Giuseppe Siboni (27 January 1780 – 28 March 1839) 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 ...

tic

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

opera director Crossbreed is an American industrial metal band from Clearwater, Florida, formed in 1996. They were signed with Artemis Records before being dropped from the label in 2003. The band released two EPs and three full-length albums before disbandi ...

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

, and

voice teacher A voice teacher or singing teacher is a musical instructor who assists adults and children in the development of their abilities in singing. Typical work A voice teacher works with a student singer to improve the various skills involved in sing ...

. He began his career in his native country in 1797 and actively performed in major Italian

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

s up through 1818. From 1806 to 1809, he performed successfully in London, and from 1810 to 1814, he was active in Vienna, where he enjoyed the friendship of

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

. He played a critical role in Danish musical life from 1819 until his death in 1839. In 1819, he joined the

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...

in Copenhagen, where he worked first as a singer and later as director of the opera chorus and head director. In 1827 he founded the Royal Conservatory of Music in Copenhagen. He was married three times during his life, including his second marriage to the sister of poet

Franz von Schober Franz Adolf Friedrich Schober, since 1801 von Schober (born 17 May 1796, Torup Castle at Malmö, Sweden; died 13 September 1882 in Dresden), was a poet, librettist, lithographer, actor in Breslau and ''Legationsrat'' in Weimar. Schober was bo ...

. His third marriage produced a son, the composer and pianist

Erik Siboni The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Nor ...

(1828–1892).

Life and career

Born in

Forlì Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...

, Siboni studied

singing Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

in his native city with

castrato A castrato (Italian; : castrati) is a male singer who underwent castration before puberty in order to retain a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice can also occur in one who, due to an endocrino ...

Sebastiano Folicaldi. He made his professional opera debut in 1797 at the age of 17 in Florence. Over the next several years he sang with various Italian opera troupes, making appearances in Genoa, Milan, and Prague among other cities. In Prague he married Louise Veith, the daughter of a local banker. He made his debut at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

on 26 December 1805 as Abenamet in the world premiere of

Giuseppe Nicolini Giuseppe Nicolini may refer to: * Giuseppe Nicolini (composer) (1762–1842), Italian composer * Giuseppe Placido Nicolini Monsignor Giuseppe Placido Maria Nicolini O.S.B. (1877–1973), born Villazzano, Italy, was the Roman Catholic Bishop ...

's ''Abenamet e Zoraide''. He returned there the following year to sing the role of Marco Orazio in

Domenico Cimarosa Domenico Cimarosa (; 17 December 1749 – 11 January 1801) was an Music of Italy, Italian composer of the Neapolitan School and of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He wrote more than eighty operas, the best known of which is ''Il ...

's ''

Gli Orazi e i Curiazi ''Gli Orazi e i Curiazi'' (''The Horatii and the Curiatii'') is an opera in three acts ('' azione tragica'') composed by Domenico Cimarosa to a libretto by Antonio Simeone Sografi, based on Pierre Corneille's tragedy ''Horace''. History The ope ...

''. From 1806 to 1809, Siboni sang in three seasons at the King's Theatre in London. His first critical success there was as Ruggero in

Ferdinando Paër Ferdinando Paer (1 June 1771 – 3 May 1839) was an Italian composer known for his operas. He was of Austrian descent and used the German spelling Pär in application for printing in Venice, and later in France the spelling Paër. Life He was bor ...

's ''Il principe di Taranto'' on 23 December 1806. In the 1809–10 season he was once again at La Scala, where he had a particular triumph as the title hero in the world premiere of

Simon Mayr Johann(es) Simon Mayr (also spelled Majer, Mayer, Maier), also known in Italian as Giovanni Simone Mayr or Simone Mayr (14 June 1763 – 2 December 1845), was a German composer. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the R ...

's ''Raoul di Crequi'' on 26 December 1809. From 1810 to 1814 he was active in Vienna, where he notably performed in the world premiere of

's '' Tremate, empi tremate'' on 27 February 1814.Beethoven Forum, Volume 6 By Glenn Stanley
/ref> He was much admired at the

Vienna Hofoper The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival architecture, Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from ...

as Licinio in

Gaspare Spontini Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini (14 November 177424 January 1851) was an Italian opera composer and conductor from the classical era. During the first two decades of the 19th century, Spontini was an important figure in French ''opera'', and ...

