Italo Montemezzi (August 4, 1875 – May 15, 1952) was an Italian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

. He is best known for his

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 libr ...

'' L'amore dei tre re'' (''The Love of the Three Kings''), once part of the standard repertoire. It is now seldom performed.

Biography

Montemezzi was born in Vigasio, near

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

. He studied music at the

Milan Conservatory The Milan Conservatory (''Conservatorio di Milano'') is a college of music in Milan, Italy. History The conservatory was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It opened the following year ...

and subsequently taught harmony there for one year. His opera ''L’amore dei tre re'', written in 1913, launched his career and enabled him to devote himself to composition. His opera ''La nave'' had its world premiere in

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 ...

in 1918. In 1919 he visited the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, conducting the American premiere of ''La nave'' at the

Chicago Opera Association The Civic Opera Company (1922–1931) was a Chicago company that produced seven seasons of grand opera in the Auditorium Theatre from 1922 to 1928, and three seasons at its own Civic Opera House from 1929 to 1931 before falling victim to financi ...

on November 18. He lived in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

from 1939 and commemorated Italy's surrender with ''Italia mia'' (1944), but later made frequent trips to Italy. He returned permanently in 1949 and died in Vigasio three years later. Other non-operatic works include the

symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

''Paolo e Virginia'' (after '' Paul et Virginie'') and the cantata ''The Song of Songs''. As a composer, Montemezzi was admired for combining traditional Italian lyricism with a

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

ian approach to the use of the orchestra in opera, with instrumental color influenced by the works of

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...

.the biographer Piergiorgio Rossetti seems to say something to this effect in the un-subtitled Sebastiano Montresor's 2002 documentary (on Youtube)

Operas

*'' Bianca'' 1901 (never performed) *''

Giovanni Gallurese Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

'' (Turin, 1905) *'' Hellera'' (Turin, 1909) *''

San Pantaleone Saint Pantaleon ( el, Παντελεήμων, russian: Пантелеи́мон, translit=Panteleímon; "all-compassionate"), counted in the West among the late-medieval Fourteen Holy Helpers and in the East as one of the Holy Unmercenary Heal ...

'' (Milan, 1910) *'' L'amore dei tre re'' (Milan, 1913; New York, 1914) *'' La nave'' (Milan, 1918
Piano score at Sibley Music Library
*''

La notte di Zoraima LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'' 193
reviewed
in

Time magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Ma ...

*''

L'incantesimo is a short opera in one act by Italian composer Italo Montemezzi. Its libretto was written by playwright Sem Benelli who had previously collaborated with the composer on his most famous opera, ''L'amore dei tre re''. Benelli finished the text in ...

'' 1943 *''

La Principessa Lontana LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'' (incomplete)

References

External links

* 1875 births 1952 deaths Italian classical composers Italian male classical composers Italian opera composers Male opera composers Milan Conservatory alumni People from the Province of Verona Milan Conservatory faculty Italian expatriates in the United States {{Italy-composer-stub