Antonio Ghislanzoni (; 25 November 1824 – 16 July 1893) was an Italian

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

who wrote

librettos 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 l ...

for

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...

, among other composers, of which the best known are ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

'' and the revised version of '' La forza del destino''.

Life and career

Ghislanzoni was born in

Lecco Lecco (, , ; ) is a city of approximately 47,000 inhabitants in Lombardy, Northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco''). The Bergamasqu ...

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

, and studied briefly in a seminary, but was expelled for bad conduct in 1841. He then decided to study medicine in

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

, but abandoned this after a short time to pursue a singing career as a

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

and to cultivate his literary interests. In 1848, stimulated by the nationalist ideas of Mazzini, Ghislanzoni founded several republican newspapers in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

but eventually had to take refuge in Switzerland. While travelling to Rome, where he wanted to help defend the nascent republic, Ghislanzoni was arrested by the French and briefly detained in

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

. In the mid-1850s, having forsaken the stage, Ghislanzoni became active in journalism in the

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

circles of Milan, serving as director of ''Italia musicale'' and editor of the ''Gazzetta musicale di Milano''. He also founded ''L'uomo di pietra'' the magazine ''Rivista minima'', collaborating with, among others,

Arrigo Boito Arrigo Boito (; born Enrico Giuseppe Giovanni Boito; 24 February 1842 10 June 1918) was an Italian librettist, composer, poet and critic whose only completed opera was ''Mefistofele''. Among the operas for which he wrote the libretto, libretti ar ...

. In 1869, Ghislanzoni retired from journalism and returned to his native Lombardy, where he dedicated himself to literature and writing libretti for operas. He wrote many short stories in verse and diverse novels including ''Un suicidio a fior d'acqua'' (1864), ''Angioli nelle tenebre'' (1865), ''La contessa di Karolystria'' (1883), ''Abracadabra: Storia dell'avvenire'' (1884). His novel of theatrical life ''Gli artisti da teatro'', (1865), was republished into the 20th century. He also published musical essays, the most important being ''Reminiscenze artistiche''. Ghislanzoni wrote some eighty-five libretti, including ''Edmea'' for Catalani (1866), ''Aida'' (1870), '' Fosca'' (1873) and ''

Salvator Rosa Salvator Rosa (1615 – March 15, 1673) is best known today as an Italian Baroque painter, whose romanticized landscapes and history paintings, often set in dark and untamed nature, exerted considerable influence from the 17th century into the ...

'' (1874) for Gomes, '' I Lituani'' for Ponchielli (1874) and the second version of ''La forza del destino'' (1869). He also contributed a few verses to the revised translation into Italian of Verdi's ''

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is an 1867 five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the 1787 play '' Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

''. Ghislanzoni ran a hotel for artists called Il Barco in

Caprino Bergamasco Caprino Bergamasco (Bergamasque: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about northwest of Bergamo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,908 ...

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

, where he died in 1893, at age 68. He was an atheist.Rossana Bossaglia, ''Arte e società in Italia: dal realismo al simbolismo'', Assessorato agli Enti Locali e alla Cultura della Regione Lombardia, 1979, p. 451.

Filmography

*''

'', directed by

Clemente Fracassi Clemente Fracassi (5 March 1917 – 2 February 1993) was an Italian film producer, film director, director and screenwriter. His career spanned from 1939 to 1967. Born in Vescovato, Italy, Vescovato, province of Cremona, Cremona, Fracassi s ...

(1953) *''

'', directed by Claes Fellbom (1987)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghislanzoni, Antonio 1824 births 1893 deaths Italian journalists Italian male journalists Italian male poets Italian opera librettists Italian poets Journalists from the Austrian Empire People from Lecco 19th-century Italian singers 19th-century Italian journalists Italian male novelists Italian male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Italian poets 19th-century Italian novelists 19th-century Italian dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Italian male writers

Life and career

Filmography

See also

References

External links