Giuseppe Capponi (14 September 1832 – 6 August 1889) was an Italian operatic

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

who sang leading roles both in Italy and Europe. He is most remembered today as the tenor soloist in the world premiere of the

Verdi Requiem The ''Messa da Requiem'' is a musical setting of the Catholic funeral mass (Requiem) for four soloists, double choir and orchestra by Giuseppe Verdi. It was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, whom Verdi admired, and therefore also referred ...

. Capponi was born in

Cantiano Cantiano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about 100 km (62 mi) west of Ancona and about 70 km (44 mi) southwest of Pesaro. The Burano Burano is an isla ...

near

Pesaro Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...

and studied music there with the composer and Cantiano's

maestro di cappella ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

, Natale Pellicci. From 1857 he was the ''primo tenore'' in the choir of the

Basilica della Santa Casa The Basilica della Santa Casa () is a Marian shrine in Loreto, Marche, Loreto, in Marche, the Marches, Italy. The basilica is known for enshrining the house in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed by some Catholics to have lived. Pious legen ...

in Loreto, a post he held to the end of his life. He made his stage debut in 1858 at the

Teatro Valle The ''Teatro Valle'' (literally Valley Theater) is a theatre and former opera house in Rome, Italy. It was built in 1726 for the Capranica family. In the middle of the 19th century, it switched from staging opera and theatre to only performances ...

in Rome where he sang

comprimario A comprimario is a small supporting role in an opera (or a singer who sings those roles). The word is derived from the Italian language, Italian "''con primario''", or "with the primary", meaning that the ''comprimario'' role (or singer) is not a p ...

roles. His debut in a leading tenor role came in 1860, when he sang Pollione in ''

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) ** Norma Lizbeth Ramos, a Mexican bullying victim Astronomy *Norma (constellation) * 555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral ...

'' at Pesaro.Resigno (2001) p. 126 He was heard in Paris at the Théâtre-Italien in 1863 in the relatively minor role of Barbarino in ''

Alessandro Stradella Antonio Alessandro Boncompagno Stradella (Bologna, 3 July 1643 – Genoa, 25 February 1682) was an Italian composer of the middle Baroque period. He enjoyed a dazzling career as a freelance composer, writing on commission, and collaborating with ...

''. However, by the 1865–1866 season, he was singing major roles at the Teatro Regio in

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

, including Vasco da Gama in

Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Ro ...

's ''

L'Africaine ''L'Africaine'' (''The African Woman'') is an 1837 five-act French ''grand opéra'' by Giacomo Meyerbeer, with a libretto by Eugène Scribe. By 1852, the plot had been revised to depict fictional events in the life of Portuguese explorer Vasco da ...

'', Lamberto in the world premiere of Giovanni Rossi's ''Niccolò de' Lapi'', and the Duke of Mantova in ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

''.

Notes and references

Sources

* *Resigno, Eduardo (2001). "Capponi, Giuseppe" ''Dizionario Verdiano''. Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli, pp. 126–127. *Busch, Hans (1978)
''Verdi's Aida: the history of an opera in letters and documents''
University of Minnesota Press. Italian operatic tenors 1832 births 1889 deaths People from the Province of Pesaro and Urbino 19th-century Italian male opera singers {{Italy-opera-singer-stub