Carlo Coccia (14 April 1782 – 13 April 1873) was an Italian

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 ...

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 was known for the genre of

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 ...

Life and career

Coccia was born 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 ...

, and studied in his native city with Pietro Casella, Fedele Fenaroli, and

Giovanni Paisiello Giovanni Paisiello (or Paesiello; 9 May 1740 – 5 June 1816) was an Italian composer of the Classical era, and was the most popular opera composer of the late 1700s. His operatic style influenced Mozart and Rossini. Life Paisiello was born i ...

, who introduced him to King

Joseph Bonaparte Joseph Bonaparte (born Giuseppe di Buonaparte, ; ; ; 7 January 176828 July 1844) was a French statesman, lawyer, diplomat and older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. During the Napoleonic Wars, the latter made him King of Naples (1806–1808), an ...

for whom he became the private musician. He wrote his first opera, ''Il matrimonio per lettera di cambio'', in 1807, but it was a failure; however, the following year, with the help of Paisiello, his second opera, ''Il poeta fortunato'', was well received. He then moved to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, where he concentrated on opera semiseria, of which ''Clotilde'' from 1815, is perhaps the best example. Accused of imitating other composers, and of producing too many uneven operas in great haste, he was eventually eclipsed by the emerging

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano p ...

, and left for

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, where he remained from 1820 to 1823. He then settled in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1824, where he was conductor at His Majesty's Theatre. In 1827, he wrote ''Maria Stuarda'' for

Giuditta Pasta Giuditta Angiola Maria Costanza Pasta (; 26 October 1797 – 1 April 1865) was an Italian opera singer. A soprano, she has been compared to the 20th-century soprano Maria Callas. Career Early career Pasta was born Giuditta Angiola Maria Costanz ...

, which, despite her and the celebrated bass Luigi Lablache being in the cast, was not successful, achieving only four performances. Back in Italy, he concentrated on

opera seria ''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to abou ...

, and obtained some success with ''Caterina di Guisa'', in 1833, but by then he had to compete with the likes of

Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera ...

and Bellini. Carlo Coccia contributed to a portion of Messa per Rossini, specifically the seventh section of ''II. Sequentia'', Lacrimosa

Amen Amen (, ; , ; , ; , ) is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic practices as a concluding word, or as a respons ...

. He became Maitre de chapelle in

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

, in 1837, and director of the Music Conservatory of

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, where he wrote his last opera in 1841. He died in Novara.

Major works

*''La donna selvaggia'' (1813)Anderson. 2010 *'' Caterina di Guisa'' (1833)

References

Notes Sources *Anderson, K
Liner Notes
to Naxos CD 8.660284-85 for the recording of Rossini's ''

L'Italiana in Algeri ''L'italiana in Algeri'' (; ''The Italian Girl in Algiers'') is an operatic ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on his earlier text set by Luigi Mosca. It premiered at the Teatro San ...

''. * Budden, Julian; Libby, Denis; Maguire, Simon (2001), "Coccia, Carlo", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second Edition'' London: Macmillan. . *Maguire, Simon (1998), “Coccia, Carlo” in

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was a British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was published as the first edition ...

, (Ed.), ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes. The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...

'', Vol. One, pp. 891–892. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. *Mancini, R. and J.-J. Rouveroux, ''Le guide de l'opéra, les indispensables de la musique''. Fayard, 1986 * Further Reading *

External links

* *
Biografie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coccia, Carlo 1782 births 1873 deaths 19th-century Italian classical composers 19th-century Italian male musicians Italian Romantic composers Italian opera composers Italian male opera composers Composers from Naples Musicians from the Kingdom of Naples Musicians from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies