Carlo Evasio Soliva (27 November 1791 – 20 December 1853) was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

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 ...

composer of

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

, and sacred

choral A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

works. Soliva was born in

Casale Monferrato Casale Monferrato () is a town in the Piedmont region of Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is situated about east of Turin on the right bank of the Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montferrat hills. Beyond the river lies the v ...

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

to a family of Swiss chocolatiers who had emigrated from the canton of

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

. He studied pianoforte and composition at the

Milan Conservatory The Milan Conservatory (''Conservatorio di Milano'') is a college of music in Milan, Italy. History The conservatory was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It opened the following year ...

. A contemporary of

Gioacchino 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 ...

, he is best known for his 1816 opera ''La testa di bronzo'' ("The head of bronze"), which prompted

Stendhal Marie-Henri Beyle (; 23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal (, ; ), was a 19th-century French writer. Best known for the novels ''Le Rouge et le Noir'' (''The Red and the Black'', 1830) and ''La Chartreuse de P ...

’s immediate enthusiasm: “Ce petit Soliva a la figure chétive d'un homme de génie.” (“That little Soliva has the scanty figure of a man of genius.”)Stendhal, ''Rome, Naples et Florence'', entry for 12 November 1816. After a life spent composing, teaching, and conducting in Italy, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, and France, he died in Paris at the age of 62. The "Carlo Evasio Soliva Competition for Piano and Chamber Music," organized by the Istituto Musicale Soliva, is held annually in the town of his birth.

Professional life

At the

, he was at the top of his class. He soon became a conductor at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

and "drew inspiration for his music from Mozart, whose music was then fashionable in Milan,"" ''La testa di bronzo'' - Background" on opera.stanford.edu
Retrieved 6 June 2010 his operas being performed frequently from 1807 onwards. When La Scala organized a competition for new librettists in April 1816, the jury gave the top prize to

Felice Romani Giuseppe Felice Romani (31 January 178828 January 1865) was an Italian poet and scholar of literature and mythology who wrote many librettos for the opera composers Donizetti and Bellini. Romani was considered the finest Italian librettist betwe ...

but chose the novice Carlo Soliva to compose the music. His work was in Mozart's style and was well received by local audiences. The following year his first opera, '' La testa di bronzo o sia La capanna solitaria,'' was an immediate and resounding success, but it marked the apex of his popularity. The opera received a record 47 performances in the 1816-1817 season. In 1817 his second opera, ''Berenice d'Armenia,'' received its premiere in Turin, and his third, ''La zingara delle Asturie,'' played at La Scala. Neither was received with great warmth, but in 1818 ''Giulia e Sesto Pompeo'' was a fiasco at La Scala. But as has been noted:

The very reason for Soliva's initial success eventually doomed his career as an operatic composer. Rossini's new style of music was taking all the European stages by storm, and it ended the Milanese Mozart renaissance. After performances of ''La clemenza di Tito'' in 1819, Mozart disappeared from the programs of the La Scala Theater for more than 50 years. Soliva saw no future for his musical style and focused instead on a career as a conductor and teacher. He continued composing sacred vocal works, however, as well as orchestral, chamber, and piano music.

In 1821 he moved to Poland and became director of singing at the conservatory in Warsaw. There he married one of his students, Maria Kralewska, and became friendly with

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

. He was the conductor in November 1830 for the first performance of Chopin’s piano concerto in E minor. In the turmoil that followed the defeat of the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...

, Soliva moved to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

where he took up posts as conductor of the Royal Chapel and director of the Imperial Singing School. There he had contact with

Mikhail Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka ( rus, link=no, Михаил Иванович Глинка, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka., mʲɪxɐˈil ɪˈvanəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡlʲinkə, Ru-Mikhail-Ivanovich-Glinka.ogg; ) was the first Russian composer to gain wide recogni ...

. From 1841 he lived in the Ticinese village of Semione in the Val di Blenio, where his father had been born. Subsequently he moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

where he again met Chopin along with

George Sand Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. One of the most popular writers in Europe in her lifetime, bein ...

and probably moved in the circle of

Cristina Trivulzio Belgiojoso Cristina Trivulzio di Belgiojoso (; 28 June 1808, Milan, Lombardy, Italy5 July 1871, near Milan) was an Italian noblewoman, the princess of Belgiojoso, who played a prominent part in Italy's struggle for independence. She is also notable as a wri ...

. He dedicated a ''Salve Regina'' to her husband.

Operas

*''La testa di bronzo o sia La capanna solitaria'', libretto by

. 3 March 1816,

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

, Milan *''Berenice d'Armenia'', libretto by

Jacopo Ferretti Jacopo Ferretti (16 July 1784 – 7 March 1852) was an Italian writer, poet and opera librettist. His name is sometimes written as Giacomo Ferretti. He is most famous for having supplied the libretti for two operas composed by Rossini and for fi ...

. March 1817, Teatro Regio, Turin *''La zingara delle Asturie'', libretto by Felice Romani. 5 August 1817, Teatro alla Scala, Milan *''Giulia e Sesto Pompeo'', libretto by B. Perotti. 24 February 1818, Teatro alla Scala, Milan *''Elena e Malvina'', libretto by Felice Romani. 22 May 1824, Teatro alla Scala, Milan *''Китайские девицы, или Три рода драматического искусства'', Russian libretto based on ''Le cinesi'' by

Metastasio Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (3 January 1698 – 12 April 1782), better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio (), was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of ''opera seria'' libretti. Early life Me ...

. 1833 Большой театр, St Petersburg

References

Notes Sources * * Further reading * *

External links

*
Official website of the Carlo Evasio Soliva Competition for Piano and Chamber Music organized by the Istituto Musicale Soliva
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soliva, Carlo Evasio 1791 births 1853 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century conductors (music) 19th-century Italian composers Italian classical composers Italian conductors (music) Italian male conductors (music) Italian expatriates in France Italian expatriates in Poland Italian expatriates in Russia Italian male classical composers Italian opera composers Male conductors (music) Male opera composers Italian people of Swiss descent Milan Conservatory alumni People from Casale Monferrato Swiss classical composers Swiss conductors (music)