Domenico Barbaia (also spelled Barbaja; 10 August 1777 – 19 October 1841) was best known as an

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 ...

Italian

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 ...

. An energetic man, Barbaia, who was born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, began his career by running a coffee shop. He made his first fortune by creating (or at least taking the credit for creating) a special kind of coffee with frothing milk, the " Barbajada", probably the first "cappuccino." This drink, and a variation with hot chocolate like

Bicerin Bicerin () is a traditional hot drink native to Turin, Italy, made of espresso, drinking chocolate, and milk served layered in a small glass. Origin The word is and is the equivalent of Italian (diminutive of , 'glass'). This coffee bever ...

, became so popular in Milan that the erstwhile waiter was able to open a string of coffee houses in the city that all featured his novel concoction. Barbaia made his second fortune by buying and selling munitions during the Napoleonic wars. Also, after the French re-allowed gambling as they advanced southwards in Italy, he became involved in the operations as a card dealer at the

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 ...

opera house, but quickly achieved the position of sub-contractor to run the entire gaming operation of the house in 1805. With his eyes on controlling gambling opportunities further south in Italy as the French armies advanced, taking over the concession in Naples quickly became his preoccupation. In 1806 he arrived in the city. By 1809 he was successful enough to take over the royal

Teatro 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 an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent t ...

, the major opera house, as well as the second royal theatre, the Nuovo, and two additional ones until 1824,Budden 1998, in Sadie, ''The New Grove Dictionary'' 1998, pp. 305—306 and lived in the Palazzo Barbaja in the quartiere San Ferdinando. From 1821 he was also the manager of two theatres in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, the

Theater am Kärntnertor or (Carinthian Gate Theatre) was a prestigious theatre in Vienna during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Its official title was (Imperial and Royal Court Theatre of Vienna). History The theatre was built in 1709 to designs by Ant ...

and the

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prima ...

. In 1826 he took over the running of

before returning to Naples. Among the works he commissioned were operas by

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his opera ...

. In 1815, he offered

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 ...

a contract lasting seven seasons, and the composer obliged with ten operas, including ''Otello'', ''Armida'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Maometto II ''Maometto II'' (or ') is an 1820 opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Cesare della Valle. Set in the 1470s during a time of war between the Turks and Venetians, the work was commissioned by the Teatro di San Carlo i ...

''. Among the singers in Barbaia's company for whom Rossini wrote a number of roles during this period were the

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

Giovanni David Giovanni David (15 September 1790 in Naples – 1864 in Saint Petersburg) was an Italian tenor particularly known for his roles in Rossini operas. Overview David (also known as Davide) was the son of the tenor Giacomo David, with whom he studied ...

and

Andrea Nozzari Andrea Nozzari (27 February 1776 – 12 December 1832) was an Italian tenor. Nozzari was born in Vertova and studied in Bergamo and Rome. He is notable for the principal roles written for him by Gioachino Rossini and mostly premiered in Dome ...

, the bass Michele Benedetti and the great

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

Isabella Colbran Isabella Angela Colbran (2 February 1785 – 7 October 1845) was a Spanish opera soprano and composer. She was known as the muse and first wife of composer Gioachino Rossini. Early years Colbran was born in Madrid, Spain, to Giovanni Colbran ...

. The latter was Barbaia's lover for a time; eventually, though, she left him for Rossini. He died in

Posillipo Posillipo (; nap, Pusilleco ) is an affluent residential quarter of Naples, southern Italy, located along the northern coast of the Gulf of Naples. From the 1st century BC the Bay of Naples witnessed the rise of villas constructed by elite Roma ...

in 1841.

References

Notes Cited sources *

Budden, Julian Julian Medforth Budden (9 April 1924 in Hoylake, Wirral – 28 February 2007 in Florence, Italy) was a British opera scholar, radio producer and broadcaster. He is particularly known for his three volumes on the operas of Giuseppe Verdi (publish ...

(1998), "Domenico Barbaia" 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. One. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. *Budden, Julian, (2001), in Sadie, Stanley, (Ed.), ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'', 2nd edition. London: Macmillan. (hardcover). (eBook). *Eisenbeiss, Philip (2013), ''Bel Canto Bully: The Life of the Legendary Opera Impresario Domenico Barbaja''. London: Haus Publishing, 2013 Other sources *Ewen, David (1963), ''Encyclopedia of the Opera''. New York: Hill and Wang * *Rizzo, John
"Gioachino Rossini, 1792-1868: Essays on Rossini's Life & Work"
on italianoperachicago.com. Retrieved 7 May 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbaia, Domenico 1778 births 1841 deaths Opera managers Impresarios Businesspeople from Milan 18th-century Italian businesspeople 19th-century Italian businesspeople 19th-century theatre managers