Luigi Ricci
Encyclopedia
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
composer, particularly of opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s.
He was the elder brother of Federico Ricci
Federico Ricci
Federico Ricci , was an Italian composer, particularly of operas.Born in Naples, he was the younger brother of Luigi Ricci, with whom he collaborated on several works....
, with whom he collaborated on several works.
Life
Ricci born and educated in NaplesNaples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, where he wrote his first opera at the conservatory in 1823. His triumphs in 1831 at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
with Chiara di Rosembergh and in 1834 with Un'avventura di Scaramuccia made him famous throughout Europe, and in 1835 he and his younger brother Federico
Federico Ricci
Federico Ricci , was an Italian composer, particularly of operas.Born in Naples, he was the younger brother of Luigi Ricci, with whom he collaborated on several works....
collaborated in the first of the four operas they wrote together.
In 1837 Ricci ran into financial problems, brought about mainly by his extravagant life-style. He was forced to accept a job at Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, and he composed no operas for seven years. Then, however, he fell in love, at the same time, with both Francesca and Ludmila, the 17-year-old identical twin sisters of the singer Teresa Stolz
Teresa Stolz
Teresa Stolz was a Bohemian soprano, long resident in Italy, who was associated with significant premieres of the works of Giuseppe Verdi, and may have been his mistress...
, and this inspired him to create (in 1845) an opera for them both to sing in, at Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
. Back in Trieste he married Ludmila (without, however, letting go of the other). He then composed three more operas on his own, which were well received, although his greatest success of these years was actually Crispino e la comare
Crispino e la comare
Crispino e la comare is an opera by Luigi Ricci and Federico Ricci with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave.-Performance history:The premiere took place on 28 February 1850 at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice....
, his last collaboration with his brother, of which he wrote the greater part.
Comedy was Ricci's strong suit, and though not quite reaching the level of Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
(whom he himself greatly admired), Crispino is generally considered one of the best Italian comic operas of the period.
In 1859, shortly after the production of his last opera, Ricci succumbed to mental illness, and he ended his life in a hospital in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
.
His daughter Lella Ricci
Lella Ricci
Lella Ricci was an Italian opera singer.She was born in Italy as Adelaide Ricci to composer Luigi Ricci and opera singer Ludmila Stolz . She inherited musical talent and enjoyed a great success in the Theatre Principe Umberto in Florence...
(with Ludmila, 1850-71) was an opera singer, and his son Luigi Ricci-Stolz
Luigi Ricci-Stolz
Luigi Ricci-Stolz was an Italian musician and composer.He was born as Luigino Ricci in Trieste to composer Luigi Ricci and opera singer Francesca Stolz , the elder sister of Teresa Stolz. At the time Luigi Ricci was married to Ludmila Stolz , the identical twin sister of Francesca...
(with Francesca, 1852-1906) was a composer, too.
Operas
- L'impresario in angustie (G. M. Diodati), farsaFarsaFarsa is a genre of opera, associated with Venice in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It is also sometimes called farsetta....
– Naples, Conservatorio, 1823 - La cena frastornata (Andrea Leone TottolaAndrea Leone TottolaAndrea Leone Tottola was a prolific Italian librettist, best known for his work with Gaetano Donizetti and Gioachino Rossini.It is not known when or where he was born...
) – Naples, Teatro Nuovo, Autumn 1824 - L'abbate Taccarella, ovvero Aladino (also produced as La gabbia de' matti, Poeta Taccarella, etc.) (Andrea Leone Tottola) – Naples, Teatro Nuovo, carnival 1825
- Il sogno avverato (in collaboration with Dionigio Pogliani-Gagliardi and possibly N. ZingarelliNiccolò Antonio ZingarelliNiccolò Antonio Zingarelli was an Italian composer, chiefly of opera.-Early career:Zingarelli was born in Naples, where he studied at the Santa Maria di Loreto Conservatory under Fenaroli and Speranza....
) (Andrea Leone Tottola) – Naples, Teatro Nuovo, summer 1825 - Il diavolo condannato a prender moglie (also produced as Il diavolo mal sposato) (Andrea Leone Tottola) – Naples, Teatro Nuovo, 27 January 1827
- La lucerna di Epitteto (G. Checcherini) – Naples, Teatro Nuovo, carnival 1827
- Ulisse in Itaca (D. Gilardoni) – Naples, Teatro di San CarloTeatro di San CarloThe Real Teatro di San Carlo is an opera house in Naples, Italy. It is the oldest continuously active such venue in Europe.Founded by the Bourbon Charles VII of Naples of the Spanish branch of the dynasty, the theatre was inaugurated on 4 November 1737 — the king's name day — with a performance...
, 12 January 1828 - Colombo (Felice RomaniFelice RomaniFelice Romani was an Italian poet and scholar of literature and mythology who wrote many librettos for the opera composers Donizetti and Bellini. Romani was considered the finest Italian librettist between Metastasio and Boito.-Biography:Born Giuseppe Felice Romani to a bourgeois family in Genoa,...
) – Parma, Teatro ducale, 27 June 1829 - L'orfanella di Ginevra (Amina) (Jacopo FerrettiJacopo FerrettiJacopo Ferretti was an Italian writer, poet and opera librettist.He is most famous for having supplied the libretti for two operas by Rossiniand for five operas by Donizetti....
