Felice Alessandri (24 November 1747 – 15 August 1798) was an Italian keyboardist and composer who was internationally active; working in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

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 ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, and

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

.Pratt, Waldo Selden. ''The History of Music''. New York: G. Schirmer, Inc., 1907. 359. He is best known for his stage works, and he produced a total of 32

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 between 1764 and 1794. His other compositions include 6

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

, 6

trio sonata The trio sonata is a genre, typically consisting of several movements, with two melody instruments and basso continuo. Originating in the early 17th century, the trio sonata was a favorite chamber ensemble combination in the Baroque era. Basic str ...

s for 2 violins with basso continuo, a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, and an

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 ...

Life and career

Born in

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 ...

, Alessandri was trained at the Naples Conservatory. After completing his studies he became

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 the

Turin Cathedral la, Ecclesia Sancti Johannis Baptista , native_name = Duomo di Torino , native_name_lang = Italian , image = DuomoTorino.jpg , caption = The Cathedral in 2019 , imagelink = , pushpin map = Italy Turin , pushpin mapsize = , map caption = ...

. He then moved to Paris, France where he lived for 4 years. After a brief return to Italy, he came to London in 1768 where he was active as a concert pianist and two of his comic operas were staged: ''La moglie fedete'' and ''Re alia caccia''. He then spent time in various cities in Italy and in St. Petersburg, Russia. He came to Berlin in 1789 where he served as choir master of the

Berlin Hofoper The (), also known as the Berlin State Opera (german: Staatsoper Berlin), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great from ...

from 1790-1792. Two of his operas were premiered in Berlin: ''Il Ritorno a Ulysse'' (1790) and ''Dario'' (1791). In 1792 his comic opera ''L'Ouverture du grand opera italien a Nankin'' was mounted in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

. Not much is known about his activities over the next six years. He died in 1798 in

Casalino Casalino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about southwest of Novara. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,469 and an area of .All demograph ...

at the age of 50.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alessandri, Felice 1747 births 1798 deaths Italian male classical composers Italian opera composers Male opera composers Musicians from Rome 18th-century Italian composers 18th-century Italian male musicians