Giuseppe Bonecchi was an Italian poet and opera librettist.
He was brought to Russia in 1740 by
Francesco Araja
Francesco Domenico Araja (or Araia, Russian: Арайя) (June 25, 1709 in Naples, Kingdom of Sicily – between 1762 and 1770 in Bologna, States of the Church) was an Italian composer who spent 25 years in Russia and wrote at least 14 ope ...
, an Italian composer working in
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
.
His opera ''Il Bellerofonte'', which was written for the coronation of
Elizabeth of Russia
Elizabeth or Elizaveta Petrovna (; ) was Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular List of Russian rulers, Russian monarchs because of her decision not to execute a single person during her reign, ...
, praised the virtues of the Empress. A Russian translation was printed in 1757. Bonecchi also wrote the libretto for Josef Mysliveček's opera ''
Il Bellerofonte'' which premiered in Naples in 1767. Another opera called
Scipione
''Scipione'' ( HWV 20), also called ''Publio Cornelio Scipione'', is an opera seria in three acts, with music composed by George Frideric Handel for the Royal Academy of Music in 1726. The librettist was Paolo Antonio Rolli. Handel composed ''S ...
was written for the wedding celebration of
Elisaveta and
Pyotr Feodorovich. He frequently used to plagiarize the work of other poets and dramatists, and this spoiled his reputation. He left for Italy in 1752.
Operas
He wrote the libretti for the following operas by
Francesco Araja
Francesco Domenico Araja (or Araia, Russian: Арайя) (June 25, 1709 in Naples, Kingdom of Sicily – between 1762 and 1770 in Bologna, States of the Church) was an Italian composer who spent 25 years in Russia and wrote at least 14 ope ...
:
:*''Seleuco'', opera seria, (May 7, 1744
S April 26 Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
)
:*''Scipione'', opera seria, (September 4 or 5, 1745
S August 23 or 24 St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
)
:*''Mitridate'', opera seria, (May 7, 1747
S April 26 St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
)
:*''L'asilo della pace'', opera seria, (May 7, 1748
S April 26 St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
)
:*''Il Bellerofonte'', opera seria, (December 9, 1750
S November 28 St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
)
:*''Eudossa incoronata, o sia Teodosio II'', (May 9, 1751
S April 28St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
)
He wrote the libretto for the following cantata by
Nicolo Conforto:
:*"La Pesca", (1756,
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
)
Quotations
“Alexander Sumarokov angrily exclaimed in the letter to I. I. Shuvalov on March 12, 1761: “I am assigned to the post of a Director of the Theatre but not to the mean title of a theatrical poet, which was Bonecchi... But I will be not a Bonecchi-like theatrical poet even if this would cost me a life…”” (''Konstantin Kovalev'')
External links
Большой Русский Биографический Словарь - Big Russian Biographical Dictionary (the electronic version, in Russian)
{{authority control
Bonecchi, Giuseppe
Italian male dramatists and playwrights