Giuseppe Persiani (11 September 1799 – 13 August 1869) 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 ...

. Persiani was born in

Recanati Recanati () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Macerata, in the Italian region of Marche. Recanati was founded around 1150 AD from three pre-existing castles. In 1290 it proclaimed itself an independent republic and, in the 15th c ...

. He wrote his first opera - one of 11 - in 1826 but, after his marriage to the soprano Fanny Tacchinardi Persiani, who was to become a significant singer in her time, he devoted much of his efforts to supporting her career. He worked in a variety of opera genres including ''

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 ...

'' and wrote an

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 ...

named ''Abigaille'' and featuring the same character as in the popular

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 ...

opera, ''

Nabucco ''Nabucco'' (; short for ''Nabucodonosor'' , i.e. "Nebuchadnezzar II, Nebuchadnezzar") is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The libretto is based on the biblic ...

''. He was noted for his ability to effectively combine music and drama as well as florid decoration. His best-known opera, '' Inês de Castro'', from a libretto by

Salvadore Cammarano Salvadore Cammarano (19 March 1801 – 17 July 1852) was an Italian librettist and playwright perhaps best known for writing the text of ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' (1835) for Gaetano Donizetti. For Donizetti he also contributed the libretti for ''L ...

(who also wrote the libretto for Donizetti's ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...

'' the same year), was created in 1835 for the celebrated

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

Maria Malibran Maria Felicia Malibran (; 24 March 1808 – 23 September 1836) was a Spanish singer who commonly sang both contralto and soprano parts, and was one of the best-known opera singers of the 19th century. Malibran was known for her stormy personality ...

, who sang the role of the 14th-century Portuguese queen of the same name. The opera was first presented at La Scala in January 1837 but by that time, Malibran had died. After some revisions to tailor the role for his wife, the opera was presented in Paris in 1839. While it was given about 60 productions over a period of 16 years, after 1851 it was rarely, if ever, presented but was revived in the 20th Century in the Italian town of

Jesi Jesi () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Ancona, in the Italian region of Marche. It is an important industrial and artistic center in the floodplain on the left (north) bank of the Esino river, before its mouth on the Adria ...

to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Persiani's birth. Persiani died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, aged 69. His birthplace, the town of Recanati, has named an opera house after the composer, the Teatro Persiani.

Works

Among the works of Persiani:Paola Ciarlantini (2005). "Persiani, Giuseppe (Antonio Nicola Luigi)", MGG. *''Piglia il mondo come viene'', opera buffa in two acts (1826, Florence). Libretto by:

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 ...

*''L'inimico generoso'', opera semiseria in two acts (1826, Florence) *''Attila in Aquileia'' (Simeone Antonio Sografi), opera seria in two acts (1827, Parma). Libretto by: Simeone Antonio Sografi *''Danao re d'Argo'', opera seria in two acts (1827, Florence). Libretto by:

Felice Romani Giuseppe Felice Romani (31 January 178828 January 1865) was an Italian poet and scholar of literature and mythology who wrote many librettos for the opera composers Donizetti and Bellini. Romani was considered the finest Italian librettist betw ...

*''Gastone di Foix (ders.) (1827, Venice) *''Il solitario'', opera seria in two acts (1829, Milan). Libretto by: Calisto Bassi. *''Eufemio di Messina ovvero La distruzione di Catania'' (Romani), opera seria in two acts (1829, Lucca); also known as ''I saraceni in Catania'' (1832, Padua) and ''Il rinnegato'' (1837, Naples) *''Costantino in Arles'' , opera seria in 3 acts (1829, Venice). Libretto by: P. Pola *'' Inês de Castro'', tragedia lirica in three acts (28 January 1835, Teatro San Carlo, Naples) Libretto by: Salvadore Cammarano *''Il fantasma'' (Romani), opera semiseria in three acts (1843, Paris) *''L'orfana savoiarda'', opera seria in three acts (1846, Madrid)

References

Notes

External links

Teatro Persiani in Recanati

* ttps://belcantoitaliano.blogspot.com/2017/02/la-riscoperta-del-belcanto-italiano-dei.html/ La riscoperta del belcanto italiano dei Persiani {{DEFAULTSORT:Persiani, Giuseppe 1799 births 1869 deaths Italian Romantic composers Italian opera composers Italian male opera composers People from Recanati 19th-century Italian musicians 19th-century Italian male musicians People from the Papal States