David Pérez (composer)

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David Perez (Born Naples, 1711 – died Lisbon, 30 October 1778) was an Italian opera composer of remote Spanish ancestry.

Italian composer. He was the son of Giovanni Perez and Rosalina Serrari, both Neapolitans (the surname Perez, of Spanish origin, was fairly common in the former Kingdom of the Two Sicilies). At the age of 11 he became a student at the Conservatorio di S Maria di Loreto in Naples, where he remained until 1733, studying counterpoint with Francesco Mancini, singing and keyboard playing with Giovanni Veneziano, and violin with Francesco Barbella.

On completion of his studies, Perez immediately entered the service of the Sicilian Prince d’Aragona, Naselli. From 1734 date his first known pieces, the Latin cantatas Ilium Palladio astu Subducto Expugnatum and Palladium performed in Palermo’s Collegio della Società di Gesù, for the laurelling festivities. For the next years, he was active both in Palermo and Naples, as his patron became Chamberlain of the newly crowned King Carlo I. His first opera, La nemica amante, was composed for the king’s birthday on 4 Nov. 1735 and presented in the gardens of the Neapolitan royal palace and later in the Teatro S Bartolomeo. In the libretto’s dedication the impresario of the theatre, Angelo Carasale, referred to Perez and Pergolesi as ‘dei buoni virtuosi di questa città’. Differently from Pergolesi's opera, which was then considered a failure, Perez's was a great success and his early career granted him, in 1738, an appointment as vicemaestro di cappella at Palermo’s Cappella Palatina, the Church of S Peter in the royal palace, to become maestro the next year upon the death of its former titular, Pietro Puzzuolo.

After creating operas in his native city as well as Palermo, Genoa and Florence, he moved to Lisbon in 1752 where he introduced Neapolitan opera with the encouragement of King José I. Thanks to his connection with the royal family he was able to work with the best singers and have the funds for elaborate sets.

He wrote 38 works for the stage, of which the 'dramma per musica' Solimano of 1757, revised in 1768 for Lisbon, is regarded as his best opera. This includes elements of both opera seria and opera buffa.