) – Rome, Teatro ValleTeatro ValleThe Teatro Valle is a theatre and former opera house in Rome, Italy.Commissioned by the Capranica family, the architect Tommaso Morelli designed the theatre which was built in 1726. It was inaugurated with the staging of the tragedy Matilde by Simon Falconio Pratoli...
, 9 September 1829 - Il sonnambulo (Jacopo Ferretti) – Rome, Teatro Valle, 26 December 1829
- Fernando Cortez, ovvero L'eroina del Messico (Jacopo Ferretti) – Rome, Teatro Tordinona, 9 February 1830
- Annibale in Torino (Felice Romani) – Turin, Teatro Regio, 26 December 1830
- La neve (Felice Romani) – Milan, Teatro Cannobiana, 21 June 1831
- Chiara di Rosembergh (Gaetano RossiGaetano RossiGaetano Rossi was an Italian writer who wrote opera libretti for several composers including Mayr, Rossini, Donizetti, Mercadante, Pacini, and Meyerbeer.-Biography:...
) – Milan, Teatro alla Scala, 11 October 1831, also produced as Chiara di Montalbano in France, 1835 - Il nuovo Figaro (Jacopo Ferretti) – Parma, Teatro ducale, 15 February 1832
- I due sergenti (Felice Romani) – Milan, Teatro alla Scala, 1 September 1833
- Un'avventura di ScaramucciaScaramucciaScaramuccia, also known as Scaramouche, is a roguish clown character of the Italian commedia dell'arte who wears a black mask and black trousers, shirt and hat. He is usually portrayed as a buffoon or boastful clown; in this latter capacity, he can be considered a smaller derivative of Il Capitano...
(Felice Romani) – Milan, Teatro alla Scala, 8 March 1834; then in Vienna (1835), London (1836), Madrid (1837), Lisbon (1838), Paris, Théâtre Italien (1846), Warsaw (1846; Polish), Brussels (1851), Buenos Aires (1851); also worked on by Friedrich von FlotowFriedrich von FlotowFriedrich Adolf Ferdinand, Freiherr von Flotow was a German composer. He is chiefly remembered for his opera Martha, which was popular in the 19th century.... - Gli esposti, ovvero Eran due or son tre (Jacopo Ferretti) – Turin, Teatro Angennes, 3 June 1834
- Chi dura vince ovvero La luna di miel (Jacopo Ferretti) – Rome, Teatro Valle, 26 December 1834; (revised by Federico RicciFederico RicciFederico Ricci , was an Italian composer, particularly of operas.Born in Naples, he was the younger brother of Luigi Ricci, with whom he collaborated on several works....
as La petite comtesse, 1876) - La serva e l'ussero (Magd und Husar), farsaFarsaFarsa is a genre of opera, associated with Venice in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It is also sometimes called farsetta....
– Pavia, Teatro Compadroni, New Year 1835 - Il colonello (also produced as La donna colonello) collaboration with Federico RicciFederico RicciFederico Ricci , was an Italian composer, particularly of operas.Born in Naples, he was the younger brother of Luigi Ricci, with whom he collaborated on several works....
(Jacopo Ferretti) – Naples, Teatro del FondoTeatro del FondoThe Teatro del Fondo is a theatre in Naples, now known as the Teatro Mercadante. Together with the Teatro San Carlo, it was originally one of the two royal opera houses of the 18th and 19th-century city....
, 14 March 1835 - Chiara di Montalbano [in Francia] (Gaetano Rossi) – Milan, Teatro alla Scala, 15 August 1835
- Il disertore per amore collaboration with Federico Ricci (Jacopo Ferretti) – Naples, Teatro del fondo, 13 February 1836
- Le nozze di Figaro (Gaetano Rossi) – Milan, Teatro alla Scala, 13 February 1838; revised version (Milan, Teatro alla Scala, 1841)
- La solitaria delle Asturie (Felice Romani) – Odessa, Teatro Italiano, 20 February 1845
- L'amante di richiamo collaboration with Federico Ricci (F. Dall'Ongaro) – Turin, Teatro Angennes, 13 June 1846
- Il birraio di Preston (F. Guidi) – Florence, Teatro della PergolaTeatro della PergolaThe Teatro della Pergola is a historic opera house in Florence, Italy. It is located in the centre of the city on the Via della Pergola, from which the theatre takes its name...
, 4 February 1847 - Crispino e la comareCrispino e la comareCrispino e la comare is an opera by Luigi Ricci and Federico Ricci with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave.-Performance history:The premiere took place on 28 February 1850 at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice....
collaboration with Federico Ricci (Francesco Maria PiaveFrancesco Maria PiaveFrancesco Maria Piave was an Italian opera librettist who was born in Murano in the lagoon of Venice, during the brief Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. His career spanned over twenty years working with many of the significant composers of his day...
) – Venice, Teatro S. Benedetto, 28 February 1850 - La festa di Piedigrotta (M. D'Arienzo) – Naples, Teatro Nuovo, 23 June 1852
- Il diavolo a quattro (Gaetano Rossi) – Triest, Teatro Armonia, 15 May 1859