Alberto Randegger
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Alberto Randegger (13 April 1832 – 18 December 1911) was an Italian-born composer, conductor and singing teacher, best known for promoting
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
and new works of British music in England during the
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
and for his widely used textbook on singing technique. His compositions included ballets, masses and other church music, operas and numerous other vocal pieces. He also edited several collections of vocal music. He began his composing and conducting career in Italy, where he knew
Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...
, but in 1854 he moved to London, which became his base for the rest of his life. From 1857 he conducted Italian opera at the St. James's Theatre and was professor of singing at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, retaining both posts for the rest of his life. From 1859 to 1870 he was organist at St Paul's Church,
Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...
. Randegger served as musical director of the Carl Rosa Opera Company from 1879 to 1885, gaining a reputation for high quality productions, and helping to revive interest in opera in England. He also became conductor of the Norwich Musical Festival, which he directed until 1905. From 1885 to 1887, he conducted Henry Leslie's Choir. In the 1890s, he conducted at Queen's Hall, the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...
and the Royal Opera House, where he became known for his performances of Wagner, Verdi and
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
operas. His most enduring legacy was a textbook titled ''Singing'', published in 1879.


Life and career


Early years

Randegger was born in
Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
, Italy, the son of a musician mother and schoolteacher father. He studied the piano with Jean Lafont and composition with Luigi Ricci. Randegger's earliest compositions were masses and other pieces of church music and, with two other young pupils of Ricci, he produced two ballets and an opera, ''Il Lazzarone,'' in 1852. In 1854 he composed another opera, ''Bianca Capello'', at
Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...
. During this period, he also served as music director of theatres in
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,
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, Brescia and
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.Grove, George, John Warrack and Rosemary Williamson
"Randegger, Alberto"
''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, 2001. Retrieved 10 September 2020
In 1854 Randegger was engaged to conduct a season of Italian opera in New York and was on his way there when news arrived of a
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
outbreak in the city. Instead, he spent a month in Paris, and on the recommendation of his elder brother he moved on to London, which became his base for the rest of his life. He built up a reputation as a singing teacher, conductor and composer, and from 1857 he conducted Italian opera at the St. James's Theatre. He was simultaneously professor of singing at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, retaining both posts for the rest of his life. From 1859 to 1870 he was organist at St Paul's Church,
Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...
. His singing pupils included sopranos
Evangeline Florence Evangeline Florence (12 December 1867 – 1 November 1928) was an American-born soprano who built a successful concert career in Great Britain. Early life Born as Florence Angeline Houghton in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the daughter of Julia Mari ...
, Alice Barth, Liza Lehmann, Greta Williams and Ellen Beach Yaw; mezzo-soprano Mary Davies; tenors Arthur Byron, William Hayman Cummings, and Ben Davies; baritones
David Bispham David Scull Bispham (January 5, 1857 – October 2, 1921) was an American operatic baritone. Biography Bispham was born on January 5, 1857, in Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalitie ...
, Andrew Black, Charles W. Clark, David Ffrangcon-Davies and Frederick Ranalow; and basses
Darrell Fancourt Darrell Louis Fancourt Leverson (8 March 1886 – 29 August 1953), known as Darrell Fancourt, was an English bass-baritone and actor, known for his performances and recordings of the Savoy operas. After a brief concert career, Fancourt join ...
, Putnam Griswold and Robert Radford. As a composer, in addition to his early works, Randegger wrote a
comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...
, ''The Rival Beauties'' (1864); a musical play with the dramatist
W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...
, '' Creatures of Impulse'' (1871); a dramatic
cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...
, the ''150th Psalm'', for soprano solo, choir, orchestra and organ (1872); ''Fridolin'' (1873), with a libretto by Hermine Küchenmeister-Rudersdorf; two scenas for
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
and orchestra, ''Medea'' (1869) and ''Sappho'' (1875); a funeral anthem, ''An Angel Came Out of the Temple'', in memory of the
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; ''The Prayer of Nature'' (1887); and numerous other vocal pieces. ''
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...
'' observes that Randegger's compositions were distinguished by practical qualities, were always tasteful and externally effective, but had no deep originality, and soon fell into disuse. He edited several collections of vocal music and collaborated with T. J. H. Marzials on the libretto for Arthur Thomas's opera '' Esmeralda'' (1883).


Carl Rosa and later years

Randegger served as musical director of the Carl Rosa Opera Company from 1879 to 1885, helping to revive interest in opera in England. In 1880,
George Grove Sir George Grove (13 August 182028 May 1900) was an English engineer and writer on music, known as the founding editor of ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians''. Grove was trained as a civil engineer, and successful in that profession ...
wrote, "The careful way in which the pieces are put on the stage, the number of rehearsals, the eminence of the performers and the excellence of the performers have begun to bear their legitimate fruit, and the Carl Rosa Opera Company bids fair to become a permanent English institution." On the resignation of Julius Benedict in 1881, Randegger became conductor of the Norwich Musical Festival, which he directed until 1905. There he conducted new works by John Barnett, Frederic Cowen, Edward German, Alexander Mackenzie,
Hubert Parry Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 1848 – 7 October 1918), was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is ...
, Ebenezer Prout,
Charles Villiers Stanford Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was ed ...
and others. At the 1905 Festival he invited 14 British composers to conduct performances of their own works. From 1885 to 1887, he also conducted Henry Leslie's Choir. He conducted the Queen's Hall Choral Society and the first two seasons of symphony concerts at Queen's Hall from 1895 to 1897. Finally, from 1887 to 1898, he conducted at the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...
and the Royal Opera House, where he became known for his performances of Wagner, Verdi and
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
operas. He had known Verdi since 1850, and learned much about his music at first hand."Alberto Randegger"
''The Musical Times'', October 1899, pp. 653–658
In his Mozart performances he removed the spurious orchestral parts added by his Covent Garden predecessors; a small collection of the composer's manuscripts was among his most treasured possessions. Randegger's most lasting legacy was a textbook titled ''Singing'', published in 1879 by
Novello & Co Wise Music Group is a global music publisher, with headquarters in Berners Street, London. In February 2020, Wise Music Group changed its name from The Music Sales Group. In 2014 Wise Music Group (as The Music Sales Group) acquired French cla ...
, which was still in use in the 21st century. In 1882, Randegger was elected an honorary member of the
Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...
. Randegger was married first to the actress Adeline de Leuw; they divorced in 1892, and on 11 March 1897 he married the American singer Louise Baldwin (her second marriage)."Louise Baldwin Married"
''The New York Times'', 23 March 1897
Randegger died at his home in
Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...
, London, at the age of 79, after a short illness. He was cremated at
Golders Green crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and is one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £136,000 in 2021), ...
.Davey, Henry, and David J. Golby
"Randegger, Alberto (1832–1911), music teacher and composer
, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved 10 September 2020


Notes


Sources

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Randegger, Alberto 1832 births 1911 deaths Italian emigrants to the United Kingdom Academics of the Royal College of Music Honorary members of the Royal Philharmonic Society Italian Romantic composers Italian opera composers Italian male opera composers People associated with Gilbert and Sullivan