Pietro Generali (born Mercandetti Generali; 23 October 1773 – 3 November 1832) 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 ...

primarily of

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 ...

s and vocal music. Generali was born in

Masserano Masserano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Biella in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northeast of Biella. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,315 and an area of .All demographi ...

. He studied counterpoint with Giovanni Masi in Rome and spent a few months at the Conservatoire in Naples. After graduation in Rome Generali began composing sacred music. Having produced his first opera in 1800, his first success came with ''Pamela nubile'' (Venice, 1804), followed by other

farsa Farsa (Italian language, Italian, literally: ''farce'', plural: ''farse'') is a genre of opera, associated with Venice in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It is also sometimes called ''farsetta''. Farse were normally one-act operas, some ...

, such as ''Adelina'' in 1810.Lanza A. Pietro Generali. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. When

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

began his rise to prominence, Generali moved first to

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, directing the opera company of the Teatre de la Santa Creu (named later the Teatre Principal) and from 1820 conducted and taught 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 ...

. In his last years, disappointed with the reception of his works, he held the position of ''Maestro di cappella'' at

Novara Cathedral Novara Cathedral ( or ''Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, located at the Piazza della Repubblica in Novara, Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont, Italy. It is the seat of the ...

. He died, aged 59, in

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

Selected works

*''Pamela nubile'' (1804) *''Don Chisciotte'' (1805) *''Le lagrime d'una vedova'' (1808) *''L'amore prodotto dall'odio'' (1810) *'' Adelina'' (1810) *''La vedova delirante'' (1811) *''Chi non risica non rosica'' (1811) *''La vedova stravagante'' (1812) *''L'impostore'' (1815) *''I baccanali di Roma'' (1816) *''Rodrigo di Valenza'' (1817) *''Il servo padrone'' (1818) *''Adelaide di Borgogna'' (1819) *''Jefte'' (1823) *''Il divorzio persiano'' (1828) *''Francesca da Rimini'' (1829) *''Il romito di Provenza'' (1831)

References

External links

* 1773 births 1832 deaths Italian Classical-period composers Italian opera composers Italian male opera composers People from the Province of Biella 19th-century Italian male musicians {{Italy-composer-stub