Johann Joseph Friebert (4 December 1724 – 6 August 1799), also known as Giuseppe Fribert, was an Austrian opera singer and composer. Amongst his compositions were four

singspiel A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk- ...

s, six operas, and several pieces of church music. As a singer, he was known for his lyrical tenor voice and sensitive interpretations. He created the roles of Silango in

Gluck Christoph Willibald ( Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire at ...

's '' Le cinesi'' and Tirso in Gluck's ''

La danza "La danza" (Dance) (1835) is a patter song by Gioachino Rossini, in Tarantella napoletana time, the eighth song of the collection ''Les soirées musicales'' (1830–1835). The lyrics are by Count Carlo Pepoli ( it), librettist of Vincenzo Belli ...

''.Van Boer, Bertil H. (2012)
"Friebert (Johann) Joseph von"
p. 206. ''Historical Dictionary of Music of the Classical Period''. Scarecrow Press Friebert was born in Gnadendorf in Lower Austria. He received his initial musical training from his father who was an organist in the local church and then at

Melk Abbey Melk Abbey () is a Benedictine abbey above the town of Melk, Lower Austria, on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Danube river, adjoining the Wachau valley. The abbey contains the tomb of Saint Coloman of Stockerau and the remains of several member ...

where he was a chorister. From 1748 he studied in Vienna with

Giuseppe Bonno Giuseppe Bonno (29 January 1711 – 15 April 1788) Michael Lorenz gives his first name as "Joseph" because Emperor Joseph I was his godfather; Lorenz also asserts that Bonno was born on 30 JanuaryHaydn Singing at Vivaldi's Exequies: An Ineradic ...

and was subsequently engaged as a singer at the Hoftheater in Vienna. On his retirement from the stage, he served as the

Kapellmeister ( , , ), 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 ...

at St. Stephen's Cathedral, Passau. Friebert died in Passau at the age of 74. His younger brother Karl (with whom he is often confused) was also a tenor singer, composer, and librettist.Freeman, Robert N. (2001)
"Friebert, Joseph"

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

. Retrieved 10 January 2014 .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friebert, Joseph Austrian operatic tenors 1724 births 1799 deaths Austrian opera composers Austrian male opera composers 18th-century Austrian classical composers 18th-century Austrian male opera singers People from Mistelbach District Musicians from Lower Austria