Giuseppe Farinelli (7 May 1769 – 12 December 1836) was an Italian

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 ...

active at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century who excelled in writing

opera buffa Opera buffa (, "comic opera"; : ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramma bernesc ...

s. Considered the successor and most successful imitator of

Domenico Cimarosa Domenico Cimarosa (; 17 December 1749 – 11 January 1801) was an Music of Italy, Italian composer of the Neapolitan School and of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He wrote more than eighty operas, the best known of which is ''Il ...

, the greatest of his roughly 60 operas include '' I riti d'Efeso'' (1803, Venice), '' La contadina bizzarra'' (1810, Milan) and '' Ginevra degli Almieri'' (1812, Venice). More than 2/3 of his operas were produced between 1800 and 1810 at the height of his popularity. With the arrival of

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...

his operas became less desirable with the public, and by 1817 his operas were no longer performed. His other compositions include 3 piano forte

sonata In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until th ...

s, 3

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

s, 11

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

s, 5

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

es, 2

Te Deum The ( or , ; from its incipit, ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to a date before AD 500, but perhaps with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin ...

s, a

Stabat Mater The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to the Virgin Mary that portrays her suffering as mother during the crucifixion of her son Jesus Christ. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Saba ...

, a

Salve Regina The "Salve Regina" ( , ; meaning "Hail Queen"), also known as the "Hail Holy Queen", is a Marian hymn and one of four Marian antiphons sung at different seasons within the Christian liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church. The Salve Regina ...

, a Tantum ergo, numerous

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

s, and several other sacred works.

Biography

Born Giuseppe Francesco Finco in Este, he assumed the professional name of Farinelli after the famous castrato of that name in gratitude to the singer for his help in his musical education and his protection. He studied with Lionelli in Este and with Antonio Martinelli in Venice before going to Naples in 1785 to pursue studies at the Conservatorio della Pietà dei Turchini. While at the conservatory he was a pupil of Lorenzo Fago (harmony),

Nicola Sala Nicola Sala (7 April 1713 – 31 August 1801) was an Italian composer and musical theory, music theorist. He was born in Tocco Caudio and died in Naples. He was chapel-master and professor at Naples, having devoted himself to the collection ...

(counterpoint),

Giacomo Tritto Giacomo Domenico Mario Antonio Pasquale Giuseppe Di Tritto (2 April 1733 – 16 September 1824) was an Italian composer, known primarily for his fifty-four operas. He was born in Altamura, and studied in Naples; among his teachers were Nicola ...

(composition), and Barbiello (singing). His first opera, ''Il dottorato di Pulcinella'', displayed a talent for comedy and was performed at the conservatory in 1792 to an enthusiastic reception. His first opera performed in one of the public Italian opera houses was ''L’uomo indolente'' in Naples at the Teatro Nuovo in 1795. In 1808, his Cantata in three voices, words by

Gaetano Rossi Gaetano Rossi (; 18 May 1774 – 25 January 1855) was an Italian opera librettist for several of the well-known ''bel canto''-era composers including Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti, and Saverio Mercadante in Italy and Giacomo Meyerbeer in on ...

, titled ''Il nuovo destino'' was performed in celebration of the birthday of Emperor Napoleon in the hall of Monsignor Nicola Saverio Gamboni, Patriarch of Venice. After several more years in Naples, Farinelli moved to Turin in 1810. He left there in 1817 to assume the position of maestro al cembalo at the Teatro Nuovo in Trieste. In 1819 he became maestro di cappella and organist of the

Susa Cathedral Susa Cathedral (, or ''Duomo di Susa'') is a Catholic cathedral in Susa, Piedmont, in northern Italy. It is the seat of the Bishop of Susa and is dedicated to Saint Justus of Novalesa (). In origin it was the church of the Benedictine Abbey of S ...

, a position he held until his death in Trieste in 1836.

