Filippo Marchetti (26 February 1831,

Bolognola Bolognola is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about southwest of Ancona and about southwest of Macerata. Bolognola borders the following municipalities: Fiastra, Montefortino, Sarnano, ...

Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564. History The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza (ri ...

– 18 January 1902,

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

) 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 ...

. After studying in Naples, his first opera was "successfully premiered"Holden, Amanda (Ed.), pp. 528/29 in

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 ...

in 1856. With only limited success, he became a teacher of singing and composition in Rome before composing ''Romeo e Giulietta'' for a premiere in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

in 1865. Overshadowed like other Italian opera composers of his period by the genius of

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 ...

, Marchetti achieved one great success with his 1869 opera - ''Ruy Blas'' - which was based on Victor Hugo's play, ''

Ruy Blas ''Ruy Blas'' () is a tragic drama by Victor Hugo. It was the first play presented at the Théâtre de la Renaissance and opened on November 8, 1838. Though considered by many to be Hugo’s best drama, the play was initially met with only ave ...

''. It has been noted that "it was one of the first Italian operas to show the influence of French

grand opera Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and Orchestra, orchestras. The original productions consisted of spectacular design and stage effects with plots normally based on o ...

, partly, no doubt in response to its French source". The opera was performed into the 20th Century.

Major works

* ''Gentile da Varano'', February 1856, Turin * ''La demente'', 27 November 1856, Turin * ''Il paria'', 1859 * ''Romeo e Giulietta'', 25 October 1865, Trieste; revised 1872 and 1876. * ''Ruy Blas'', 3 April 1869,

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 ...

. * ''Gustavo Wasa'', 7 February 1875, Milan. * ''Don Giovanni d'Austria'', 11 March 1880, Turin

Recordings

* ''Romeo e Giulietta''. With Daolio, Portoghese, Coletta, Cassi, and Dolari. Cond: Yurkevych. Audio CD: Dynamic, Cat: CDS 501/1-2. *''Ruy Blas'' with Theodossiou, Marini, Malagnini, Gazale, Moncini. Cond: Lipton. Audio CD: Bongiovanni, Cat: GB 2237/38-2.

References

;Notes ;Sources *Holden, Amanda (Ed.), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. *Nicolaisen, Jay, ''Italian Opera in Transition, 1871-1893'', UMI Research Press, 1980

External links

* * 1831 births 1902 deaths Italian Romantic composers Italian opera composers Italian male opera composers People from the Province of Macerata 19th-century Italian musicians 19th-century Italian male musicians {{Italy-composer-stub