Giuseppe Balducci (2 May 1796 – 1845) was an Italian composer, primarily of operas. Born in

Iesi Jesi, also spelled Iesi (), is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Ancona in Marche, Italy. It is an important industrial and artistic center in the floodplain on the left (north) bank of the Esino river before its mouth on the Adriatic ...

, he spent most of his career in Naples and was one of the originators of the "salon opera" genre, the forerunner of

chamber opera Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra. Early 20th-century operas of this type include Paul Hindemith's ''Cardillac'' (1926). Earlier small-scale operas such as Pergoles ...

Life and career

Balducci was born in

to a once-prosperous family in the city. He was a distant cousin of the composer

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi Giovanni Battista Draghi (; 4 January 1710 – 16 or 17 March 1736), often referred to as Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (), was an Italian Baroque composer, violinist, and organist. His best-known works include his Stabat Mater and the opera ''L ...

(their grandfathers were brothers). Balducci's father, a successful businessman, was kidnapped and killed on one of his travels shortly before Balducci was born. A business partner fraudulently took possession of most of his father's wealth leaving Balducci's mother and children in very straitened circumstances. Balducci studied music under the castrato singer Giovanni Ripa in Iesi and the composer in nearby

Senigallia Senigallia (or Sinigaglia in Old Italian, Romagnol: ''S’nigaja'') is a ''comune'' and port town on Italy's Adriatic coast. It is situated in the province of Ancona in the Marche region and lies approximately 30 kilometers north-west of the pro ...

.Conti, Carla (2003). ''Nobilissime allieve: della musica a Napoli tra Sette e Ottocento'', p. 131. Guida By the age of 17 Balducci had formed his own opera troupe in which he also sang as the lead tenor. However, a year later he was forced to flee his native city after killing the nephew of the Papal Governor in a duel. On his arrival in Naples, he found employment as the music master to the three young daughters of Raimondo Capece Minutolo (1769–1827), a retired field marshal and member of an ancient Neapolitan noble family. Balducci would remain a member of the Capece Minutolo household for the rest of his life.Cardinali, Augusta Franco (19 January 2014)
"Il duello, la scomunica, l'esilio"
''Voce della Vallesina'', p. 3. Retrieved 7 June 2017 . Commons, Jeremy (2001)
"Balducci, Giuseppe (Antonio Luigi Angelo)"

Grove Music Online ''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 ...

. Retrieved 7 June 2017 (subscription required for full access). Once he was settled in Naples, Balducci resumed his own music studies, this time with the composer Niccolò Zingarelli at the Collegio San Sebastiano. He made his debut as an opera composer with ''Il sospetto funesto'', an opera semiseria which was produced at the

Teatro del Fondo The Teatro del Fondo is a theatre in Naples, now known as the Teatro Mercadante. It is located on Piazza del Municipio, Naples, Piazza del Municipio #1, with the front facing the west side of Castel Nuovo, Naples, Castel Nuovo and near the Molo (Doc ...

in March 1820. The critic for the ''Giornale del Regno delle Due Sicilie'' excoriated the hackneyed libretto based on a play which had been circulating throughout Italy, but reserved praise for Balducci's music. Four more operas followed, the last of which ''Tazia'' was performed at the

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 ...

in 1826 with Caroline Ungher in the title role. According to Balducci's biographer

Jeremy Commons Jeremy Paul Axford Commons (born 17 December 1933) is a New Zealand opera historian, scholar, impresario and librettist. He is an authority on nineteenth-century Italian opera and has published major works on the composers Gaetano Donizetti and N ...

, the performance was "sabotaged by a disaffected orchestra for unknown reasons", and Balducci basically retired from composing for the public theatre for the next twelve years. On the death of Raimondo Capece Minutolo in 1827, his widow Matilde (daughter of the former Viceroy of Mexico

Bernardo de Galvez Bernardo is a given name and less frequently an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish surname. Possibly from the Germanic "Bernhard". Given name People * Bernardo the Japanese (died 1557), early Japanese Christian convert and disciple of Saint Fran ...

) named Balducci the guardian or ''tutore'' of her daughters Paolina, Adelaide, and Clotilde. He devoted much of his time to helping her in the administration the family's finances and the education of the three sisters. Between 1827 and 1839 Balducci composed five "salon operas" (forerunners of the modern

) which were performed by Paolina, Adelaide, and Clotilde and their friends in the family's house. Unusually for Italian operas of the day these works were composed for women's voices only. With the exception of his penultimate opera for the family, ''Scherzo'', the musical accompaniment was scored for two pianos only. In 1838 Balducci returned to the public theatre for a final time with his opera ''Bianca Turenga'' which was performed at the Teatro San Carlo. Arias from the work were later published in Milan by

Ricordi Ricordi may refer to: People *Giovanni Ricordi (1785–1853), Italian violinist and publishing company founder *Giulio Ricordi (1840–1912), Italian publisher and musician Music *Casa Ricordi, an Italian music publishing company established in ...

