo'', and Umbert ...

) recognised by musicologists and critics with some respect. He died in Milan at the age of 81. The most important theater in his home town of Foggia has been dedicated to Umberto Giordano. A square in Foggia is also named after him and contains several statues representing his most famous works.

Operas

* ''Marina'' (1888) * ''

'' (21 February 1892, Teatro Argentina, Rome) * ''

'' (5 March 1894, Teatro Mercadante, Naples) * ''

'' (28 March 1896,

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

, Milan) * ''

'' (17 November 1898, Teatro Lirico, Milan) * ''Il Voto'' (revision of ''Mala Vita'') (6 September 1902,

Teatro Bellini, Naples Teatro Bellini is a private theatre and opera located in the centre of Naples, across the street from the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples on Via Conte di Ruvo. The house is named after the Sicilian-born composer Vincenzo Bellini, who is best know ...

) * ''

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

'' (19 December 1903, Teatro alla Scala, Milan, rev. 1927) * ''

Marcella Marcella is a Roman cognomen and Italian given name, the feminine version of Marcello (Mark in English). Marcella means warlike, martial, and strong. It could also mean 'young warrior'. The origin of the name Marcella is Latin. Marcella may refer ...

'' (9 November 1907, Teatro Lirico, Milan) * ''

Mese mariano ''Mese mariano'' (''May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mary's Month'') is an opera in one act by Umberto Giordano. Its Italian libretto by Salvatore Di Giacomo was adapted from his play O Mese Mariano'', which was in turn adapted from his no ...

'' (17 March 1910,

Teatro Massimo The Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele is an opera house and opera company located on the Piazza Verdi in Palermo, Sicily. It was dedicated to King Victor Emanuel II. It is the biggest in Italy, and one of the largest of Europe (at the time of its i ...

, Palermo) * '' Madame Sans-Gêne'' (25 January 1915,

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

, New York) * ''Giove a Pompei'' (6 July 1921, Teatro La Pariola, Rome) * ''

'' (20 December 1924, Teatro alla Scala, Milan) * ''

Il re ''Il re'' (''The king'') is a novella or opera in one act and three scenes by composer Umberto Giordano to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. The opera premiered at La Scala in Milan on 12 January 1929.Julian Budden: "Il re", ''Grove Music ...

'' (12 January 1929, Teatro alla Scala, Milan) * ''La festa del Nilo'' (incomplete)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giordano, Umberto 1867 births 1948 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century Italian male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century Italian composers 20th-century Italian male musicians Italian classical composers Italian male classical composers Italian opera composers Italian Romantic composers Male opera composers Members of the Royal Academy of Italy People from Foggia Pupils of Paolo Serrao