Emilio Usiglio (18 January 1841 in

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

– 7 July 1910 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 ...

) was an Italian composer and conductor.

Life and career

Usiglio studied music in Parma, first with Giuseppe Barbacini and then with Giovanni Rossi, before continuing his education in

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

with Carlo Romani and in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

with

Teodulo Mabellini Teodulo Mabellini (2 April 1817 – 10 March 1897) was an Italian composer. Life Early education in Pistoia and Firenze He was the son of Vincenzo, a strumentaio (maker of musical instruments) specialized in wind instruments.Francesco Bussi, ' ...

. At the age of 20 he began his

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 ...

tic career with some success with ''La locandiera''. He wrote exclusively ''

opere buffe ''Opera buffa'' (; "comic opera", plural: ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramm ...

'', his most famous being 1879's ''Le donne curiose'' after the play by

Carlo Goldoni Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: *Carlo (name) *Monte Carlo *Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince Char ...

. As a conductor, Usiglio led the premiere, in 1875, of the new version of

Arrigo Boito Arrigo Boito (; 24 February 1842 10 June 1918) (whose original name was Enrico Giuseppe Giovanni Boito and who wrote essays under the anagrammatic pseudonym of Tobia Gorrio) was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist, librettist and composer, best ...

's ''

Mefistofele ''Mefistofele'' () is an opera in a prologue and five acts, later reduced to four acts and an epilogue, the only completed opera with music by the Italian composer-librettist Arrigo Boito (there are several completed operas for which he was libret ...

'' in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, and in 1877 he conducted the Italian premiere of

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...

's ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' 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 of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' by

Ambroise Thomas Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas (; 5 August 1811 – 12 February 1896) was a French composer and teacher, best known for his operas ''Mignon'' (1866) and ''Hamlet'' (1868). Born into a musical family, Thomas was a student at the Conservatoire de ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. In 1889 he led the first

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

performances of '' Fosca'' by

Antonio Gomes Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 40 ...

. Due primarily to his increasing

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

, Usiglio was forced to retire as a conductor in 1897.Bowen (2003) pp. 155-156 He died in Milan in 1910. His wife was the soprano Clementina Brusa.

Works

Operas

*''La locandiera'', libretto by Giuseppe Barilli (

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

, Teatro Vittorio Emanuele, 5 September 1861) *''Un'eredità in Corsica'', libretto by Raffaello Berninzone (

, Teatro di Santa Radegonda, 1 July 1864) *''Le educande di Sorrento'' or ''La figlia del generale'', libretto by Raffaello Berninzone (

, Teatro Alfieri, 1 May 1868) *''La scommessa'', libretto by Benedetto Rado (

, Teatro Principe Umberto, 6 July 1870) *''La secchia rapita'', libretto by

Angelo Anelli Angelo Anelli (10 November 1761 – 9 April 1820) was an Italian poet and librettist who also wrote under the pseudonyms Marco Landi and Niccolò Liprandi. He was born in Desenzano del Garda and studied literature and poetry at a seminary in Veron ...

, written in collaboration with five other composers (

, Teatro Goldoni, 6 April 1872) *''Le donne curiose'', libretto by (

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Teatro Real The Teatro Real (Royal Theatre) is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace of Madrid, Royal Palace, and known colloquially as ''El Real'', it is considered the top institution of the performing a ...

, 11 February 1879) *''Nozze in prigione'', libretto by Angelo Zanardini (

Teatro Manzoni The Teatro Manzoni is a theatre in the northern Italian city of Milan, located on the Via Manzoni. Opened in 1870 it was originally called the ''Teatro sociale di Milano'', before being renamed after Alessandro Manzoni following his death in 187 ...

, 23 March 1881) *''La guardia notturna ossia La notte di San Silvestro'', libretto by Raffaello Berninzone, not performed *''I fratelli di Lara'', not performed

Ballet

*''Atabalipa degli Incas o Pizzarro alla scoperta delle Indie'' (

, Teatro Nazionale, autumn 1866)

Other works

*''Rimembranze dell'Arno'', vocal album dedicated to

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 ...

*''Allora... e adesso'', stornello *''Lamento d'oltre tomba'', for voice and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

*''Su marinar'', barcarola for voice and

Notes and references

Sources

*Bowen, José Antonio
''The Cambridge companion to conducting''
Cambridge University Press, 2003, pp. 155–156. *Sansone, Matteo, "Usiglio, Emilio", ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (Accessed 3 November 2009)
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External links

* 1841 births 1910 deaths Italian classical composers Italian male classical composers Italian conductors (music) Italian male conductors (music) Italian opera composers Male opera composers Musicians from Parma 19th-century Italian musicians 19th-century Italian male musicians 19th-century conductors (music) {{Italy-conductor-stub