. The following year, Matilde Capece Minutolo died suddenly in Spain while attending to her properties there. After her death Balducci's responsibilities in the household increased dramatically, and he virtually ceased composing. He died in

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

, Spain in 1845 while carrying out business affairs for the Capece Minutolo family. In 1882, Clotilde Capece Minutolo, the last surviving sister, donated her family's extensive music collection to the San Pietro a Majella conservatory in Naples. It includes the autograph scores of many of Balducci's works as well as Clotilde's diary which is the source for much of the information about Balducci's early life and the circumstances of his flight from Iesi. Although Balducci's works were largely forgotten after his death, all of his chamber operas have since been revived beginning in the early 1990s. Opera Waikato in New Zealand has staged ''I gelosi'' (1993), ''Il noce di Benevento'' (1995) and ''Scherzo'' (1996). ''Scherzo'' was staged again in 2014 during the Festival dell'Opera da Camera in Jesi, its first public performance in Italy. The

Rossini in Wildbad Rossini in Wildbad is a bel canto opera festival in Bad Wildbad, Baden-Württemberg, specialising in the lesser-known operas of Gioachino Rossini and his contemporaries. The festival commemorates a stay by Rossini at the town's spa in 1856, which ...

festival has staged ''I gelosi'' (2006), ''Boabdil, re di Granata'' (2007), ''Il noce di Benevento'' (2011), and ''Il conte di Marsico'' (2016).

Works

Although he was primarily known for his operas in his own lifetime, Balducci composed several pieces of religious vocal music including two masses and a ''

Salve regina The "Salve Regina" (, ; meaning 'Hail Queen'), also known as the "Hail Holy Queen", is a Marian hymn and one of four Marian antiphons sung at different seasons within the Christian liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church. The Salve Regina ...

''. He also composed various songs and duets; an

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 mus ...

, ''Adamo''; a

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

for two voices, ''Andromaca''; and additional music for Stephen Storace's opera '' The Pirates'' when it was revived under the title ''Isidore de Merida'' in 1827. Operas composed for public performance *''Il sospetto funesto'', opera semiseria in two acts (librettistas

Pietro Celestino Giannone Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice * Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death * Pietro II Ca ...

and

Andrea Leone Tottola Andrea Leone Tottola (died 15 September 1831) was a prolific Italian librettist, best known for his work with Gaetano Donizetti and Gioachino Rossini. It is not known when or where he was born. He became the official poet to the royal theatres ...

), premiered

, Naples, March 1820All works in this list are sourced from Commons (2001). *''L'amante virtuoso'', dramma giocoso in two acts (libretto by

Giovanni Schmidt Giovanni Schmidt ( in Livorno – in Naples) was an Italian librettist. Life He moved to Naples while he was still young and stayed there for the rest of his life. Between 1800 and 1839 he wrote libretti for 45 operas, especially for the Teatro S ...

), premiered Teatro del Fondo, Naples, 1 April 1823 *''Le nozze di Don Desiderio'', melodramma per musica in two acts (librettist unknown, listed only in the printed libretto as "Signor N. N."), premiered Teatro Nuovo, Naples, 8 November 1823 *''Riccardo l'intrepido'', melodramma per musica in two acts (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 ...

), premiered

Teatro Valle Teatro may refer to: * Theatre * Teatro (band) Teatro, Italian for "theatre", is a vocal group signed to the Sony BMG music label. The members of Teatro are Jeremiah James, Andrew Alexander, Simon Bailey and Stephen Rahman-Hughes. Band members ...

, Rome, 9 September 1824 *''Tazia'', dramma in one act (libretto by Luigi Ricciuti), premiered

, Naples, 15 January 1826 *''Bianca Turenga'', melodramma in three acts (libretto by

Giovanni Emanuele Bidera Giovanni Emanuele Bidera (or Bideri) (4 October 1784 – 8 April 1858) was an Italian writer. He is primarily known as the librettist of Gaetano Donizetti's operas ''Gemma di Vergy'' and ''Marino Faliero'', but he also wrote many other librettos ...

), premiered Teatro San Carlo, Naples, 11 August 1838 Chamber operas composed for the Capece Minutolo household All of these chamber operas were scored for female voices and two pianos played by four or six hands. However ''Scherzo'', performed to celebrate the

name day In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, among other parts of Christendom. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively that of a ...

of Matilde Capece Minutolo, also has a finale which employs a small orchestra and male chorus. The score of ''Il conte di Marsico'', the last and most ambitious of these works was published by

in 1840. *''Boabdil, re di Granata'', opera seria in two acts (librettist unknown), first performed Naples, March 1827 * ''I gelosi'', commedia per musica in two acts (libretto by Giulio Tarantino), first performed Naples, April 1834 *''Il noce di Benevento'', opera buffa in two acts (librettist unknown), first performed Naples, Winter 1836 * ''Scherzo'', opera comica in one act (libretto by Giuseppe Campagna), first performed Naples, 14 March 1837 *''Il conte di Marsico'', melodramma in a prologue and two acts (libretto by Anacleto Balducci and Vincenzo Salvagnoli), first performed Naples, 26 February 1839

Recordings

''Introducing Giuseppe Balducci'', a sampling of Balducci's work, which includes excerpts from his chamber operas ''Scherzo'', ''I gelosi'' and ''Il Conte di Marsico'', was released on LP in 1986 by the New Zealand Opera Society and re-issued on CD in 2000. An excerpt from Balducci's opera ''Tazia'' appears on the CD ''A Hundred Years of Italian Opera 1820–1830'', released by

Opera Rara Opera Rara is a London-based opera company and recording label which specialises in recording and performing forgotten operatic repertoire from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1970 by bel canto enthusiasts Patric Schmid and Don Whi ...

in 1994.

Life and career

Works

Recordings

Notes

References

Further reading