Matteo Capranica (26 August 1708 – c. 1776) was an Italian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. Born in

Amatrice Amatrice (; Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Rieti, in northern Lazio (central Italy), and the center of the food-agricultural area of Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park. The town was devastated by a powerful earth ...

, Capranica studied at the Conservatorio di Sant'Onofrio a Porta Capuana in Naples under

Nicola Porpora Nicola (or Niccolò) Antonio Porpora (17 August 16863 March 1768) was an Italian composer and teacher of singing of the Baroque era, whose most famous singing students were the castrati Farinelli and Caffarelli. Other students included compose ...

, Ignazio Prota, and

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' ...

. After completing his studies he worked as

maestro di cappella (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

at various churches in Naples and devoted himself to music composition of both sacred and secular works. He was for many years organist at 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 ...

. His first

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 ...

, ''Carlo'', premiered at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples in 1736. He went on to compose eight more operas through 1753. His other works include 2

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 ...

s, 2

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 ...

es, 2

sonata Sonata (; Italian: , pl. ''sonate''; from Latin and Italian: ''sonare'' rchaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by ''suonare'' "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cant ...

s, 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 ...

, several works for

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

, and various arias and duets for singers. He died in Naples.Stefano Capone, Carmela Lombardi - L'opera comica napoletana (1709-1749) 2007 G.A. Federico, opera comica, Napoli, Teatro dei Fiorentini] 1739 - Amor vuol sofferenza ibr. G.A. Federico, opera comica, Napoli, Teatro Nuovo sopra Toledo1 740 - Alidoro ibr. ... Teatro dei Fiorentini1 744 - La finta frascatana [è una versione di Amor vuol sofferenza completata da M. Capranica per la morte di Leo.

Sources

Matteo Capranica at operone.de
1708 births 1776 deaths Italian male classical composers Italian opera composers Male opera composers 18th-century Italian composers 18th-century Italian male musicians {{italy-composer-stub