Majo, Giuseppe de

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Majo, Giuseppe de

Majo, Giuseppe de, Italian organist and composer, father of Gian Francesco (de) Majo; b. Naples, Dec. 5, 1697; d. there, Nov. 18, 1771. He studied with Nicola Fago and Andrea Basso at the Cons, della Pietà dei Turchini in Naples (1706–18), then was organista soprannumerario (1736–37), provicemaestro (1737–44), vicemaestro (1744–45), and maestro (1745–71) at the royal chapel. His most successful stage work was the serenata Il sogno d’Olimpia (Naples, Nov. 6, 1747), written to celebrate the birth of the heir apparent.

Works

dramatic: Lo vecchio avaro, opera buffa (Naples, Carnival 1727); La Milorda, opera buffa (Naples, 1728); La Baronessa, overo Gli equivoci, opera buffa (Naples, 1729); Arianna e Teseo, opera seria (Naples, Jan. 20, 1747); II sogno d’Olimpia, serenata (Naples, Nov. 6, 1747); Semiramide riconosciuta, opera seria (Naples, Jan. 20, 1751); II Napolitano nelli fiorentini, farsa (n.d.). other: Concerto for 2 Violins and Orch. (1726); cantatas; various sacred works.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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