The titles were: "I Lituani," "Il figliuol prodigo," "Gioconda"
and "Marion Delorme." He also wrote some graceful and sparkling music to
a ballet, "Le due Gemelle" (The Twins).
Carlos A. Gomez is quite opposite in type and style. The late emperor of
Brazil took a special interest in the promising boy, and sent him in 1865
to Italy, that he might pursue his musical studies. He was a pupil of
Lauro Rossi and Mazzuccato, both directors of the conservatory at Milan.
This native of Brazil was full of ideas of exotic flavor, and he selected
for his opera a plot which gave him ample opportunity to display his
racy, national talent. His first opera, "Guarany," deals with a Peruvian
story, and the most happy numbers in it are those where Aimorè, king
of the Aztecs, and his followers appear on the stage. Gomez in these
fragments simply outdoes Meyerbeer in his "Africana," which hitherto
has been considered the acme of savage music. Although delightfully
successful in this respect the composer was not able to make the rest of
his opera of equal merit. The work had only a comparatively short run.
Gomez's succeeding operas, far better in musical workmanship, "Fosca"
and "Maria Tudor," were failures, but a third, lighter in character,
"Salvator Rosa," was a great success, and contains many sparkling and
bright numbers, among them the celebrated song, "Mia Piccerella." His
last opera, "Condor," given a short time ago at La Scala, did not fulfil
the expectations that were formed regarding it. Gomez went several times
to Brazil, where all his operas were given. He was a pensionnaire of the
late emperor Dom Pedro, who gave him annually, up to the time of his
dethronement, 10,000 francs out of his private purse.
Filippo Marchetti, another modern composer, was very fortunate with his
"Ruy Blas" (after Victor Hugo). This opera had one of the longest runs on
record, and by royalty from it alone Marchetti soon became a very wealthy
man. His other works, "Giulietta e Romeo," "Gustave Wasa" and "Don Juan
d'Austria," were dismal failures and of no special physiognomy whatever.
Marchetti, a favorite of the queen of Italy, is now president of the
Accademia di S. Cecilia in Rome.
Bottesini, the celebrated double bass virtuoso, belongs also to this
group of composers. His first opera, "Ali Baba," was very successful when
given, but did not maintain itself in public favor. "Ero e Leandro," a
second opera of his, did not prove a great success.
Of the younger generation we have to mention Coronaro, who wrote "La
creola," and who is now professor of composition at the conservatory in
Milan. His younger brother, living in Vicenza, was the winner in a late
competition for the Sonzogno prizes, which, as everybody knows, brought
Mascagni from obscurity to celebrity.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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