Franco Leoni
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Franco Leoni (24 October 1864 – 8 February 1949) was an Italian opera composer. After training in Milan, he made most of his career in England, composing for
Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
and West End theatres. He is best known for the opera ''L'Oracolo'', written for Covent Garden but taken up successfully by the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In addition to his operas, Leoni wrote several
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 ...
s and oratorios and many ballads and other songs. He also worked as a conductor in London, both in the concert hall and in the theatre.


Life and works


Early years

Leoni was born in Milan and studied music at the Milan Conservatory under
Amilcare Ponchielli Amilcare Ponchielli (, ; 31 August 1834 – 16 January 1886) was an Italian opera composer, best known for his opera ''La Gioconda''. He was married to the soprano Teresina Brambilla. Life and work Born in Paderno Fasolaro (now Paderno Ponchiell ...
and Cesare Dominiceti.Burton, Anthony
"Leoni, Franco"
''The Oxford Companion to Music'', accessed 18 June 2010 (requires subscription)
His opera ''Raggio di Luna'' (''Moonbeam'') to a libretto by Camillo Zanoni was first performed at the
Teatro Manzoni The Teatro Manzoni is a theatre in the northern Italian city of Milan, located on the Via Manzoni. Opened in 1870 it was originally called the ''Teatro sociale di Milano'', before being renamed after Alessandro Manzoni following his death in 187 ...
in Milan in June 1890.Blyth, Alan
"Leoni, Franco"
''Grove Online'', Oxford University Press, accessed 18 June 2010 (requires subscription)
Two years later, Leoni emigrated to England, which remained his home until 1917. At first he worked for the music publisher Chappell & Co., for whom he wrote "charming songs for our most famous vocalists.""Rip Van Winkle", '' The Era'', 28 August 1897, p. 17 In 1896, he wrote what he called "a dramatic musical poem", "Sardanapalus", inspired by Byron's 1821
play of the same name Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...
. The work, for soloists, chorus and orchestra, was premiered at the Queen's Hall and was well reviewed, although reviewers commented on the influence of earlier composers on the score. In 1897, Leoni's operatic version of ''Rip van Winkle'' was presented at Her Majesty's Theatre. The libretto, based on the story by Washington Irving, was by William Akerman. The score was through-composed, with no spoken dialogue, and received qualified praise from critics. One wrote: "Colour of a sort there is in the music, and some dramatic point, but of downright individuality and humour there is little" ('' The Times''). Another commented, "Mr Leoni's instrumentation is clever, but there is a little too much of it" ('' Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper''). A third stated, "his music flows on with the alternate suavity, passion and grace characteristic of modern Italian composers" ('' The Morning Post''). A recurrent theme in criticisms of Leoni's music was that it was not strikingly individual: "Mr Leoni's score is throughout melodious, dramatically appropriate, well and picturesquely orchestrated … the composer's chief fault at present is his excellent memory orthe works of Dvořák, Mascagni, Wagner, Bizet." The opera ran briefly and was taken off after a month. In 1898, Leoni presented another choral work, the
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 ...
, ''The Gate of Life'', which was premiered by the
Royal Choral Society The Royal Choral Society (RCS) is an amateur choir, based in London. History Formed soon after the opening of the Royal Albert Hall in 1871, the choir gave its first performance as the Royal Albert Hall Choral Society on 8 May 1872 – the choir' ...
in March of that year and was then taken up by other choirs. Also in 1898, he took on the role of musical director for a West End show, conducting the theatre orchestra for the run of "The Topsy-Turvy Hotel" by Victor Roger and Lionel Monckton. He also took on the conductorship of the newly formed Queen's Hall Choral Society. In 1901, Leoni wrote the music for an operatic version of Hans Andersen's children's story, '' Ib and Little Christina'', to a libretto by Basil Hood. Styled "A Picture in Three Panels", it opened at the Savoy Theatre on 14 November 1901 together with Hood's '' The Willow Pattern''. ''The Times'' described it as "an opera of ultra-modern type" and compared it unflatteringly to the work of
Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 â€“ 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...
, who had died earlier in that year. '' The Manchester Guardian'' later said that "the music, though clever and attractive in many ways, was too realistic and too Southern to reflect the Northern symbolism of Andersen's story, and that its peculiar vein of passion was out of place.""Music in London", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 13 January 1904, p. 4 The opera ran for 16 performances and closed before the end of November. It was revived in London at Daly's Theatre from 11 to 13 January 1904, then transferred to the Lyric Theatre from 19 January to 5 March 1904 for a limited season of 23 matinée performances.Wearing, J.P. ''The London Stage 1900-1909'' (2 vols), Scarecrow (1981) The opera is not quite a full length piece and is played in three short scenes. In the same year, Leoni composed incidental music for
James Bernard Fagan James Bernard Fagan (18 May 1873 – 17 February 1933) was an Irish-born actor, theatre manager, producer and playwright active in England. After turning from the law to the stage, Fagan began his acting career, including four years from 1895 t ...
's play "The Prayer of the Sword." Later in 1904, Leoni published a song-cycle entitled "Fairy Dreams", which was premiered by four well-known soloists,
Suzanne Adams Suzanne Adams (28 November 1872 – 5 February 1953) was an American lyric coloratura soprano. Known for her agile and pure voice, Adams first became well known in France before establishing herself as one of the Metropolitan Opera's leading sop ...
, Muriel Foster, Ben Davies and
Kennerley Rumford Robert Henry Kennerley Rumford (2 September 1870 – 9 March 1957) was an English baritone singer of the 20th century. He was first known for his performances of oratorios, but following his marriage to the well-known contralto singer Clara But ...
(the husband of Clara Butt).


