Page:Pratt - The history of music (1907).djvu/559

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Milan) and the brilliant Crispino e la comare (1850, Venice); Teodul Mabellini (d. 1897), a well-trained pupil of Pilotti and Mercadante, whose special successes were with Rolla (1840, Turin), Il conte di Savagna (1843, Florence) and Baldassare (1852, Florence), and who from 1843 was identified with Florence as conductor and from 1859 as professor of composition at the conservatory, writing also an oratorio, much sacred music, cantatas, songs and piano-pieces; Alessandro Nini (d. 1880), who, after teaching singing at St. Petersburg in 1830-7, was from 1843 choirmaster at Bergamo, with several operas, chief of which was La marescialla d'Ancre (1839, Padua), and excellent church music, including a notable Miserere; the genial tenor Jozef Poniatowski (d. 1873), who in 1848-70 was a Tuscan diplomat at Paris, and who wrote 12 tuneful operas (from 1838) in Italy or at Paris; Achille Peri (d. 1880), conductor at Reggio, somewhat an imitator of Verdi, with about 10 operas, the first of popularity being Dirce (1843, Reggio), and an oratorio (1860, Milan); and Carlo Pedrotti (d. 1893), who in 1840-5 was conductor at Amsterdam, lived long at Verona, from 1868 was director of the Turin conservatory and from 1882 of the Rossini school at Pesaro, with about 15 buffo operas, including Romea di Montfort (1845, Verona), Gelmina (1853, Milan), Tutti in maschera (1856, Verona), and Il favorito (1870, Turin).

Among the numerous writers entering the field from 1843 onward the following may be selected as for some reason notable:—Francesco Chiaromonte (d. 1886), pupil of Raimondi and Donizetti, who, after a career as a tenor, undertook composition, was expelled from Naples as a revolutionist in 1850, went to Genoa, from 1855 was chorusmaster at Paris and London, and from 1862 taught at Brussels, producing 9 operas (1844-55), especially Caterina di Cleves (1850, Naples), an oratorio (1884) and a method for singers; Antonio Cagnoni (d. 1896), from 1852 choirmaster at Vigevano, from 1873 at Novara and from 1887 at Bergamo, with over 20 operas (from 1845), chief of which was the farce Don Bucefalo (1847, Milan), besides good church music and an unproduced grand opera, Re Lear (1893); the famous double-bassist Bottesini (d. 1889), with 8 well-written operas (1847-80), including L'assedio di Firenze (1856, Paris), Ali Baba (1871, London), etc., an oratorio (1887, Norwich), orchestral and chamber music and songs; Francesco Schira (d. 1883), from 1842 a favorite singing-master at London, whose 3 early operas (1832-7) at Milan and Lisbon, were outranked by 5 later ones (from 1849), such as Theresa (1850, London), Nicolò de' Lapi (1863, London) and La selvaggia (1865, Venice), besides some other works; Pietro Platania (d. 19O7), from 1863 director of the Palermo conservatory and from 1888 of that at Naples, with 5 operas (from 1852), including Spartaco (1893, Milan), orchestral music and a treatise on fugue; Giorgio Miceli (d. 1895), long a teacher at Naples and in 1887-94 Platania's successor at Palermo, with 6 operas at Naples (from 1852), including Il conte di Rossiglione (1854), 2 sacred operas (1885-6), and church and chamber music; Filippo Marchetti (d. 1902), from 1881 the head of the Rome conservatory, with 8 ambitious operas, notably Gentile da Varano (1856, Turin), Giulietta e Romeo (1865, Trieste), Ruy Blas (1869, Milan) and other vocal and instrumental works; and Carlotta Ferrari, a pupil of Mazzucato at Milan, with 3 successful works (1857-71), church music and songs, besides librettos and poems.