Gaetano Donizetti
The life story of Gaetano Donizetti is similar to the plot of one of his operas: a modest birth and years of hard work, a dizzying ascent to greatness and a final fall into insanity. With a sharp dramatic feeling, he played a central role in creating a romantic musical melodrama. His expressive bel canto-based style paved the way for Verdi’s achievements.
A brief biography of Gaetano Donizetti and many interesting facts about the composer can be found on our page.
Short biography of Donizetti
In 1797, in the north of Italy, in the small but very beautiful town of Bergamo, the future genius of operatic art, Gaetano Donizetti, was born. He was the youngest child in the family. Parents, Andrea and Domenica Donizetti, were poor and lived with their children outside the city walls in a very picturesque area called Borgo Canal. The house where little Gaetano began to explore the world was down the hill. There, in the basement, located below the street level, in two dark rooms, the story began of the formation of the composer. My father earned money as a guard of a municipal pawnshop, and his mother and daughters worked as seamstresses.
Biography Donizetti says that in April 1806, nine-year-old Gaetano entered the Charity Choral School for Boys, led by German musician and composer Simon Mayr, who holds the post of conductor at the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo since 1802. Mayr helped the young musician in every way, prompting him to devote himself to a professional musical career, and provided a scholarship. After studying for 9 years, Donizetti became the best student of the school. At the age of 16, he acted as a singer at the Theater della Societa, and also helped the teacher in the church by working as an archivist there.
In 1815, Mayr sent a young musician with letters of recommendation to Bologna. Here, at the Bologna Music Lyceum under Padre Stanislao Mattei, the future composer continues his studies. During this period, Donizetti wrote several chamber and spiritual works and 3 one-act operas, the first of which was Pygmaleon, which was never performed during the composer’s lifetime. In 1818, after graduating at the age of twenty, Donizetti returned to Bergamo, as there were no career prospects in Bologna.
Although his father hoped that his son would become a church composer, and Gaetano composed a huge amount of sacred music, his vocation was theater. In 1818, the opera Enrico di Borgogna was staged for the first time at the Teatro San Luca in Venice. The theater was so impressed with this work that it immediately requested a few more pieces. From that moment began the ascent of the young composer to the heights of glory and success. In 1821, Donizetti wrote the opera “Zoraid Granadskaya” for the new Argentina Theater in Rome, which became even more successful than his previous works. Leading Italian impresario Domenico Barbaya was fascinated by "Zoraid ..." and knew that Gaetano could work wonders if he was given a chance, so he offered the young composer cooperation.
The following year, Donizetti moved to Naples, where he will live 16 years. His first opera, written in a new place, was "Gypsy", which caused enthusiastic responses from the public. There were even rumors that Vincenzo Bellini liked this opera so much that every day he played the tunes he liked on his harpsichord.
In 1827, Donizetti concludes a new contract with Barbay, under the condition that he must write four operas within three years. The inspiration of the composer reaches its climax. He writes simultaneously for Rome, Milan and Naples. In 1828, Alina, the Queen of Golkonda, born for the Carlo Felice Theater in Genoa, was born. From 1828 to 1838, Donizetti served as director of the royal theaters of Naples. During this period, the World Flood and the Roman Exile were written, which had a smashing success, and soon delivered to La Scala.
The most successful opera was "Anna Bolein", written in 1830, thanks to which Donizetti's reputation as one of the best opera composers was established. This performance was also performed in Paris and London. At this time, many dramatic works were written, which were strongly influenced by censorship. The killing of five characters in "Lucrezia Borgia" led to her ban in Naples, and only in Milan the performance was staged exactly as the author intended. In 1838, disappointed by the censors of Naples, Donizetti left for Paris.
The composer attains worldwide fame, his performances are staged throughout Europe. Donizetti becomes very popular, receiving many different offers. As a result, he agrees to become Hofkapellmeister and court composer of the Austrian emperor in Vienna. In the midst of his career, Donizetti continues to write at an incredible speed, unlike Verdi and Bellini, who composed fewer works after they achieved financial well-being.
In contrast to the brilliant career, the personal life of the composer was unsuccessful. On June 1, 1828, Gaetano married Virginia Wasselli, the sister of his friend Antonio, whom she had met in Rome when she was only 13 years old. After a year of marriage, after a severe pregnancy, their first child, Filippo Francesco, died twelve days later, two more children did not survive either.
The next blow was the death of his parents in the 1830s, but the tragedies did not end there. A year after the death of his parents, Virginia also passed away. Donizetti, who already suffered from syphilis, transmitted the disease to his wife. Gaetano himself has suffered from ailments, headaches and nausea for decades, but he was never treated until he was diagnosed. The disease progressed, which caused the musician to stop working. The last opera of the composer, written in 1843, was "Don Sebastian".
