Gennaro Manna (12 December 1715 - 28 December 1779) was an Italian composer based in Naples. He was a member of the

Neapolitan School In music history, the Neapolitan School is a group, associated with opera, of 17th and 18th-century composers who studied or worked in Naples, Italy,Don Michael Randel (2003). ''The Harvard Dictionary of Music'', p. 549. . the best known of whom ...

. His compositional output includes 13

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 libr ...

s and more than 150 sacred works, including several

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

Life

The son of Giuseppe Maria Manna and Caterina Feo (sister of the composer

Francesco Feo Francesco Feo (1691 – 28 January 1761) was an Italian composer, known chiefly for his operas. He was born and died in Naples, where most of his operas were premièred. Life Feo studied music at the '' Conservatorio di Santa Maria della Pietà' ...

), he received his musical training at the 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 ...

, where his uncle Francesco Feo was ''primo maestro''. He made his operatic debut 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 J ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

with ''Tito Manlio'' on January 21, 1742. Thanks to its success, he received a new commission from the

Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo The Teatro Malibran, known over its lifetime by a variety of names, beginning with the Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo (or Crisostomo) after the nearby church,Lynn 2005, pp. 101—103 is an opera house in Venice which was inaugurated in 1678 with a ...

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

for the carnival of the following year, where he gave ''Siroe re di Persia''. After his return to Naples, he composed ''Festa teatrale per la nascita dell'Infante'' with Nicola Bonifacio Logroscino, which was never staged. In 1744, he was appointed ''maestro di cappella'' of the Senate of Naples, succeeding

Domenico Sarro Domenico Natale Sarro, also Sarri (24 December 1679 – 25 January 1744) was an Italian composer. Born in Trani, Apulia, he studied at the Neapolitan conservatory of S. Onofrio. He composed extensively in the early 18th century. His opera '' Di ...

, and in January 1745, with ''Achille in Sciro'', he made his debut 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 an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent ...

with and Gaetano Majorano, which was well received. On October 1, 1755, after the death of

Francesco Durante Francesco Durante (31 March 1684 – 30 September 1755) was a Neapolitan composer. Biography He was born at Frattamaggiore, in the Kingdom of Naples, and at an early age he entered the '' Conservatorio dei poveri di Gesù Cristo'', in Naples, ...

, the ''primo maestro'' of the , he took the position of interim teacher next to the ''secondo maestro'' , but on February 13, 1756, he won the competition to become permanent. Between 1760 and 1761 he performed his last theatrical works, the serenata ''Enea in Cuma'' and the opera seria ''Temistocle''. In January 1761 he succeeded his uncle Feo as director of the chapel of the Santissima Annunziata Maggiore, and on May 9 of the same year he received the same position for the

Naples Cathedral The Naples Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Napoli; nap, Viscuvato 'e Napule), or Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary ( it, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, links=no), is a Roman Catholic cathedral, the main church of Naples, southern Italy, and the s ...

. He remained active as a composer of sacred music until his death. Within his family his brother and his cousin also gained fame as musicians.

Style

Unlike his contemporaries Niccolò Jommelli,

Gaetano Latilla __NOTOC__ Gaetano Latilla (12 January 1711 – 15 January 1788) was an Italian opera composer, the most important of the period immediately preceding Niccolò Piccinni (his nephew). Latilla was born in Bari, and studied at the Loreto Conservator ...

and

Girolamo Abos Girolamo Abos, last name also given Avos or d'Avossa and baptized Geronimo Abos (16 November 1715 – May 1760), was a Maltese-Italian composer of both operas and church music. Born in Valletta, Malta, son of Gian Tommaso Abos, whose father was ...

, he left the field of

opera buffa ''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 ...

to deal only with that of the opera seria, in which he was much appreciated by the composers of his time. In his compositional style there are elements of both the galant style and pre-classicism.

Works

Theatrical works

* ''Tito Manlio'' (opera seria, libretto by Gaetano Roccaforte, 1742, Rome) * ''Siroe re di Persia'' (opera seria, libretto by

Pietro 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 Met ...

