Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante (September 16, 1795 - December 17, 1870), was an Italian composer, particularly of operas.
Born in Altamura, near Bari (Apulia), Mercadante studied music in Naples and at first showed an interest in instrumental composition. The encouragement of Rossini led him to compose for the opera, where he won considerable success with his second such work (Violenza e Constanza), in 1820. Hisnext three operas are more or less forgotten, but an abridged recording of Maria Stuarda, Regina diScozia was issued by Opera Rara in 2006. His next opera Elisa e Claudio was a huge success, and had occasional revivals in the 20th century. He worked for a time in Vienna, in Madrid, in Cadiz, and in Lisbon, but re-established himself in Italy in 1831. He was invited by Rossini to Paris in 1836, where he composed I Briganti for Grisi, Rubini, Tamburini and Lablache. While there, he had the opportunity to hear operas by Meyerbeer and Halevy which imparted a strong influence...
Created by dipity
on Jan 24, 2008
Last updated: 11/06/09 at 07:20 PM
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