Giuseppe Zamponi also Gioseffo Zamponi (or Zamboni, Samponi, c.1615 – February 1662) was an Italian composer best remembered for his opera ''Ulisse all'isola di Circe'' performed in Brussels in 1650, which was the first opera performed in the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

, at the time part of the Spanish ruled Southern Netherlands.Histoire du spectacle en Europe (1580-1750): Pierre Béhar, Helen Watanabe-O'Kelly - 1999 "Southern Netherlands: the Habsburg provinces The first opera produced in the Netherlands was Ulisse all' isola di Circe by the Italian composer Giuseppe Zamponi, staged at the Brussels court of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, governor of the ..." Zamponi was born in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, and was the organist at

Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore (, also known as San Giacomo degli Spagnoli and in Spanish, Santiago de los Españoles) is a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary located in Rome's Piazza Navona. History An earlier church, San Giacomo de ...

, then known as San Giacomo degli Spagnoli, in Rome's

Piazza Navona Piazza Navona () is a public open space in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the 1st century AD Stadium of Domitian and follows the form of the open space of the stadium in an elongated oval. The ancient Romans went there to watch the '' a ...

, from 1629 to 1638, substituting for Paolo Tarditi (c.1580-1661). From 1638 to 1647 he was in the service of cardinal

Pietro Maria Borghese Pietro Maria Borghese (1599 - 15 June 1642) was an Italian Catholic Cardinal. Early life Borghese was born in 1599 in Siena, the son of Marcantonio Borghese and Camilla Orsini. Despite the rampant nepotism that was to later define papal politics ...

(1599-1642). In 1648 he left Italy to join the court in Brussels of

Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria (5 January 1614 – 20 November 1662), younger brother of Emperor Ferdinand III, was an Austrian soldier, administrator and patron of the arts. He held a number of military commands, with limited success, a ...

, who was governor of the Southern Netherlands on behalf of the King of Spain. He was appointed

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 ...

in 1648, and died in 1662

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. ''Ulisse all'isola di Circe'' was performed on 24 February 1650 in celebration of the October 1649 wedding of

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV (, ; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the ...

and

Mariana of Austria Mariana or Maria Anna of Austria (24 December 1634 – 16 May 1696), was Queen of Spain from 1649 until the death of her husband Philip IV of Spain in 1665. Appointed regent for their infant son Charles II, she remained an influential figure un ...

. It was staged again in 1655 at the occasion of the visit of Queen Christina from Sweden.

Works, editions and recordings

* Dies irae per 5 voci e 3 strumenti * Sonata per violino, viola da gamba e basso continuo * Sonata per violino, viola e basso continuo * Sonata per 2 violini e basso continuo * Capriccio * 2 arie * Opera ''Ulisse all'isola di Circe''. - Recording

Leonardo García Alarcón Leonardo García-Alarcón (born 5 August 1976 in La Plata) is an Argentinian conductor specializing in baroque music. He studied harpsichord and organ and was assistant to Gabriel Garrido for several years, before founding the ensemble Cappella M ...

2012

References

1662 deaths 1610s births Italian opera composers Italian male opera composers Composers from Rome Italian organists Italian male organists 17th-century Italian composers 17th-century Italian male musicians {{Italy-composer-stub