In 1845, Donizetti struck paralysis, followed by rapid dementia. His nephew Andrea arrived in Paris in January 1846 and found that his uncle was behaving irrationally and unpredictably. Doctors advised to identify Donizetti in the hospital, to which Andrea agreed. After some time, the friends got permission to transport the composer to his homeland in Italy. The following year, Donizetti was brought back to Bergamo, where in April 1848 the world bade farewell to a great musician who wrote over 65 operas in just 32 years.
Interesting facts about Gaetano Donizetti
- From Donizetti's biography, we learn that Gaetano and his parents had ambivalent relationships throughout his life. He forbade them to appear on the premieres of their operas, and they found out about marriage with Virginia Vasselli much later.
- His first one-act opera "Pygmalion" was written in 1816, but its premiere took place in Bergamo only in 1960.
- Gaetano's elder brother, Giuseppe Donizetti, became the court musician of the Ottoman Empire, he popularized the tradition of Western artistic music in modern Turkey.
- Donizetti did not own any musical instrument.
- Bellini and Donizetti, friends or foes? Unfortunately for those who love gossip and quarrels, the jealousy between Donizetti and Bellini led only to a few anecdotes. In fact, the two composers valued each other, and when they first met in Naples in 1822, Bellini was said to have been fascinated by the ridiculous temper of his rival. In 1835, the rehearsals of "Lucia di Lammermoor" Donizetti were in full swing when he learned about the sudden death of Bellini, only 33 years old. Deeply shocked by this news, Gaetano locked himself in his office to write a Requiem in honor of his friend.
- Donizetti could compose with incredible speed. For example, according to legend, the comic opera "Love drink"was written in just 15 days, but"Lucia de Lammermoor"- for six weeks of work.
- Each of Donizetti's opera roles was written specifically for one of the greatest voices of his generation: Pasta, Malibran, Gilbert Duprez ...
- In 1840, the opera "Lucrezia Borgia" based on the work of Victor Hugo was staged in Paris. Donizetti's style and vision didn’t like the writer, he immediately filed a lawsuit in court. As a result, the composer had to change the name of his opera to Renegade, change the design of the scenery and transfer the action to Turkey.
- “Donizetti seems to treat us as a defeated country; this is a real invasion,” assessed the popularity of Italian opera in Paris in the XIX century. Hector Berlioz. Gaetano Donizetti moved to the capital of France shortly after the death of his wife and quickly became one of the most popular composers in the city, largely due to the success of his works in French.
- Donizetti was not only a recognized composer, but also a sought-after conductor. It was under his leadership that the premiere of Stabat Mater, Rossini, was held.
- Gaetano Donizetti is buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo, next to his first teacher, Simon Mayr.
Creativity Gaetano Donizetti
According to Donizetti's biography, Gaetano began to compose rather early, but his works, written in 1816 and 1817, were not performed. However, everything changed after "Enrico di Borgogna"- his first performance staged on the stage. Donizetti took up composing all kinds of operas, be it comedies, lyric-dramatic works and romantic melodramas. Success in his career began with the production"Zoraids Granatskoy“, after which the impresario Domenico Barbaya noticed the composer’s talent and invited him to write several operas for the Naples Theater. his first masterpiece appeared - "Ann Bolein"The opera was performed in Milan, and Donizetti gained world fame. Mikhail Glinkawho was present at the premiere, in his words, "was immersed in delight." Everyone in Europe recognized the Italian composer. Soon appeared "Love drink"which also received wide public acclaim. Then followed"Lucia di Lammermoor", based on Walter Scott's Lammermour Bride. It was Lucia ... that confirmed Donizetti as the lead composer of the Italian opera - Rossini by that moment withdrew from musical activities, and Bellini died shortly before the premiere.
During his career, Donizetti wrote more than 65 operas. "Lucia di Lammermoor", "Love drink", "Don Pasquale"," Anne Boleyn "and in our time can be seen on the stages of many theaters in the world.
In addition to his operas, Donizetti has created a large number of other compositions. His cantatas, symphonies, string quartets and quintets, as well as numerous piano and vocal works have taken a worthy place in musical history.
After the composer's death, the works of Donizetti, unfortunately, gradually began to be forgotten, but who is to blame? Of course, the change in public taste and fashion, leaving aside the tradition of bel canto, which was supplanted by a more realistic style - Verism.
In 1957, Maria Callas triumphantly acted as Anna Boleyn in Milan's La Scala, marking the beginning of the Renaissance Donizetti. Soon, several of the greatest voices of our time, including Joan Sutherland, Montserrat Caballe, Luciano Pavarotti, breathed new life into the forgotten works of the maestro.
Donizetti was gifted with a magnificent ability to compose in a short period of time. His operas were inspired by the events of his own life and the life around him, in the melodies of the works reflected the experiences of the composer. Although Bellini and Rossini had a strong influence on him, Donizetti managed to find his own expressive style of composition that inspired many subsequent Italian composers, especially Giuseppe Verdi.
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