Gomes, (Antônio) Carlos

Gomes, (Antônio) Carlos, Brazilian composer;b. Campinas (of Portuguese parents), July 11, 1836; d. Belem, Sept. 16, 1896. He studied with his father, then at the Rio de Janeiro Cons., where he produced 2 operas, A Noite do Castello (Sept. 4, 1861) and Joana de Flandres (Sept. 15, 1863). The success of these works induced Emperor Don Pedro II to grant him a stipend for further study in Milan, where he soon made his mark with a humorous little piece entitled Se sa minga (a song from this work, “Del fucile ad ago/7 became popular), produced in 1867. After another piece in the same vein (Nella Luna, 1868), he made a more serious bid for fame with the opera II Guarany, produced at La Scala on March 19, 1870, with brilliant success; this work, in which Amazon Indian themes are used, quickly went the round of Italy, and was given in London (Covent Garden) on July 13, 1872. Returning to Rio de Janeiro, Gomes brought out a very popular operetta, Telegrapho elettrico. His other operas are Fosca (La Scala, Milan, Feb. 16, 1873), Salvator Rosa (Genoa, March 21, 1874), Maria Tudor (La Scala, Milan, March 27, 1879), Lo Schiavo (Rio de Janeiro, Sept. 27, 1889), and Condor (La Scala, Milan, Feb. 21, 1891). He wrote the hymn II saluto del Brasile for the centenary of American independence (Philadelphia, July 19, 1876), and the cantata Colombo, for the Columbus Festival (Oct. 12, 1892). In 1895 he was appointed director of the newly founded Belem Cons., but he died soon after arriving there. Besides his operas, he com-posed songs (3 books), choruses, and piano pieces.

Bibliography

S. Boccanera Júnior, Um artista brasileiro: In memoriam (Bahia, 1904); H.P. Vieira, C. G.: Sua arte e sua obra (Sao Paulo, 1934); I. Gomes Vaz de Carvalho, A vida de C. G. (Rio de Janeiro, 1935; It. tr., Milan, 1935); R. Seidl, C. G., Brasileiro e patriota (Rio de Janeiro, 1935); L.F. Vieira Souto, A.C. G. (Rio de Janeiro, 1936); J. Prito, C. G. (Sao Paulo, 1936); R. Almeida, C. G. (Rio de Janeiro, 1937); M. de Andrade, C. G. (Rio de Janeiro, 1939); P. Cerquera, C. G. (Sâo Paulo, 1944); M. Góes, C. G.: A força indômita (Pará, Portugal, 1996).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire