Francesco Cilea, (Palmi, near Reggio Calabria, July 26, 1866 - Varazze, near Savona, November 20, 1950) was an Italian opera composer, whose early success was not sustained, as taste in music changed. In 1913, after his symphonic choral poem honoring Giuseppe Verdi's was performed at the Carlo Felice Theatre in Genoa, Cilea devoted himself to managing music conservatories and teaching. He taught at Florence and Palermo and finally Naples, where he taught from 1916 and retired in 1936. Cilea also published pieces for pianoforte. His chamber music is not widely known. Map of Italy showing Reggio Calabria in the south Reggio Calabria, located on the toe of the Italian boot, is the capital of the province of Reggio Calabria. ... July 26 is the 207th day (208th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 158 days remaining. ... 1866 is a common year starting on Monday. ... Savona is a seaport and comune of the province of Savona in the northern Italian region of Liguria, 44°18′ N 8°29′ E, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea, at sea-level. ... November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Giuseppe Verdi, by Giovanni Boldini, 1886 (National Gallery of Modern Art, Rome) Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (October 10, 1813 – January 27, 1901) is to date the most influential composer of the Italian School of Opera. ...

The Reggio Calabria State Conservatory of Music, is named to honor Francesco Cilea,

Operas

• Gina (9.2.1889 Teatro Conservatorio S. Pietro alla Majella, Naples). This first melodramatic opera (melodramma idilico), written while Cilea was still a Conservatory student, attracted the notice of the publishers Sonzogno, who arranged for a second production, at Florence, in 1892. Gina had a libretto by Enrico Golisciani, adapted from an old French play, Catherine, ou La Croix d'or by Baron Anne-Honoré-Joseph Duveyrier de Mélésville (1787—1865).
• La Tilda (7.4.1892 Teatro Pagliano, Florence). A melodrama in three acts, composed on a libretto by Anneldo Graziani and Angelo Zanardini; though it was produced in Florence, Vienna and elsewhere, it met with less success than Gina.
• L'arlesiana (27.11.1897 Teatro Lirico, Milan). L. Marenco's libretto was based on the play by Alphonse Daudet, which had been only modestly successful in Paris in 1872, in spite of the incidental music composed for it by Georges Bizet. The romanza," Federico's lament", was a concert vehicle for Enrico Caruso who sang at the premiere. Cilea continued to doctor the weak libretto.
• L'arlesiana [revision] (22.10.1898 Milan)
• Adriana Lecouvreur (6.11.1902 Teatro Lirico, Milan). This verismo opera to a libretto adapted by Arturo Colautti from the costume melodrama by Eugène Scribe is the only lasting work for which Cilea is remembered.
• Gloria (15.4.1907 Teatro alla Scala, Milan). Toscanini conducted the premiere, but it was a failure and was withdrawn after two performances. Cilea's revision of it later was not more successful.
• (Ritorno ad amore ca. 1908; not produced)
• (Il matrimonio selvaggio 1909; not produced)
• L'arlesiana [second revision] (1910)
• Gloria [rev] (1932)
• L'arlesiana [third revision] (1937)

Alphonse Daudet (May 13, 1840 - December 17, 1897) was a French novelist. ... Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (October 25, 1838 – June 3, 1875), was a French composer of the romantic era best known for his opera Carmen. ... Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (February 25, 1873–August 2, 1921) was one of the most famous tenors in the history of opera. ... Adriana Lecouvreur is an opera by Francesco Cilea. ... Verismo is a style of Italian opera distinguished by realistic (sometimes sordid or violent, but not necessarily) depictions of everyday life (especially life of the lower classes), as opposed to historical or mythological subjects. ... Augustin Eugène Scribe (December 24, 1791 - February 20, 1861), was a French dramatist and librettist. ... Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (March 25, 1867 – January 16, 1957) was considered by many of his contemporaries — critics, fellow musicians, and the public alike — as the greatest conductor of his era. ...

External links

• WQXR Classical Music Scene: Entry in Grove Concise Dictionary 1988
• Francesco Cilea