Alessandro Curmi (17 October 1801 – April 1857) was a

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...

composer and pianist. Born in

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

, he studied privately with Pietro Paolo Bugeja and then under Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli and

Giacomo Tritto Giacomo Domenico Mario Antonio Pasquale Giuseppe Di Tritto (2 April 1733 – 16 September 1824) was an Italian composer, known primarily for his fifty-four operas. He was born in Altamura, and studied in Naples; among his teachers were Nicola ...

at the San Pietro a Maiella Conservatory in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

from 1821 to 1827. He later became a member of Bologna's Accademia Filarmonica. As a composer Curmi was primarily focused on writing operas. His first opera, ''Gustavo d'Orxa'', was received enthusiastically at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples in 1827. His greatest success, '' Elodia di Herstall'', came at the

Teatro di San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is a historic opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and ...

in 1842. According to Curmi's personal friend and fellow composer

Paolino Vassallo Paolino Vassallo (born 24 July 1856 in Cospicua - deceased 20 January 1923 in Valletta) was a Malta, Maltese composer.Royal Opera, London The Royal Opera is a British opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Along with English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent G ...

while on a brief visit to Paris (where he wrote the cantata ''Sancte Paule'') in 1843. The three operas, ''La rosièr'', ''La reine des fées'', and ''Lodoïska'' were all performed there in 1844. Curmi returned to Paris in the winter of 1845 with the intent of composing a grand opera. However, these plans never came to fruition because of the political situation in France. Instead Curmi composed the orchestral fantasia in six sections, ''La rivoluzione'', which was also heard in Malta in 1853. He died in Naples in 1857.

Sources

Joseph Vella Bondin Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef (given name), Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mode ...

. "Curmi urmy Alessandro", ''

Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and th ...

''. 1801 births 1857 deaths Male classical composers Maltese classical composers Maltese male musicians Maltese opera composers 19th-century classical composers 19th-century male musicians Musicians from Valletta {{opera-bio-stub