Francesco Cilea facts for kids
Francesco Cilea (born July 23, 1866 – died November 20, 1950) was a famous Italian composer. Today, he is best known for his operas, especially L'arlesiana and Adriana Lecouvreur.
Contents
Life Story
Early Life and Education
Francesco Cilea was born in Palmi, a town near Reggio di Calabria in Italy. He showed a love for music from a very young age. When he was only four years old, he heard an opera called Norma by Vincenzo Bellini and was deeply moved by it. This experience made him want to study music.
He went to the Conservatorio di San Pietro a Majella in Naples to study. There, he worked very hard and showed great talent. He even won a gold medal from the Italian Department of Education for his skills.
First Operas
In 1889, Cilea wrote his first opera, Gina, as his final project for school. The story was based on an old French play. It was performed at his school and caught the attention of a publishing company called Sonzogno. They helped arrange more performances of Gina in Florence in 1892.
Sonzogno then asked Cilea to write another opera called La Tilda. This was a short, three-act opera. It was first performed successfully in April 1892 in Florence. After playing in several Italian theaters, it was even shown at the Vienna Exhibition in Austria. However, Cilea himself wasn't very fond of this opera. He only wrote it to please Sonzogno and to get a good career opportunity. Sadly, the original music for the orchestra has been lost, so it's hard to perform La Tilda today.
L'Arlesiana and Adriana Lecouvreur
On November 27, 1897, Cilea's third opera, L'Arlesiana, opened in Milan. It was based on a play by Alphonse Daudet. A young singer named Enrico Caruso was in the cast. He sang a very famous song from the opera called Lamento di Federico, which helped keep the opera remembered. Even so, L'Arlesiana was not a big success at first. Cilea believed in the opera and spent many years changing and improving it. He changed almost every part of the music from the original version. Despite his efforts, it still didn't become widely popular, except for a short time in the 1930s when it received some political support.
Cilea had a much bigger success with his next opera, Adriana Lecouvreur. It opened in Milan on November 6, 1902, again with Enrico Caruso. This opera has four acts and is set in 18th-century Paris. It tells a dramatic story based on a play by Eugène Scribe. Adriana Lecouvreur is Cilea's most famous opera around the world today. It shows his beautiful, flowing melodies, influenced by the music school in Naples, combined with rich harmonies like those used by French composers such as Massenet.
Later Life and Teaching
Cilea's last opera was Gloria, a three-act tragedy. It premiered in Milan on April 15, 1907. However, it was only performed twice and was not successful. This failure made Cilea decide to stop writing operas for good. Although he had some ideas for new operas later, they were never finished.
Even though he stopped writing operas, Cilea continued to compose other types of music, like chamber music (music for small groups of instruments) and orchestral pieces. In 1913, he wrote a symphonic poem (a piece of music that tells a story or describes something) to honor the famous composer Giuseppe Verdi.
After this, Cilea spent most of his time teaching music. He became the director of the Conservatorio Vincenzo Bellini in Palermo, and then later of his old school, the Conservatorio San Pietro a Maiella in Naples. He retired from teaching in 1936.
In his final years, Cilea's eyesight began to fail, but he remained mentally active. He enjoyed working with singers, especially the soprano Magda Olivero, whose performances in Adriana Lecouvreur he greatly admired. Cilea passed away in Varazze, a town near Savona in Italy, where he had spent his last years. To honor him, the music conservatory and the town theater in Reggio di Calabria were renamed after him. His hometown of Palmi also built a special mausoleum (a grand tomb) for him, decorated with scenes from the Greek myth of Orpheus.
Works
Operas
- Gina (February 1889)
- La Tilda (April 1892)
- L'Arlesiana (November 1897)
- (Revised many times between 1898 and 1937)
- Adriana Lecouvreur (November 1902)
- Gloria (April 1907)
- (Revised in 1932)
Other Music
- Foglio d'album, Op. 41
- Gocce di rugiada
- L'arcolaio
- Melodia (in F major)
- Symphonic Poem in honor of Giuseppe Verdi
- Romanza (in A major)
- Sonata for cello and piano in D major, Op. 38 (1888)
- Waltz in D flat major
Songs for Voice and Piano
- Romanza, words by Giuseppe Florio (1883)
- Litania I and Litania II, words from Litany of Loreto (1887)
- Bionda larva, words by Enrico Golisciani (1888)
- Serenata (L'aere imbruna), words by Giuseppe Pessina
- Il mio canto, words by Angelo Bignotti
- Serenata (Mormorante di tenero desio), words by P. Joe
- Non ti voglio amar?..., words by Giuseppe Pessina (1890)
- Alba novella, words by Leopoldo Marenco (1897)
- Lontananza!, words by Romeo Carugati (1904, revised 1944)
- Mazurka, words by A. Villa (1904)
- Nel ridestarmi, words by Felice Soffrè (1921)
- Vita breve (Una lettera), words by Annie Vivanti (1921–1923)
- Maria-Mare, words by Carmelo Pujia (1933)
- Ninnananna popolare savoiarda, words by Giorgio Nataletti (1934)
- Salute, o genti umane affaticate!, words by Giosuè Carducci (1934, revised 1943)
- Dolce amor di Povertade, words by Anonymous (1943)
- Statuit ei Dominus, words from Wisdom of Sirach - Bible (1943)
- Three concert vocalises (songs without words) (1928)
- 1. Gaiezza (Joy)
- 2. Dolore (Sadness)
- 3. Festosità (Festivity)
- Three vocalises (1930)
- 1. Voce Grave (Low Voice)
- 2. Voce Media (Middle Voice)
- 3. Voce Acuta (High Voice)
Images for kids
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Cilea's mausoleum in Palmi
See also
In Spanish: Francesco Cilea para niños
