Almerindo Spadetta (April 1894) was a prolific opera

librettist A libretto (From the Italian word , ) 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 ...

active in Naples. He worked as a stage manager at the

Teatro 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 a ...

, Teatro Nuovo, and

Teatro del Fondo The Teatro Mercadante, earlier known as Teatro del Fondo, is a theatre in Naples, Italy. It is located on Piazza del Municipio, Naples, Piazza del Municipio #1, with the front facing the west side of Castel Nuovo, Naples, Castel Nuovo and near th ...

in Naples for over 40 years and wrote numerous libretti (mostly in the ''

opera buffa Opera buffa (, "comic opera"; : ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramma bernesc ...

'' genre) for composers associated with those theatres. His most enduring work was the libretto for Nicola De Giosa's ''

Don Checco ''Don Checco'' is an opera in two acts composed by Nicola De Giosa to a libretto by Almerindo Spadetta. It premiered on 11 July 1850 at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples. ''Don Checco'' was De Giosa's masterpiece and one of the last great successes in ...

'', one of the last great successes in the history of Neapolitan ''opera buffa''.Lanza, Andrea (2001)
"De Giosa, Nicola"
. ''

Grove Music Online ''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 t ...

''. Retrieved 27 June 2017 (subscription required for full access). Spadetta was a lawyer by training and apparently spent some of his career in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, but little else has been written about his life.Brincat, Joseph M. (2003). ''Malta: Una storia linguistica'', p. 272. Le mani. According to his obituary in the ''Gazzetta Musicale di Milano'', he spent his last years in

San Giovanni a Teduccio San Giovanni a Teduccio is a coastal suburb in the east of Naples, in southern Italy. Etymology The area took its name after the discovery of a marble bust of John the Baptist in the 4th century which was found in a building that belonged to The ...

, a small town in the suburbs of Naples. He died there in 1894, long-forgotten and in dire poverty."Acuto" (pseudonym of Federico Polidoro) (29 April 1894)
"Napoli"
p. 268. ''Gazzetta Musicale di Milano''

Libretti

Spadetta's libretti include: *''Elvina'' (''

opera semiseria Opera semiseria ('semi-serious opera') is an Italian genre of opera, popular in the early and middle 19th century. Related to the opera buffa, opera semiseria contains elements of comedy but also of pathos, sometimes with a pastoral setting. It can ...

'' in 3 acts); composed by Nicola De Giosa; premiered Teatro Nuovo, Naples, 1845 * ''Pulcinella e la fortuna'', (''azione allegorica'' in 5 acts), composed by Vincenzo Fioravanti; premiered Teatro Nuovo, Naples, 24 January 1847 * ''Carlotta e Werter'' (''opera semiseria'' in 2 acts); composed by

Mario Aspa Mario Aspa (17 October 1797 – 14 December 1868) was an Italian composer. He composed over 40 operas, the most successful of which were ''Paolo e Virginia'' (premiered in Rome, 1843) and ''II Muratore di Napoli'' (premiered in Naples, 1850). He ...

; premiered Teatro Nuovo, Naples, 1849 * ''Il pirata'', (''

'' in 5 acts; composed by Vincenzo Fioravanti; premiered Teatro Nuovo, Naples, 1849 * ''

'' (''opera buffa'' in 2 acts); composed by Nicola De Giosa premiered Teatro Nuovo, Naples, 1850 * ''Il coscritto'' (''

melodramma ''Melodramma'' (plural: ''melodrammi'') is a 17th-century Italian term for a text to be set as an opera, or the opera itself. In the 19th century, it was used in a much narrower sense by English writers to discuss developments in the early Italia ...

'' in 4 parts); composed by Mario Aspa; premiered Teatro del Fondo, Naples, 1851 *''Il signor Pipino'' (''opera buffa'' in 3 acts) composed by Vincenzo Fioravanti; premiered Teatro Nuovo, Naples, 1856 *''Cicco e Cola'' (''opera buffa'' in 4 acts); composed by Alfonso Buonomo; premiered Teatro Nuovo, Naples, 1857 *''I due mariti'' (''commedia lirica'' in 3 acts); composed by Nicola D'Arienzo; premiered Teatro Bellini, Naples, 1 February 1866 *''Tizio, Cajo e Sempronio'' (''opera buffa'' in 3 acts); composed by Alfonso Buonomo; premiered Teatro Fenice, Naples, 1867 *''Le rose'' (''commedia lirica'' in 3 acts); composed by Nicola D'Arienzo; premiered Teatro Bellini, Naples, February 1868 *''Il cacciatore delle Alpi'' ('' azione semiseria'' in 1 act); composed by Nicola D'Arienzo; premiered Teatrino del Collegio dei Nobili, Naples, 23 June 1870 *''Zorilla'' (''melodramma giocoso'' in 3 acts); composed by Antonio Nani; premiered Teatro Rossini, Naples, 1872 *''Il cuoco e il segretario'' (''

'' in 3 acts, after

Eugène Scribe Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of man ...

); composed by Nicola D'Arienzo; premiered Teatro Rossini, Naples, 11 January 1873 *''I viaggi'' (''commedia lirica'' in 3 acts); composed by Nicola D'Arienzo; premiered Teatro Castelli, Milan, 23 June 1875.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spadetta, Almerindo 1820s births 1894 deaths Kingdom of the Two Sicilies people Italian opera librettists 19th-century Italian writers 19th-century Italian male writers