Operas

(selection) *''Il dottorato di Pulcinella'' (farsa, G. Lorenzi), Naples, Conservatorio della Pietà dei Turchini, 1792 *''L’uomo indolente'' (dramma giocoso, 2 acts, G. Palomba), Naples, Teatro Nuovo, 1795 *''Annetta, o La virtù trionfa'' (farsa, 1 act, G. Artusi), Venice, S Samuele, 11 January 1800 *''Teresa e Claudio'' (farsa, 2 acts, G.M. Foppa), Venice, S Luca, 9 Sept 1801 *''Giulietta'' (dramma semiserio, G. Rossi), Parma, Ducale, carn. 1802; revised as ''Le lagrime d’una vedova'', Padua, Nuovo, 1802 *'' Il Cid della Spagna'' (dramma per musica, 2 acts A. Sografi, after P. Corneille's ''

Le Cid ''Le Cid'' is a five-act French tragicomedy written by Pierre Corneille, first performed in December 1636 at the Théâtre du Marais in Paris and published the same year. It is based on Guillén de Castro's play ''Las Mocedades del Cid''. Cast ...

''), Venice, La Fenice, 17 February 1802 *''Pamela'' (farsa in musica, 1 act, Rossi, after C. Goldoni), Venice, S Luca, 22 Sept 1802; revised as ''Pamela maritata'', Cingoli, 1806 *''Chi la dura la vince'', (melodramma buffo, 2 Acts, G. Rossi), Rome, Teatro Valle, 2 January 1803 *'' I riti d'Efeso'' (dramma eroico, 2 acts, Rossi), Venice, Fenice, 26 Dec 1803 *''Odoardo e Carlotta'' (opera buffa, 2 acts, L. Buonavoglia), Venice, S Moisè, 12 Dec 1804 *''Il finto sordo'', (opera buffa, 2 acts,

Angelo Anelli Angelo Anelli (10 November 1761 – 9 April 1820) was an Italian poet and librettist who also wrote under the pseudonyms Marco Landi and Niccolò Liprandi. He was born in Desenzano del Garda and studied literature and poetry at a seminary in Veron ...

), Milan, Teatro Carcano, 18 April 1805 *'' Climene (opera seria, 2 acts), Naples, S Carlo, 27 June 1806'' *''Il testamento, o Seicentomila franchi'' seicentomila franchi(farsa giocosa, 1 act, Foppa), Venice,

Teatro San Moisè The Teatro San Moisè was a theatre and opera house in Venice, active from 1620 to 1818. It was in a prominent location near the Palazzo Giustinian and the church of San Moisè at the entrance to the Grand Canal. History Built by the San Bernaba ...

, 24 October 1806 *'' Calliroe'' (melodramma eroico, 2 acts, libretto by Rossi), Venice, La Fenice, 3 January 1808 *''La contadina bizzarra'' (melodramma serio, Romanelli, after F. Livigni: La finta principessa), Milan, La Scala, 16 August 1810 *''Amor muto '' (Farsa, Foppa), Venice, Teatro San Moisè, 1811 *''Annibale in Capua'' (melodramma eroico, Romanelli), Milan, La Scala, 1811 *''Idomeneo'' (melodramma eroico, 2 acts, libretto by Rossi), Venice, La Fenice, 1812 *''Ginevra degli Almieri'' (tragicommedia, 3 acts, libretto by Foppa), Venice, Teatro San Moisè, 8 December 1812 *''Lauro e Lidia'' (dramma eroico, 2 acts, libretto by Andreoli), Turin, Teatro Regio, 1813 *''Il matrimonio per concorso'' (dramma giocoso, libretto by Foppa), Venice, Teatro San Moisè, 1813 *''Caritea regina di Spagna'' (opera seria, 2 acts), Naples, San Carlo Theater, 16 September 1814 *''Scipione in Cartagena'' (opera seria, libretto by Andreoli), Turin, Teatro Regio, 1815 *''La donna di Bessarabia'' (dramma per musica, 1 act, libretto by Foppa), Venice, Teatro San Moisè, January 1817

References

* Giovanni Carli Ballola. "Giuseppe Farinelli", '' The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', 2001. *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Farinelli, Giuseppe Italian opera composers Italian male opera composers 1769 births 1836 deaths People from the Province of Padua 18th-century Italian composers 18th-century Italian male musicians 19th-century Italian classical composers 19th-century Italian male musicians Musicians from the Republic of Venice