, 1743, Venice) * ''Festa teatrale per la nascita dell'Infante'' (serenata, in collaboration with Nicola Bonifacio Logroscino, 1743, Naples, never staged) * ''Artaserse'' (opera seria, revision of the opera of the same name by

Leonardo Vinci Leonardo Vinci (1690 – 27 May 1730) was an Italian composer known chiefly for his 40 or so operas; comparatively little of his work in other genres survives. A central proponent of the Neapolitan School of opera, his influence on subsequ ...

, libretto by

, 1743, Naples) * ''Achille in Sciro'' (opera seria, libretto by

, 1745) * ''L'Impero dell'universo con Give'' (componimento drammatico, libretto by

Ranieri de' Calzabigi Ranieri de' Calzabigi (; 23 December 1714 – July 1795) was an Italian poet and librettist, most famous for his collaboration with the composer Christoph Willibald Gluck on his "reform" operas. Born in Livorno, Calzabigi spent the 1750s in Paris ...

, 1745, Naples) * ''Lucio Vero ossia Il Vologeso'' (opera seria, libretto by Apostolo Zeno, 1745, Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, with Gaetano Majorano ed

Annibale Pio Fabri Annibale Pio Fabri (Bologna, 1697 – 12 August 1760, Lisbon), also known as ''Balino'', from ''Annibalino'', diminutive of his first name, was an Italian singer and composer of the 18th century. One of the leading tenors of his age in a time dom ...

) * ''Arsace'' (opera seria, 1746, Naples) * ''La clemenza di Tito'' (opera seria, 1747, Messina) * ''Adriano placata'' (opera seria, 1748, Ferrara) * ''Lucio Papirio dittatore'' (opera pastorale, libretto by Apostolo Zeno, 1748, Roma) * ''Il Lucio Papirio'' (opera seria, 1749, Palermo) * ''Eumene'' (opera seria, libretto by Apostolo Zeno, 1750, Turin) * ''Didone abbandonata'' (opera seria, libretto by

, 1751, Venice) * ''Demofoonte'' (opera seria, libretto by

, 1754,

Teatro Regio di Torino The Teatro Regio (Royal Theatre) is a prominent opera house and opera company in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. Its season runs from October to June with the presentation of eight or nine operas given from five to twelve performances of each. Several bu ...

directed by

Giovanni Battista Somis Giovanni Battista Somis (December 25, 1686 – August 14, 1763) was an Italian violinist and composer of the Baroque music era. He studied under Arcangelo Corelli between 1703 and 1706 or 1707. He was later appointed solo violinist to the ...

) * ''Enea in Cuma'' (serenata, 1760, Naples) * ''Il Sacrificio di Melchisedec'' (componimento drammatico, libretto by M. Tarzia, 1776, Naples)

Sacred music

Oratorios

* ''Gios re di Giuda'' (1747, Naples) * ''Sepultra Sarae sive Pietas in mortuos'' (1748) * ''Davide'' (Palermo, 1751) * ''Rubri maris trajectus'' (Monte Reale, 1761) * ''Debora'' (1769) * ''Esther'' (1770) * ''Il Seraficio Alverna'' (Naples) * ''Israelis liberato sive Esther'' (Monte Reale)

Other sacred music

* 12 masses * 7 ''Gloria'' * ''Domine ad adiuvantum'' for 5 voices * 2 ''Credo'' * 2 ''Magnificat'' * 3 ''Te Deum'' * 14 ''Lamentations'' * ''Christus'' * 2 ''Lezioni per la notte del Santissimo Natale'' * 3 ''Jube Domine benedicere'' for solo voice * 3 ''Benedictus Dominus'' * ''Confitebor'' for solo voice * 12 ''Dixit'' * 2 ''Laudate pueri'' for solo voice * ''Gloria patri'' for solo voice * 2 ''Veni sponsa'' * ''Lauda Sion'' for 5 voices * ''Pange lingua'' * 4 ''Inni'' * ''Tantum ergo'' for solo voice * ''Cori di anime penanti'' for 5 voices * 35 motets with choir * 14 motets and arias for solo voice * Passion according to John * Other minor works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manna, Gennaro 1715 births 1779 deaths Italian male classical composers Italian opera composers Male opera composers 18th-century Italian composers 18th-century Italian male musicians