Covent Garden and later years

''L'Oracolo'', premiered at Covent Garden in 1905, is a piece of operatic Grand Guignol with a kidnapping and two murders within its one hour of music. A later critic said of the work, "Hokum, but any opera that begins with three crashes, a very loud
cock Cock or cocks most commonly refers to: * Cock (bird) or rooster, a male of any bird species * Cock (slang), a slang term for the penis Cock or cocks may also refer to: Names * Cock (surname) * Cocks (surname) Places * Cocks Glacier, Ross Dep ...
-crow, a chorus shouting in fake-Chinese and then launches into a vehement unaccompanied solo … has clearly got something going for it. The one-act piece, which depicts melodramatic events in and around a San Francisco opium den, had a libretto by Camillo Zanoni, based on the play ''The Cat and the Cherub'' by
Chester Bailey Fernald Chester Bailey Fernald (March 18, 1869 – April 10, 1938) also known as C. B. Fernald, was an American writer and playwright. History Fernald was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He moved to London, living in Gower Street, W.C. sometime around 19 ...
. The London performances, conducted by
André Messager André Charles Prosper Messager (; 30 December 1853 – 24 February 1929) was a French composer, organist, pianist and conductor. His compositions include eight ballets and thirty opéra comique, opéras comiques, opérettes and other stage wo ...
with
Antonio Scotti Antonio Scotti (25 January 1866 – 26 February 1936) was an Italian baritone. He was a principal artist of the New York Metropolitan Opera for more than 33 seasons, but also sang with great success at London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, a ...
as the villain, Cim-Fen, were well received: '' The Observer'' wrote of the score, "It is never for an instant dull. … Melody he has at easy command … completely a master of his orchestra. ... His music belongs to no school save that of modernity – with a modern Italian flavour." Nevertheless, ''L'Oracolo'' made no more than a modest impact in London and dropped out of Covent Garden's repertory. In 1908, Leoni turned again to the concert hall. Henry Wood conducted the premiere of ''The Bells'', Leoni's "vocal scena" for
baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
and orchestra, set to Edgar Allan Poe's poem of the same name. Once more, the reviews praised the skill of the scoring, but found no strong individual personality in the music. Leoni's next opera was ''Tzigana'', to a libretto by E. Moschini, which premiered in Genoa in February 1910 and also played in Milan and in Budapest. In 1911, Leoni's cantata, ''Golgotha'', depicting the Gospel story of Christ's passion and crucifixion, was premiered in London, with soloists including Gervase Elwes and Clara Butt. The notices were good, ranging from polite to strongly enthusiastic. The critic of '' The Observer'' praised the work in unequivocal terms, and members of the audience wrote in endorsing his praise. The last large-scale work that Leoni composed before leaving his English domicile was ''Francesca da Rimini'', a one-act piece based on a play by Francis Marion Crawford, given in a French version by
Marcel Schwob Mayer André Marcel Schwob, known as Marcel Schwob (23 August 1867 – 26 February 1905), was a French symbolist writer best known for his short stories and his literary influence on authors such as Jorge Luis Borges, Alfonso Reyes, Roberto Bolaà ...
at the
Opéra Comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...
, Paris, in 1914. It was presented in a double bill with the French première of Falla's ''La vida breve''. According to ''
The Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainze ...
'', the Falla work made the greater impact, but Leoni's also achieved a moderate success. In 1917 Leoni left England, and returned to Italy. Thereafter he appears to have shared his time among three countries: Italy, France and England. His later operas were ''Le baruffe chiozzotte'', to a libretto based on a play by Carlo Goldoni (1920), ''La terra del sogno'' and ''Falene'', to libretti by C. Linati (1920). He died in London at the age of 84.


