Ferdinando Angelo Maria Provesi (1770 – 1833) was a native of

Parma, Italy Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, Parma is the second most p ...

. He was regarded as one of the greatest

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

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 ...

composers of the era . Provesi is best known as being an early tutor of

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 ...

when he was the ''Maestro di cappella'' (master of music) at the St. Bartolomeo

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

Busseto Busseto ( Bussetano: ; Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy with about inhabitants. Its history is quite well documented back to the 10th century, and for almost five hundred years it was the ...

(the town very close to

Le Roncole Le Roncole (today known as Roncole Verdi) is a village in the province of Parma (Emilia-Romagna region) of Italy, a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Busseto. It is located 140 km southeast of Milan. It is best known as the birthplace on ...

, the village where Verdi was born.) Provesi was also director of the municipal music school and local Philharmonic Society. He began teaching Verdi in 1824 when the future composer was 11 years old. When he died in Busseto in 1833, it opened the way for the young Verdi to apply to take over his post in the town, a post which he held for two-and-a-half years after which Verdi returned to Milan.

References

* Parker, Roger (1998), "Verdi, Giuseppe" in Stanley Sadie, (Ed.), ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Vol. Four. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. *

Phillips-Matz, Mary Jane Mary Jane Phillips-Matz (January 30, 1926 – January 19, 2013) was an American biographer and writer on opera. She is mainly known for her biography of Giuseppe Verdi, a result of 30 years' research and published in 1992 by Oxford University Press ...

(1993), ''Verdi: A Biography'', London & New York: Oxford University Press. 1770 births 1833 deaths Musicians from Parma Giuseppe Verdi Italian Romantic composers Italian opera composers Italian male opera composers 18th-century Italian composers 18th-century Italian male musicians 19th-century Italian classical composers 19th-century Italian male musicians {{Opera-bio-stub