Alessandri, Felice

Alessandri, Felice, Italian composer; b. probably in Rome, Nov. 24, 1747; d. Casinalbo, near Modena, Aug. 15, 1798. He received his training in Naples, and then began his career as a harpsichordist and conductor in Turin and Paris. About 1767 he married the singer Maria Lavinia Guadagni (b. Lodi, Nov. 21, 1735; d. Padua, c. 1790), the sister of Gaetano Guadagni . The couple found employment at the King’s Theatre in London, where Alessandri’ operas La moglie fedele (Feb. 27, 1768) and II re alla caccia (March 1, 1769) were premiered. His opera L’argentino was first performed at the Burg Theatre in Vienna in 1768. He then composed several operas for Italian theaters, including Calliroe for the new Teatro alla Scala in Milan (Dec. 26, 1778). From 1784 to 1789 he was active in Russia as a singing teacher, and then was called to Berlin as asst. director of the court opera. However, the operas he wrote for Berlin were failures, and in 1792 he was dismissed by the king and he returned to Italy. His operas Zemira (Padua, June 12, 1794) and Armida (Padua, July 1, 1794) proved highly successful and led to his being made an honorary member of the Accademia dei Filarmonici of Modena.

Works

DRAMATIC: Opera: Ezio (Verona, Carnival 1767); II matrimonio per concorso (Venice, Carnival 1767); La moglie fedele (London, Feb. 27, 1768); L’argentino (Vienna, 1768); Arianna e Teseo (London, Oct. 11, 1768); II re alla caccia (London, March 1, 1769); Argea (Turin, Carnival 1773); Creso (Pavia, 1774); La cameriera per amore (Turin, 177A); Medonte re d’Epiro (Milan, Dec. 26, 1774); Alcina e Ruggero (Turin, Carnival 1775); La novità (Venice, 1775); La sposa persiana (Venice, 1775); Sandrina, ossia La contadina di corte (Lucca, 1775); Calliroe (Milan, Dec. 26, 1778); Adriano in Siria (Venice, Dec. 26, 1779); Enfile (Padua, June 12, 1780); Aitalo re di Bitinia (Florence, Sept. 1780); II vecchio geloso (Milan, Oct. 1, 1781); Arbace (Rome, Dec. 29, 1781); La finta principessa, ossia Li due fratelli Pappamosca (Venice, 1782);I puntigli gelosi (Venice, Carnival 1783); Demofoonte (Padua, June 12, 1783); Artaserse (Naples, Nov. 4, 1783); L’imbroglio delle tre spose (Florence, 1784); La villanella rapita (Bologna, 1784); II ritorno di Ulysse a Penelope (Potsdam, Jan. 25, 1790); L’ouverture du grand opéra italien a Nankin or La compagnia d’opera a Nanchino (Berlin, Oct. 16, 1790); Daño (Berlin, Jan. 1791); Vasco di Gama (Berlin, Jan. 20, 1792); Virginia (Venice, Dec. 26, 1793); Zemira (Padua, June 12, 1794); Armida (Padua, July 1, 1794); I sposi burlati (Mantua, Dec. 26, 1798). OTHER: 2 oratorios: II tobia (Rome, 1767) and Bethulia liberata (Padua, 1781); 6 sinfonie; 6 trio sonatas for 2 Violins and Basso Continuo.

Bibliography

L. Valdrighi, F. A. maestro di cappella di Federico Guglielmo II re di Prussie (1790–92) (Modena, 1896).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire