Count Nicolò Gabrielli di Quercita (21 February 1814 – 14 June 1891) was an Italian opera composer.

Biography

Born 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 ...

, at the time when the city was capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Nicolò Gabrielli was the scion of a distinguished yet decayed aristocratic

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

originally from

Gubbio Gubbio () is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennines. History The city's origins are very ancient. ...

and settled thereafter in

Tropea Tropea (; scn, label= Calabrian, Trupìa; la, Tropaea; grc, Τράπεια, Trápeia) is a municipality in the province of Vibo Valentia, in Calabria, Italy. Tropea is a seaside resort with sandy beaches, located on the Gulf of Saint Euphe ...

and Palermo. He showed since his early childhood a talent for music that led him to enter the Naples conservatory where he studied under the supervision of Nicola Zingarelli and Gaetano Donizetti. He dedicated himself especially to musical composition, and debuted in August 1835 with a melodrama in Neapolitan dialect, ''I dotti per fanatismo''. Nicolò Gabrielli was a very prolific composer, and from 1835 onwards worked at many

melodramas A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

opera buffa ''Opera buffa'' (; "comic opera", plural: ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramm ...

s, commedias and farsas, including ''La lettera perduta'' (1836), ''Il Cid'' (1836), ''La parola di matrimonio'' (1837), ''L'americano in fiera ossia Farvest Calelas'' (1837), ''Vinclinda'' (1837), ''L'affamato senza danaro'' (1839), ''Edwige o Il sogno'' (1839), ''Il padre della debuttante'' (1839), ''La marchesa e il ballerino'' (1839), ''Nadan o L'orgoglio punito'' (1839), ''L'assedio di Sciraz ossia L'amor materno'' (1840), ''Basilio III Demetriovitz'' (1841), ''Il bugiardo veritiero'' (1841), ''Il condannato di Saragozza'' (1842), ''La zingara'' (1842), ''Carlo di Rovenstein'' (1843), ''L'assedio di Leyda'' (1843), ''Sara ovvero La pazza delle montagne di Scozia'' (1843), ''Il gemello'' (1845), ''Una passeggiata sul palchetto a vapore verso Capri'' (1845), ''Giulia di Tolosa'' (1846), ''Il vampiro'' (1848), ''Bradamante e Ruggero'' (1849), ''Fiorina'' (1849), ''La regina delle rose'' (1850). He also worked at several ballets, including ''Ester d'Engaddi'' (1837), ''Il rajah di Benares'' (1839), that, similarly to other later works, was composed and represented in occasion of the birthday of

Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand II ( it, Ferdinando Carlo; scn, Ferdinannu Carlu; nap, Ferdinando Carlo; 12 January 1810 – 22 May 1859) was King of the Two Sicilies from 1830 until his death in 1859. Family Ferdinand was born in Palermo to King Francis I of the T ...

, ''Amore alla prova'' (1839), ''Il duca di Ravenna'' (1841), ''Giaffar'' (1841), ''Olga di Cracovia'' (1841), ''L'istituto delle fanciulle'' (1841), ''Il gobbo del Giappone'' (1841), ''La conquista del Messico'' (1842), ''Erissena'' (1845), ''L'orfanella africana'' (1845), ''Merope'' (1846), ''Alcidoro'' (1847), ''Ifigenia in Aulide'' (1847), ''Il trionfo d'amore'' (1848), ''Olema'' (1848), ''Paquita'' (1848), ''Gisella'' (1849), ''I Candiano'' (1849), ''Schariar ovvero Le mille e una notte'' (1849), ''Mocanna'' (1850), ''La stella del marinajo'' (1851). Other ballets were ''Le spose veneziane'' and ''Stefano re di Napoli''. In 1840 he was appointed musical director of the Royal Theatre of San Carlo in

, a position that enabled him to travel all over Italy and abroad and make acquaintance with the international society. In 1854 he was invited by

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

to join the imperial court in Paris, where he debuted at the

Opéra This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...

with a ballet, ''Gemma'' (1854, libretto by

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rema ...

and choreography by former ballerina

Fanny Cerrito Francesca "Fanny" Cerrito (11 May 1817 – 6 May 1909) was an Italian ballet dancer and choreographer. She was a ballerina noted for the brilliance, strength, and vivacity of her dancing. She was also one of few women in the 19th century to be r ...

). Other works followed, including ''I paggi del Conte di Provenza'' (1856), (1856), ''La ninfa Cloe'' (1857), (1859), ''Melissa, ossia I viaggiatori all'isola incantata'' (1859), (1860), (1861), ''Les memoirs de Fanchette'' (1865). His last work to be represented in a theatre was (1865). The popularity of the ''comte Gabrielli'', as he was known in the aristocratic and artistic circles ''du tout Paris'', gradually decreased after the fall of

and the advent of the

Third French Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...

. A staunch

Bonapartist Bonapartism (french: Bonapartisme) is the political ideology supervening from Napoleon Bonaparte and his followers and successors. The term was used to refer to people who hoped to restore the House of Bonaparte and its style of government. In thi ...

