Primo Riccitelli

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Primo Riccitelli (9 August 1875 – 27 March 1941), was an Italian composer.

One of four children, he was born in the village of Cognoli near the communal town of Campli in the Abruzzo Region of Italy. His father, Giuseppe, was a small land owner and his mother, Maria Maiaroli, a homemaker. The one-day old infant was baptized at the local parish hall of Molviano with the first name Pancrazio. He would later perform under the stage name, Primo Riccitelli.

Primo Riccitelli began his studies in the town of Teramo and then transferred to the Conservatory of Pesaro where he soon became the protégé of the famed talent Pietro Mascagni. He is perhaps best remembered for two operatic masterpieces, I Compagnacci and Madonna Oretta. Lesser known compositions include Madonnetta, Francesca da Rimini, Lory, Nena; Heremos, Suora Maddalena and Maria sul Monte. The one-act operatic piece 'I Compagnacci,' was performed in Rome and at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, USA. All traces of several other of Primo Riccitelli's invaluable operas have been lost.

After a brief illness Primo Riccitelli died on the 27th of March, 1941 in Giulianova where he is now buried. A street in the town of Teramo bears the name of this illustrious citizen. Also carrying the name of this composer is a musical and theater society headquartered in Teramo and performing in Bellante. On 20 April, 2006 a bronze statue was dedicated to Primo Riccitelli at the entrance to the cemetery in the small village of Sant'Onofrio located near his birthplace.

[edit] Source

D.Taylor & R. Kerr (eds.), The Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, New York (1940).
Raffaele Aurini, Dizionario Bibliografico della gente D'Abruzzo, Teramo, 1973, volume V;
Dizionario Bibliografico della gente D'Abruzzo, 2° edizione, a cura di Fausto Eugeni, Luigi Ponziani e Marcello Sgattoni, Colledara, 2002, Andromeda Editrice, vol. 5, pp. 106-114;
Fernando Aurini, I Compagnacci, Teramo, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio, novembre 1999;