Andrea Leone Tottola (died 15 September 1831) was a prolific

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

, best known for his work with

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...

and

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

. List of librettos (with composers) written by Tottola
/ref> It is not known when or where he was born. He became the official poet to the royal theatres in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

and agent for the

impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. Hist ...

Domenico Barbaia Domenico Barbaia (also spelled Barbaja; 10 August 1777 – 19 October 1841) was best known as an opera Italian impresario. An energetic man, Barbaia, who was born in Milan, began his career by running a coffee shop. He made his first fortune by ...

, and started writing librettos in 1802. His libretto for ''

Gabriella di Vergy ''Gabriella di Vergy'' is an opera seria in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti written in 1826 and revised in 1838, from a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, which was based on the tragedy ''Gabrielle de Vergy'' (1777) by Dormont De Belloy. Prior to ...

'', originally set by

Michele Carafa Michele Enrico Francesco Vincenzo Aloisio Paolo Carafa di Colobrano (17 November 1787 – 26 July 1872) was an Italian opera composer. He was born in Naples and studied in Paris with Luigi Cherubini. He was Professor of counterpoint at the Par ...

in 1816, was reworked by Donizetti in the 1820s and 1830s. He wrote six other librettos for Donizetti, including those for '' La zingara'' (1822), ''

Alfredo il grande ''Alfredo il grande'' (''Alfred the Great'') is a ''melodramma'' serio or serious opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Andrea Leone Tottola wrote the Italian libretto, which may have been derived from Johann Simon Mayr's 1818 opera of the sa ...

'' (1823), ''

Il castello di Kenilworth (or, under its original name in 1829, ''Elisabetta al castello di Kenilworth'')Ashbrook and Hibberd (2001), p. 229 is a ''melodramma serio'' or tragic opera in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Andrea Leone Tottola wrote the Italian libretto aft ...

'' (1829) and ''

Imelda de' Lambertazzi ''Imelda de' Lambertazzi'' is a ''melodramma tragico'' or tragic opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti from a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, based on the tragedy ''Imelda'' by Gabriele Sperduti. It received its first performance on 5 Septem ...

'' (1830). For Rossini he wrote ''

Mosè in Egitto ''Mosè in Egitto'' (; "''Moses in Egypt''") is a three-act opera written by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, which was based on a 1760 play by Francesco Ringhieri, ''L'Osiride''. It premièred on 5 March 1818 at ...

'' (1818), ''

Ermione ''Ermione'' (1819) is a tragic opera (azione tragica) in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, based on the play ''Andromaque'' by Jean Racine. Performance history 19th century ''Ermione'' was first pe ...

'' (1819), ''

La donna del lago ''La donna del lago'' (English: ''The Lady of the Lake'') is an opera composed by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola (whose verses are described as "limpid" by one critic) based on the French translationOsborne, Charles 19 ...

'' (1819) and ''

Zelmira ''Zelmira'' () is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola. Based on the French play, ''Zelmire'' by de Belloy, it was the last of the composer's Neapolitan operas. Stendhal called its music Teutonic, compa ...

'' (1822). For

Vincenzo Bellini Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania". Many years later, in 1898, Giu ...

he wrote ''

Adelson e Salvini ''Adelson e Salvini'' (''Adelson and Salvini'') is a three-act opera semiseria composed by Vincenzo Bellini from a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola. The opera was based on the 1772 novel ''Épreuves du Sentiment'' by François-Thomas-Marie de B ...

'' (1825). Other composers who set Tottola's librettos to music included

Giovanni Pacini Giovanni Pacini (11 February 17966 December 1867) was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Pacini was born in Catania, Sicily, the son of the buffo Luigi Pacini, who was to appear in the premieres of many of Giovanni's operas. The fami ...

(''

Alessandro nelle Indie ''Alessandro nelle Indie'' (''Alexander in India'') is an opera seria in two acts by Giovanni Pacini to a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola and Giovanni Schmidt, based on ''Alessandro nell'Indie'' by Pietro Metastasio. It was premiered at the Teatro ...

'' (1824) and others),

Saverio Mercadante Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante (baptised 17 September 179517 December 1870) was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While Mercadante may not have retained the international celebrity of Gaetano Donizetti or Gioachino Rossini beyond ...

Johann 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 ...

Nicola Vaccai Nicola Vaccai (15 March 1790 – 5 or 6 August 1848) was an Italian composer, particularly of operas, and a singing teacher. Life and career as a composer Born at Tolentino, he grew up in Pesaro, and studied music there until his parents sent him ...

Errico Petrella Errico Petrella (10 December 18137 April 1877) was an Italian opera composer. Life and career Petrella was born at Palermo, capital of the Kingdom of Sicily. A conservative of the Neapolitan school, he was the most successful Italian compose ...

Ferdinando Paer Ferdinando Paer (1 July 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 and career ...

and Manuel Garcia. Tottola died in Naples.

References

Notes Sources *Black, John (1998), "Andrea Leone Tottola" in

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...

, (Ed.), ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...

'', Vol. Four, pp. 772–3. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. *Warrack, John; Ewan West (1992), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Opera''. Italian opera librettists 1831 deaths 19th-century Neapolitan people Year of birth unknown 19th-century Italian writers Italian male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Italian male writers {{Opera-bio-stub