Nicola Sabini (also Sabino; 1705) was an Italian composer of the mid-

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

period who spent his career in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. An influential figure in early Neapolitan ''

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 ...

'', his most important opera is the 1701 comedy ''Scherzo drammatico, Il mondo abbattuto''.

Life and career

Nicola Sabini, also known as Nicola Sabino, was born , probably in

. He studied with Angelo Durante (uncle of the better known

Francesco Durante Francesco Durante (31 March 1684 – 30 September 1755) was an Italian composer of the Neapolitan School. Best known for his church music, he was also an important teacher, instructing Niccolò Jommelli, Giovanni Paisiello, Giovanni Battista P ...

) at the . In May 1699, Sabini succeeded his teacher as the Convervatorio'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 ...

''. Possibly because of illness, he left his post in 1702, and died of tuberculosis three years later. Sabini was a member of the Congregazione de' Musici (Congregation of Musicians) in Naples. An influential figure in the early history of ''

'' in Naples, Sabini's most important work was the 1701 ''scherzo drammatico'' (dramatic jest), ''Il mondo abbattuto''. Written to a libretto by S. de Falco for the Feast of

Saint Casimir Casimir Jagiellon (; ; ; ; 3 October 1458 – 4 March 1484) was a prince of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The second son of King Casimir IV Jagiellon, he was tutored by Johannes Longinus, a Polish chronicler, diplo ...

, it premiered for the city's Congregazione de' Musici at the

San Giorgio Maggiore San Giorgio Maggiore () is one of the islands of Venice, northern Italy, lying east of the Giudecca and south of the main island group. The island, or more specifically its Palladian church, is an important landmark. It has been much painted, ...

. Only the opera's text survives, but by using both Tuscan and Neapolitan dialects, it created an influential model for future ''opera buffa''. Sabini wrote a sacred opera, ''Innocenza trionfante'' ('Triumphant Innocence'), which included arias by his composer colleagues and premiered on 14 December 1704 in the Congregazione di St. Caterina,

Celano Celano is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of L'Aquila, central Italy, east of Rome by rail. Geography Celano rises on the top of a hill in the territory of Marsica, below the mountain range of Sirente. It faces the valley of Fucino, once ...

. Other works that survive include a cantata in the Neapolitan dialect, ''Non cchiù Ciccillo mio'', and the ''Canzone a voce sola per la Purificazione della Vergine'' (1696).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amodei, Cataldo Italian Baroque composers 1705 deaths Musicians from Naples Italian male classical composers 17th-century Italian composers 17th-century Italian male musicians Musicians from the Kingdom of Naples