Giuseppe Lillo by Roberto Focosi (before 1862) - Archivio Storico Ricordi ICON010532

Giuseppe Lillo (26 February 1814 - 4 February 1863) was an Italian composer. He is best known for his operas which followed in the same vein of

Gioachino 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 f ...

. He also produced works for solo piano, a small amount of sacred music, and some

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 ...

. Francesco Bussi. "Lillo, Giuseppe", ''

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 ...

'', 2001.

Life and career

Born in

Galatina Galatina ( el, label=Griko, Ας Πέτρο, As Pètro; scn, label=Salentino, San Pietru), known before the unification of Italy as San Pietro in Galatina, is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Lecce in Apulia, southern Italy. It is situated ...

in the

Province of Lecce The Province of Lecce ( it, Provincia di Lecce; Salentino: ) is a province in the Apulia region of Italy whose capital is the city of Lecce. The province is called the "Heel of Italy". Located on the Salento peninsula, it is the second most-p ...

, Lillo was the son of conductor Giosuè Lillo. He received his earliest musical training from his father before entering the Naples Conservatory where he studied harmony and counterpoint with

Giovanni Furno Giovanni Furno (Capua, January 1, 1748 – Naples , June 20, 1837) was an Italian composer and famous music teacher. Among his students were Vincenzo Bellini Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 183 ...

, piano with

Francesco Lanza Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sever ...

, and composition with

Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli (; 4 April 1752 – 5 May 1837) was an Italian composer, chiefly of opera. Life Early career Zingarelli was born in Naples, where he studied (from the age of 7) at the Santa Maria di Loreto Conservatory under Fena ...

. His first composition, a

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

for four voices and orchestra, premiered to a warm reception in 1834. As a composer Lillo primarily composed music for the stage. His first opera, ''La moglie per 24 ore, ossia L’ammalato di buona salute'', premiered successfully at the Real Collegio di Musica during

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

of 1834. He quickly gained a great deal of popularity with the Naples public with

opera seria ''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to abo ...

s like ''Il gioiello'' (1835), ''Odda di Bernaver'' (1837), and ''Il conte di Chalais'' (1839). The pinnacle of his success came with his only opera comica, ''L’osteria di Andujar'', which premiered in Fondo on 30 September 1840. After 1840, Lillo composed several more operas up through 1853, most of which were received with poor or mediocre responses. He was never able to re-obtain the popularity that he had enjoyed earlier in his career. Around 1840 Lillo was appointed joint music director of 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 t ...

with

Giacomo Cordella Giacomo Cordella (Naples, 25 July 1786 – Naples, 8 May 1847) was an Italian composer. Biography Cordella studied in Naples with Fedele Fenaroli and Giovanni Paisiello. In 1804 he composed his first work, a cantata entitled ''La Vittoria dell' ...

. He also began teaching piano in the early 1840s. He joined the faculty of the Naples Conservatory sometime around 1850, eventually being appointed professor of harmony in 1859; a position he held until his death in Naples four year later.

List of operas

*''La moglie per 24 ore, ossia L’ammalato di buona salute'', opera buffa in 2 acts, libretto by A. Passaro, Naples, Real Collegio di Musica, carnival 1834 *''Il gioiello'', opera semiseria in 2 acts, libretto by

Leopoldo Tarantini Leopoldo is a given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese form of the English, German, Dutch, Polish, and Slovene name, Leopold. Notable people with the name include: *Leopoldo de' Medici (1617–1675), Italian cardinal and Governor of Sien ...

, Naples, Teatro Nuovo, autumn 1835 *''Odda di Bernaver'', opera seria in 2 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 ...

, Naples, Teatro San Carlo, 28 February 1837 *''Rosmunda in Ravenna'', tragedia lirica in 2 acts, libretto by

Luisa Amalia Paladini Luisa (Italian and Spanish), Luísa ( Portuguese) or Louise (French) is a feminine given name; it is the feminine form of the given name Louis (Luis), the French form of the Frankish Chlodowig (German Ludwig), from the Germanic elements ''hlo ...

, Venice, Teatro La Fenice, 26 December 1837 *''Alisa di Rieux'', opera semiseria in 3 acts, libretto by

Gaetano Rossi Gaetano Rossi (; 18 May 1774 – 25 January 1855) was an Italian opera librettist for several of the well-known ''bel canto''-era composers including Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti, and Saverio Mercadante in Italy and Giacomo Meyerbeer in on ...

, Rome, Teatro Argentina, spring 1838 *''La modista'', opera semiseria in 2 acts, Florence, Teatro La Pergola, 9 May 1839 *''Il conte di Chalais'', opera seria in 2 acts, libretto by

Salvatore Cammarano Salvadore Cammarano (also Salvatore) (born Naples, 19 March 1801 – died Naples 17 July 1852) was a prolific Italian librettist and playwright perhaps best known for writing the text of ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' (1835) for Gaetano Donizetti. For D ...

, Naples, Teatro San Carlo, October 1839 *''Le disgrazie di un bel giovane, ossia Il zio e il nipote'', opera giocosa in 2 acts, libretto by

, Florence, Teatro La Pergola, spring 1840 *''Le nozze campestri'', dramma per musica in 1 atto, 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 ...

, Naples, Teatro San Carlo, 30 May 1840 *''L’osteria di Andujar'', opera comica in 3 acts, libretto by

, Naples, Teatro del Fondo, 30 September 1840 *''Cristina di Svezia'', tragedia lirica in 3 acts, libretto by Salvatore Cammarano, Naples, Teatro San Carlo, 21 January 1841 *''Lara'', tragedia lirica in 2 acts, libretto by

, Naples, Teatro San Carlo, carnival 1842 *''Il cavaliere di San Giorgio, ossia Il mulatto'', opera semiseria in 2 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 ...

, Turin, Teatro Carignano, autumn 1846 *'' Caterina Howard'', opera tragica in 4 acts, libretto by G. Giachetti, Naples, Teatro San Carlo, 26 September 1849 *''La Delfina'', opera semiseria in 2 acts, libretto by M. d’Arienzo, Naples, Teatro Nuovo, March 1850 *''La gioventù di

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, ossia Il sogno d’una notte estiva'', commedia lirica in 3 acts, libretto by G.S. Giannini, Naples, Teatro Nuovo, 29 December 1851 *''Ser Babbeo'', opera semiseria in 3 acts, libretto by L.E. Bardare, Naples, Teatro Nuovo, 8 May 1853 *''Il figlio della schiava'', dramma lirico in 3 acts, libretto by G.S. Giannini, Naples, Teatro del Fondo, 9 July 1853

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lillo, Giuseppe 1814 births 1863 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century Italian male musicians Italian classical composers Italian male classical composers Italian opera composers Italian Romantic composers Male opera composers