Legacy

Little of Leoni's work outlived him. Gramophone recordings survive of his contemporaries Clara Butt and Frances Alda performing his songs. Later singers, including
Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...
and Bryn Terfel, have continued to perform his hunting song (in which the fox escapes), "Tally Ho!" Of Leoni's operas, only ''L'Oracolo'' has retained a foothold in the repertory of major opera houses. Scotti's fondness for the work led the Metropolitan Opera to stage it from time to time, and he chose it for his farewell appearance in 1933. Thereafter it was rarely performed, but it came to public attention again when the conductor
Richard Bonynge Richard Alan Bonynge ( ) (born 29 September 1930) is an Australian conductor and pianist. He is the widower of Australian dramatic coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland. Bonynge conducted virtually all of Sutherland's operatic performances ...
made a complete recording of the piece in 1975 starring his wife,
Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s. She possessed ...
, and the veteran Tito Gobbi as the villain. That LP recording was reissued on CD in 1997. Occasional stage revivals have included those at the
Curtis Institute The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...
(1949), the
Philadelphia Opera Opera Philadelphia (prior to 2013 Opera Company of Philadelphia (OCP)) is an American opera company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is the city's only company producing grand opera. The organization produces one festival in September (Festival O ...
(1952), the
Glasgow Grand Opera Society The Glasgow Grand Opera Society, known by its members and audiences alike as simply 'The Grand', was an opera company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1906 and was wound up in 2000. Charles Manners used profits from a successful s ...
(1994),
Teatro Grattacielo Teatro Grattacielo is a professional opera company based in New York City specializing in concert performances of rarely heard verismo operas. The company's past performances have included the North American premieres of Mascagni's ''Il piccolo M ...
in a 2007 concert performance, and the
Frankfurt Opera The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt. Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Shrek's ''Der ferne Klang'' in 1912, '' Fennimore und Gerda'' by Frede ...
, 2009, with another run scheduled for 2011.Production Programme, ''L'Oracolo'' and ''Dido and Aeneas'', Glasgow Grand Opera Society, 1994


Notes


References


Profile of Leoni at the 'Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte' website


External links



{{DEFAULTSORT:Leoni, Franco 1864 births 1949 deaths Italian classical composers Italian male classical composers Italian opera composers Male opera composers Musicians from Milan Milan Conservatory alumni Italian conductors (music) Italian male conductors (music) Italian expatriates in England