Alberto Franchetti

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Alberto Franchetti (born 18 September 1860, Turin; died 4 August 1942, Viareggio) was an Italian opera composer. A nobleman of independent means, he studied first in Venice, then in Dresden under Draeseke, and finally at the Munich Conservatory under Rheinberger. His first major success occurred in 1888 with his opera Asrael. His operatic style combined Wagnerianism and Meyerbeer with Italian verismo. During his life, critics sometimes referred to him as the "Meyerbeer of modern Italy."

Other members of the Giovane Scuola of the period(Mascagni, Giordano and Cilea)at least are remembered as "one opera composers" - Franchetti, sadly,did not quite achieve that soubriquet. His most popular opera was Germania(1902) and although it clung to the general operatic repertoire until the First World War, performed worldwide, it then lapsed into obscurity. Recent revivals and recordings of Germania (Berlin Oper 2006/7) and Cristoforo Columbo (considered by the Groves contributor to be Franchetti's best work) show his work to be of genuine quality with a fine ability in orchestration and use of the chorus, symphonic in style. These traits, along with a tendency for two dimensional characters was recognised early:

"Egli non ha forse l’indole portata dai drammi passionali, ma per quei soggetti, ove l’elemento fantastico, romantico ed epico domandano al sinfonismo ed ai grandiosi quadri corali, il loro poderoso ausilio. Alberto Franchetti sa che a questo riguardo non può avere rivali..."G.B. Nappi - (da "Orfeo", anno VI, n.3, 1915)

[edit] Performed Operatic Works

Asrael (1888)
Cristoforo Colombo (1892)
Germania (includes the tenor aria Studenti! Udite) (1902)
La figlia di Iorio (1906)
La Notte di Legenda (1915)
Giove a Pompei (1921) Joint composition with Umberto Giordano.

[edit] References

Rosenthal, Harold and John Warrack. (1979, 2nd ed.). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera. London, New York and Melbourne: Oxford University Press. p. 178. ISBN 0-19-311318-X.