Filippo Marchetti (26 February 1831, Bolognola,

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 r ...

– 18 January 1902,

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

) was an Italian

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

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

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) 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. Th ...

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 ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into pr ...

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 to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

, 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 averag ...

''. 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 orchestras, and (in their original productions) lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots 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 ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

. * ''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 classical composers Italian male classical composers Italian opera composers Male opera composers People from the Province of Macerata 19th-century Italian musicians 19th-century Italian male musicians {{Italy-composer-stub