Francesco Provenzale facts for kids

Francesco Provenzale (born September 25, 1632 – died September 6, 1704) was an Italian Baroque composer and teacher. He is known as the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. This means he helped start a special way of writing operas in the city of Naples. Provenzale also taught many students, including the famous singer Nicolo Grimaldi, also known as Nicolini.

A Musician's Life

We don't know much about Francesco Provenzale's early life before 1658. People believe he studied music at a school called the Conservatorio della Pietà dei Turchini in Naples, Italy.

Starting His Career

Provenzale first became known in 1654. This was the year his opera Teseo was performed in Naples. An opera is a play where most of the words are sung, usually with music from an orchestra. He was the first composer from Naples to focus on writing operas. Before Teseo, he might have written at least two other operas.

In the same year, another opera called Il Ciro was performed in Venice. It is thought that Provenzale wrote this opera too. What was special about Il Ciro was that some of its music was written by another composer, Francesco Cavalli.

Teaching and Success

Provenzale spent most of his time teaching music, but he also composed many works. He lived a comfortable life. In 1660, he married Chiara Basile. By 1663, he became the maestro (a master or director of music) at the Conservatorio di S Maria di Loreto. He had been working there for at least two years before that.

In 1665, his son Giuseppe was born. He and his wife also had two daughters. From this time on, Provenzale was very successful. His musical works were often performed in Naples. As he became more famous, he received many requests to write new music. He also had more and more students.

Provenzale worked as a maestro at several music schools. However, he never got the top job of chief maestro at any of them until very late in his life. When he got older and had to leave some of his jobs, he became a helper to another famous composer, Alessandro Scarlatti.

In 1704, just days before he died, Provenzale was finally made the chief maestro at the royal chapel. This was a very important position. After his death, his best student, Gaetano Veneziano, took over the job.

His Music Today

Only a small part of Provenzale's music still exists today. His surviving works include the operas Il schiavo di sua moglie (His Wife's Slave) and La Stellidaura vendicante. He also wrote a sacred melodrama (a type of musical play about a religious story) called La colomba ferita. This piece, which tells the story of Saint Rosalia, is considered his best work. He also wrote many other sacred (religious) pieces.

One of his most famous songs is "Lasciatemi morir" ("Let me die") from his opera Il schiavo di sua moglie. This song shows how Italian music can express deep sadness and pain. It uses long, flowing melodies and special harmonies called chromatic harmonies to create a very emotional sound.

See also

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In Spanish: Francesco Provenzale para niños