, he went into semi-secluded retirement in his Paris apartment, but still composed the military march ''

Simon Bolívar Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

'' (1883), and dedicated it to the President of Venezuela,

Antonio Guzmán Blanco Antonio José Ramón de La Trinidad y María Guzmán Blanco (28 February 1829 – 28 July 1899) was a Venezuelan military leader, statesman, diplomat and politician. He was the president of Venezuela for three separate terms, from 1870 until ...

. A ''cantique'' composed by Nicolò Gabrielli was adopted by the Protestant communities of the French-speaking part of Switzerland as their unofficial hymn, and was later included in the work ''Chants populaires de Suisse romande pour voix mixtes'', published at

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

in 1887. Nicolò Gabrielli was appointed Knight of the French Legion of Honor and Knight of the Spanish

Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III ( es, Real y Distinguida Orden Española de Carlos III, originally es, Real y Muy Distinguida Orden de Carlos III) was establ ...

, both in 1864. He died in Paris in 1891 and was buried in the

Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. Montparnasse has bee ...

cemetery. His remains were later moved to the Père Lachaise cemetery in the eastern part of the French capital.

Works

Melodramas, opera buffas, commedias and farsas

* ''I dotti per fanatismo'' (1835) * ''La lettera perduta'' (1836) * ''Il Cid'' (1836) * ''La parola di matrimonio'' (1837) * ''L'americano in fiera ossia Farvest Calelas'' (1837) * ''Vinclinda'' (1837) * ''L'affamato senza danaro'' (1839) * ''Edwige o Il sogno'' (1839) * ''Il padre della debuttante'' (1839) * ''La marchesa e il ballerino'' (1839) * ''Nadan o L'orgoglio punito'' (1839) * ''L'assedio di Sciraz ossia L'amor materno'' (1840) * ''Cante dei Gabrielli'' (1840) * ''Basilio III Demetriovitz'' (1841) * ''Il bugiardo veritiero'' (1841) * ''Il condannato di Saragozza'' (1842) * ''La zingara'' (1842) * ''Carlo di Rovenstein'' (1843) * ''L'assedio di Leyda'' (1843) * ''Sara ovvero La pazza di Scozia'' (1843) * ''Una domenica a Torre del Greco'' (first part of the ''Trittico napoletano'', 1844) * ''Il gemello'' (1845) * ''Una passeggiata sul palchetto a vapore verso Capri'' (second part of the ''Trittico napoletano'', 1845) * ''Giulia di Tolosa'' (1846) * ''L'ascensione al cratere del Vesuvio'' (third part of the ''Trittico napoletano'', 1847) * ''Il vampiro'' (1848) * ''Bradamante e Ruggero'' (1849) * ''Fiorina'' (1849) * ''Il sogno di un emiro'' (1850) * ''La regina delle rose'' (1850) * ''Melissa, ossia I viaggiatori all'isola incantata'' (1859) * ''Le petit cousin'' (1860) * ''Les memoirs de Fanchette'' (1865)

Ballets

* ''Il ritorno d'Ulisse'' (1836) * ''Ester d'Engaddi'' (1837) * ''Il rajah di Benares'' (1839) * ''Amore alla prova'' (1839) * ''Le nozze di un mostro'' (1839) * ''Il duca di Ravenna'' (1841) * ''Giaffar'' (1841) * ''Olga di Cracovia'' (1841) * ''L'istituto delle fanciulle'' (1841) * ''Il gobbo del Giappone'' (1841) * ''La conquista del Messico'' (1842) * ''La zingara'' (1842) * ''I viaggi di Gulliver'' (1843) * ''Erissena'' (1845) * ''L'orfanella africana'' (1845) * ''Merope'' (1846) * ''Alcidoro'' (1847) * ''Ifigenia in Aulide'' (1847) * ''Matilde e Malek-Adhel'' (1847) * ''Il trionfo d'amore'' (1848) * ''Olema'' (1848) * ''Paquita'' (1848) * ''Gisella'' (1849) * ''I Candiano'' (1849) * ''Schariar ovvero Le mille e una notte'' (1849) * ''La fedeltà premiata'' (1850) * ''Mocanna'' (1850) * ''La stella del marinajo'' (1851) * ''Gemma'' (1856) * ''I paggi del conte di Provenza'' (1856) * ''Les elfes'' (1856) * ''La ninfa Cloe'' (1857) * ''Don Grégoire ou Le précepteur dans l'embarras'' (1859) * ''L'étoile de Messine'' (1861) * ''La fin du monde'' (1865) * ''Le spose veneziane'' (?) * ''Stefano re di Napoli'' (?) * ''Les almées'' (?) * ''Yotte'' (?)

Military marches

* ''Simon Bolivar'' (1883)

References

Sources *Bussi, Francesco (1992) "Gabrielli, Count Nicolò", in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', ed. Stanley Sadie. London: pub? . *Schueneman, Bruce R.; William E. Studwell (1997), "Gabrielli, Count Nicolò", in ''Minor Ballet Composers: Biographical Sketches of Sixty-six Underappreciated Yet Significant Contributors to the Body of Western Ballet Music''. Binghamton, New York: The Haworth Press, Inc.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gabrielli, Nicolo 1814 births 1891 deaths 19th-century classical composers Italian classical composers Italian male classical composers Italian opera composers Male opera composers 19th-century Neapolitan people 19th-century Italian composers 19th-century Italian male musicians