Gioacchino Conti (28 February 1714 – 25 October 1761), best known as Gizziello or Egizziello, was an Italian

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

castrato A castrato (Italian, plural: ''castrati'') is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to ...

opera singer. Gizziello - Gioacchino Conti

Biography

Conti was born in Arpino in 1714, possibly the son of the composer Nicola Conti. After studying in Naples with Domenico Gizzi, after whom he would later be nicknamed, he made his debut in Rome at an early age, around 1730. According to some modern encyclopedic sources, it took place in Leonardo Vinci's '' Artaserse'', which premiered on 4 February at the Teatro delle Dame. However, his name does not appear in the cast of the original libretto, and his theatrical debut ought probably to be dated instead in 1731, in revivals of ''Didone abbandonata'' and of the same ''Artaserse'', both by Vinci. A colourful anecdote relates how another overweening castrato star,

Caffarelli Caffarelli may be *Caffarelli (castrato), stage name of the castrato Gaetano Majorano (1710-1783)Carmela Cafarelli(1889-1979) was proprietor of Cleveland Ohio's Cafarelli Opera Company *Luis Caffarelli (born 1948), American-Argentine mathematician * ...

, rode post-haste to Rome from Naples just to attend incognito his debut; and full of enthusiasm eventually yelled at him: "Bravo, bravissimo Gizziello, it’s Caffariello who's telling you!" Whatever the case, at the beginning of 1732 he was urgently called upon to replace the castrato Nicolò Grimaldi (Nicolini), who suddenly died on 1 January during the rehearsals of Pergolesi's first opera '' La Salustia'' at the Teatro San Bartolomeo in Naples. Having become a member of the theatre's company, later that year he performed in new operas by Johann Adolf Hasse, Leonardo Leo and Francesco Mancini, and in revivals of Vinci's ''Catone in Utica'' and ''Artaserse''. His subsequent career led him throughout Italy, as well as abroad. In 1736–37 he was in London, where he had been engaged by

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

, with whom he would build a profitable collaboration. Conti performed in many of his works, such as '' Atalanta'', '' Giustino'', '' Berenice'' and ''

Arminio ''Arminio'' ( HWV 36) is an opera composed by George Frideric Handel. The libretto is based on a libretto of the same name by Antonio Salvi, which had been set to music by Alessandro Scarlatti. It is a fictionalisation of events surrounding the G ...

'', as well as in revivals of '' Ariodante'', '' Partenope'', and '' Alcina''. He sang at many premieres for the best and most famous musicians of his time, including

Niccolò Jommelli Niccolò Jommelli (; 10 September 1714 – 25 August 1774) was an Italian composer of the Neapolitan School. Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he was responsible for certain operatic reforms including redu ...

(''Manlio'', 1746),

Baldassare Galuppi Baldassare Galuppi (18 October 17063 January 1785) was an Italian composer, born on the island of Burano in the Venetian Republic. He belonged to a generation of composers, including Johann Adolph Hasse, Giovanni Battista Sammartini, and C. ...

('' Artaserse, 1751'') and Johann Adolf Hasse (''Demetrio'', 1747). After 1759, Conti left the stage and settled in Rome, where he spent the last two years of his life. Being a very sharp soprano for his time (Handel got him repeatedly to reach up to C6), Conti was not quite well disposed towards abuse of

coloratura Coloratura is an elaborate melody with runs, trills, wide leaps, or similar virtuoso-like material,''Oxford American Dictionaries''.Apel (1969), p. 184. or a passage of such music. Operatic roles in which such music plays a prominent part, an ...

and he chose rather to turn to better account his fluent and smooth style of rendering and expression: he has thus remained famous as a sentimental and gentle singer, but he also always kept a condition of absolute excellence at vocal virtuosity, even though not so acrobatic as, for instance, that of his contemporary (and friend)

Farinelli Farinelli (; 24 January 1705 – 16 September 1782) was the stage name of Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi (), a celebrated Italian castrato singer of the 18th century and one of the greatest singers in the history of opera. Farinelli h ...

.Caruselli, I, p. 295. Conti always remained in good terms with Farinelli, who repeatedly invited him to Spain, terming him "Antiguo amigo" (longtime friend) (Sandro Cappelletto, ''La voce perduta: vita di Farinelli, evirato cantore'', Turin, EDT, 1995, p. 108. )

References

Sources

* Rodolfo Celletti, ''Storia del belcanto'', Fiesole, Discanto Edizioni, 1983, pp. 105–106, 125. * Salvatore Caruselli (ed.), ''Grande enciclopedia della musica lirica'', Rome, Longanesi &C. Periodici S.p.A. (article: ''Conti, Gioacchino, detto Gizziello'', I, p. 295) * Winton Dean, ''Conti, Gioacchino Egizziello', 'Gizziello'', 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'', New York, Grove (Oxford University Press), 1997, I, pp. 927–928, * François-Joseph Fétis, ''Biographie universelle des musiciens et bibliographie générale de la musique'' (second edition), Paris, Didot, 1866, II, pp. 350–352 (article: ''Conti (Joachin)''; accessible for free online a
Gallica - BNF
* Corrado Lisena, ''Conti, Gioacchino'', in '' Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'', Volume 28, 1983, accessible online a
Treccani.it
* Carlantonio di Villarosa, ''Memorie dei compositori di musica del Regno di Napoli raccolte dal Marchese di Villarosa'', Naples, Stamperia Reale, 1840, pp. 53–54 (article: ''Conti Gioacchino''; accessible for free online a
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Conti, Gioacchino 1714 births 1761 deaths People from Arpino Italian opera singers Castrati 18th-century Italian male actors Italian male stage actors