Generali (real name, Mercandetti), Pietro

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Generali (real name, Mercandetti), Pietro

Generali (real name, Mercandetti), Pietro, Italian composer; b. Masserano, Oct. 23, 1773; d. Novara, Nov. 3, 1832. He studied in Rome. He began to compose sacred music at an early age, but soon turned to opera. He traveled all over Italy as producer of his operas, and also went to Vienna and Barcelona. Returning to Italy, he became maestro di cappella at the Cathedral of Novara. He anticipated Rossini in the effective use of dynamics in the instrumental parts of his operas, and was generally praised for his technical knowledge. He wrote about 50 stage works, in both the serious and comic genres, but none survived in the repertoire after his death. The following were successful at their initial performances: Pamela nubile (Venice, April 12, 1804), Le lagrime di una vedova (Venice, Dec. 26, 1808), Adelina (Venice, Sept. 16, 1810), L’Impostore (Milan, May 21, 1815), I Baccanali di Roma (Venice, Jan. 14, 1816; his best work), II Servo padrone (Parma, Aug. 12, 1818), and II divorzio persiano (Trieste, Jan. 31, 1828).

Bibliography

Piccoli, Elogio del maestro P. G. (1833).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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