![Nicola Vaccai italian song teacher & composer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Nicola_Vaccai_italian_song_teacher_%26_composer.jpg)
Nicola Vaccai (15 March 1790 – 5 or 6 August 1848) 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 ...
, particularly of
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 ...
s, and a singing teacher.
Life and career as a composer
Born at
Tolentino
Tolentino is a town and ''comune'' of about 19,000 inhabitants, in the province of Macerata in the Marche region of central Italy.
It is located in the middle of the valley of the Chienti.
History
Signs of the first inhabitants of this favorab ...
, he grew up in
Pesaro
Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, ...
, and studied music there until his parents sent him to
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 ...
to study law. Having no intention of becoming a lawyer, he took voice lessons and eventually studied
counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...
with
Giuseppe Jannaconi, an important Roman composer. When Vaccai turned twenty one, he went to
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 ...
and became a disciple of
Paisiello
Giovanni Paisiello (or Paesiello; 9 May 1740 – 5 June 1816) was an Italian composer of the Classical era, and was the most popular opera composer of the late 1700s. His operatic style influenced Mozart and Rossini.
Life
Paisiello was born i ...
, whose ''
Barber of Seville
''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...
'' was considered a comic masterpiece until
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 ...
's ''
Barber
A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...
'' swept it from the stage 35 years later.
[J.G. Paton, 'Introduction', in Nicola Vaccai, ''Practical Method of Italian Singing'' ed. J.G. Paton (G. Schirmer, 1975), pp. iii-iv.]
Vaccai launched his career in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
, initially earning his living by writing ballets and teaching voice. He had his first operatic success with ''I solitari di Scozia'' 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 ...
in 1815. In
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
he was commissioned to write ''Pietro il grande'', where he was also one of the soloists in the first performance. This was followed by ''Zadig e Astartea'' (Naples, 1825) and then his best known opera ''
Giulietta e Romeo
''Giulietta e Romeo'' is a dramma per musica by composer Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli with an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa after the 1530 novella of the same name by Luigi Da Porto and Shakespeare's '' Romeo and Juliet''. The opera ...
'' (
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, 1825).
Vaccai's sojourn in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
began with a production of his most successful opera, ''Romeo and Juliet'', at Kings Theatre in April, 1832. His charm and continental reputation ingratiated him to society and soon he was much sought after as a teacher.
Ending his wanderings with a return to Italy, Vaccai became a director and professor of composition at the
Milan Conservatory
The Milan Conservatory (''Conservatorio di Milano'') is a college of music in Milan, Italy.
History
The conservatory was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It opened the following year ...
in 1838. After six years he retired on account of poor health to his boyhood home, Pesaro, where he wrote his sixteenth opera. He died there in 1848.
Work as a teacher of singing: his ''Metodo pratico de canto''
Later eclipsed by his rival
Bellini, Vaccai is now chiefly remembered as a voice teacher. One of his notable students was soprano
Marianna Barbieri-Nini
Marianna Barbieri-Nini (18 February 1818 in Florence – 27 November 1887 in Florence) was an Italian operatic soprano who had an active career in Italy's major opera houses from 1840 through 1856. She also made appearances at the Liceu in Bar ...
. Vaccai wrote many books, one of which is his 1832 ''Metodo pratico de canto'' (''Practical Vocal Method''), which has been transposed to accommodate different voice types such as alto or low ranges such as bass in order to instruct students in the method of singing in the Italian legato style. It is still in print and may be used as a teaching tool.
In his introduction, Vaccai notes that only the voice of a master demonstrating his exercises accurately can instruct a student in the correct techniques of true legato singing. The book is also an important source of information about the performance of early 19th-century opera.
Voice teacher
Elio Battaglia
Elio Battaglia (born 3 November 1933 in Palermo), is an Italian baritone, singing teacher, and author and lecturer in music. He was the founder and director of the course entitled, ''Il Lied Tedesco'' ("German Song"), which ran in Acquasparta, ...
edited a new teacher’s edition of the "Metodo practico" or “Practical Method of Italian Singing” which was published by Ricordi in 1990 and which was accompanied by a CD of examples.
On September 15, 2020,
Teatro Nuovo (New York)
Teatro Nuovo is an American opera company and training institution specializing in the repertory and performance practice of bel canto opera. It was founded in 2017 by Will Crutchfield, who is currently its general and artistic director.
History
...
released “Bel Canto in Thirty Minutes,” a complete recording of the “Practical Method of Italian Singing,” led by
Will Crutchfield
Will Crutchfield (born 1957) is an American conductor, musicologist, and vocal coach. He is the founding Artistic and General Director of Teatro Nuovo, a company that presented its inaugural season in the summer of 2018 at State University of Ne ...
and featuring 22 singers including Santiago Ballerini,
Lawrence Brownlee
Lawrence Brownlee (born November 24, 1972) is an American operatic tenor particularly associated with the bel canto repertoire. Describing his voice, Speight Jenkins, general director of the Seattle Opera, said: "There are other singers that sing ...
, Teresa Castillo, Junhan Choi, Georgia Jarman, Alisa Jordheim, Hannah Ludwig, Christine Lyons, Megan Marino, Dorian McCall, Madison Marie McIntosh,
Angela Meade
Angela Meade (born 1977) is an American operatic soprano.
Life and career
Born in Centralia, Washington, Meade started her education at Centralia Community College before going on to earn a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice from Pacific Luther ...
, Tamara Mumford,
Lisette Oropesa
Lisette Oropesa (born September 29, 1983) is an American operatic soprano of Cuban ancestry. She has a wide repertoire that includes works from Gluck, Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Wagner, Verdi, Bizet, Massenet and Puccini. With her lyric ...
, Daniel Mobbs, Jennifer Rowley, Nicholas Simpson,
Michael Spyres
Michael Spyres is an American operatic baritenor. He is particularly associated with the bel canto repertoire, especially the works of Rossini, and heroic roles in French grand opera.
Biography
Michael Spyres was born in 1979 in Missouri, US, and ...
, Derrek Stark, Alina Tamborini, Hans Tashjian, and Meigui Zhan
Operas
Legacy
Teatro Nicola Vaccaj, the opera house in Tolentino, is named after the musician.
References
Notes
Sources
*
Budden, Julian
Julian Medforth Budden (9 April 1924 in Hoylake, Wirral – 28 February 2007 in Florence, Italy) was a British opera scholar, radio producer and broadcaster. He is particularly known for his three volumes on the operas of Giuseppe Verdi (publish ...
(1998), "Vaccai, Nicola" 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
''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...
'', Vol. Four, pp. 881–882. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. 1998
*Legger, Gianni (n.d.), ''Drammaturgia musicale italiana'', Fondazzione Teatro Reggio (Torino).
*Vaccai, Nicola (1996), ''Practical Method of Italian Singing: Mezzo Soprano (Alto) or Baritone'', G. Schirmer, Inc. Another edition of Vaccaj's vocal treatise exists in three separated fascicules in which curator M.-G. Genesi gives complete version of the verses used by the composer, and also adds the introductory Recitative section of each exercise, permitting to the singer to include this "enlarged version" of the single pieces within a vocal concert programme. Edition: Piacenza, 2003,in 3 volumes.
*Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Opera'', 782 pages.
External links
*
*
Zadig e Astartea: drama serio em dois actos 1837 publication, digitized by
BYU
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaccai, Nicola
1790 births
1848 deaths
People from the Province of Macerata
Italian classical composers
Italian male classical composers
Italian Romantic composers
Italian opera composers
Male opera composers
Milan Conservatory faculty
People from Pesaro
Voice teachers
19th-century classical composers
19th-century Italian male musicians