Cimarosa, Domenico
Cimarosa, Domenico
(dōmĕ`nēkō chēmärô`zä), 1749–1801, Italian operatic composer. He wrote almost 80 operas, which were successfully produced in Rome, Naples, Vienna, and St. Petersburg. His works, of which Il matrimonio segreto (1792) is the best known, are good examples of pure opera buffa. He also wrote serious operas and church and instrumental music notable for its clear and Mozartean effect.Cimarosa, Domenico
Born Dec. 17, 1749, in Aversa, near Naples; died Jan. 11, 1801, in Venice. Italian composer; a leading representative of the opera buffa.
The son of a stonemason, Cimarosa was orphaned at an early age. He studied at the conservatory of Santa Maria di Loreto in Naples. From 1787 to 1791 he was court composer at St. Petersburg, where his operas Le vergine del sole and Cleopatra and his ballet La felicità inaspettata were staged. Cimarosa became Kapellmeister in Vienna in 1792 and maestro di capella in Naples in 1793. In 1799 he took part in an uprising of Neapolitan patriots and wrote the anthem of the Parthenopean Republic. Among his numerous opere buffe, II matrimonio segreto (1792) is universally renowned. Cimarosa also composed opere serie, including Gli orazi e curiazi (1796).
REFERENCES
Shen, D. Domeniko Chimaroza i ego opera “Tainyi brak.” Leningrad, 1939.Tibaldi Chiesa, M. Cimarosa e il suo tempo. Milan, 1939.