's ''

La vestale ''La vestale'' (''The Vestal Virgin'') is an opera composed by Gaspare Spontini to a French libretto by Étienne de Jouy. It takes the form of a '' tragédie lyrique'' in three acts. It was first performed on 15 December 1807 by the Académie Imp ...

'' and in several operas by Paer. In 1813 he performed as a guest artist in Prague. Siboni returned to Italy in late 1814, and on 17 January 1815 he performed the role of Timagene in the house premiere of Gaetano Andreozzi's ''Il trionfo di Alessandro Magno il Macedone'' at the

Teatro Argentina The Teatro Argentina (directly translating to "Theatre Argentina") is an opera house and theatre located in Largo di Torre Argentina, a square in Rome, Italy. One of the oldest theatres in Rome, it was constructed in 1731 and inaugurated on 31 ...

in Rome. Later that month, he appeared at the

Teatro di San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is a historic opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and ...

in Naples as Polinesso in

's ''

Ginevra di Scozia ''Ginevra di Scozia'' is an opera in two acts by Simon Mayr set to an Italian libretto by Gaetano Rossi based on Antonio Salvi's ''Ginevra, principessa di Scozia'', which in turn was adapted from cantos 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's '' Orland ...

''. He was heard in several more roles in Naples in 1815–16 and 1818, including Seleuco in

Sebastiano Nasolini Sebastiano is both a masculine Italian given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Sebastiano Antonio Tanara (1650–1724), Italian cardinal * Sebastiano Baggio (1913–1993), Italian clergyman * Sebastiano Bianchi (16th cent ...

's ''La vendetta di Nino'' and Andreozzi's Timagene. From 1815 to 1817 he performed frequently at the

Teatro Comunale di Bologna The Teatro Comunale di Bologna is an opera house in Bologna, Italy. Typically, it presents eight operas with six performances during its November to April season. While there had been various theatres presenting opera in Bologna since the early ...

. While there he created the role of Classamoro in the world premiere of

Pietro Generali Pietro Generali (born Mercandetti Generali; 23 October 1773 – 3 November 1832) was an Italian composer primarily of operas and vocal music. Generali was born in Masserano. He studied counterpoint with Giovanni Masi in Rome and spent a few m ...

's ''Clato'' on 26 December 1816 and portrayed the role of Argirio in the house premiere of

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

's ''

Tancredi ''Tancredi'' is a ''melodramma eroico'' (''opera seria'' or heroic opera) in two acts by composer Gioachino Rossini and librettist Gaetano Rossi (who was also to write ''Semiramide'' ten years later), based on Voltaire's play ''Tancrède (traged ...

'' on 29 January 1817. In 1818 Siboni made appearances at the

Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre (, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic opera house in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces ...

in St. Petersburg. He joined the roster of singers at the

(RDT) in Copenhagen in 1819.

Christian VIII of Denmark Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) was King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814. Christian Frederick was the eldest son of Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark, Hereditary Prin ...

had heard him perform in 1815 and had been trying to recruit him for that theatre ever since. The king later honored Siboni with the title Kongelig Kammersanger. Siboni eventually was appointed director of the RDT and remained active with the opera in Copenhagen until his death in 1839. In 1825 he founded the Royal Conservatory of Music in Copenhagen. Some of his notable pupils were Emilie da Fonseca,

Ida Henriette da Fonseca Ida Henriette da Fonseca (July 27, 1802 – July 6, 1858) was a Denmark, Danish opera singer and composer of Portuguese people, Portuguese descent. Ida Henriette da Fonseca was the daughter of Portugal-born Abraham da Fonseca (1776–1849) and ...

Johanne Luise Heiberg Johanne Luise Heiberg (; née Pätges; 22 November 1812 – 21 December 1890) was a Danish actress of the 19th century. She is most famous for her work at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, where she achieved great success. Though she was cl ...

and Peter Nicolaj Schram. Notable descendants include pianist Anna Siboni and actress Emily Whitworth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siboni, Giuseppe 1780 births 1839 deaths People from Forlì People of Emilian descent Italian operatic tenors Italian voice teachers 19th-century Italian male opera singers Italian emigrants to Denmark