Gian Francesco de Majo
Gian Francesco de Majo or "Ciccio de Majo" or "Cicillo de Majo" (born March 24, 1732 in Naples , † November 17, 1770 ibid) was a composer of the Neapolitan school .
Life
Gian Francesco de Majo came from a family of musicians. His father Giuseppe de Majo was court organist and from 1745 first conductor of the royal court orchestra. He composed mainly chamber music and comic operas in the Neapolitan dialect. Nothing more is known about Gian Francesco's musical training. But it must have been intense, because he made his debut as 2nd harpsichordist of the court orchestra at the age of 15, for which he received the honorary title of "extraordinary organist". It was not until 3 years later that he also received a regular salary and in 1758 was promoted to second organist. From this time his sacred works are known.
After the debut of his first opera Ricinero Re de 'Goti in Parma in 1759 , which was also successfully performed in Rome a year later, opera has since been the focus of his work: around this time, however, the first signs of tuberculosis appeared .
Despite his first operatic successes, he took further composition lessons from Padre Giambattista Martini in Bologna from 1763 . There he also met Carlo Broschi , known as Farinelli. Through the mediation of the two he received commissions in Vienna, such as the festival opera for the coronation of Joseph II as Roman-German king . After many successful productions in almost all cultural centers in Europe, he returned to Naples in 1765 in the hope of being able to succeed his father. This plan failed because Niccolò Piccinni was preferred. He then left Naples for further opera projects.
In early 1770, due to his deteriorating health, he finally returned to Naples and died there on November 17, 1770.
He was very much appreciated by his contemporaries. When the 14-year-old Mozart heard de Majos church music on his visit to Naples, he called it “bellissima” in a letter. In addition to his operas, he also created sacred works, such as the oratorio Gesù sotto il peso della croce in 1764 or the passion music La passione di Gesù Cristo, performed in Milan in 1778 . Like his contemporaries Niccolò Jommelli and Tommaso Traetta , all compositional possibilities of the time were at his disposal. Depending on the client's wishes, he could deliver classic opera series or “reform operas ” while maintaining the same quality.
Operas
Surname | libretto | premiere |
---|---|---|
Ricimero, re de 'Goti | Pietro Pariati and Apostolo Zeno | 1759, Parma |
Astrea placata | Pietro Metastasio | 1760, Naples |
Cajo Fabricio | Apostolo Zeno | 1760, Naples |
Almeria | Marco Coltellini | 1761, Livorno |
Artaserse | Pietro Metastasio | 1762 (?), Venice |
Catone in Utica | Pietro Metastasio | 1762 (?), Turin |
Demofoonte | Pietro Metastasio | 1763, Rome |
Alcide negli Orti Esperidi | Marco Coltellini | 1764, Vienna |
Ifigenia in Tauride | Mattia Verazi | 1764, Mannheim |
Motezuma | Vittorio Amedeo Cigna-Santi | 1765, Turin |
La costanza fortunata | Ludovico Savioli | 1765, Madrid |
Alessandro | Mattia Verazi after Pietro Metastasio | 1766, Mannheim |
Antigono | Pietro Metastasio | 1767, Venice |
Ipermestra | Pietro Metastasio | 1768, Naples |
Antigone | Gaetano Roccaforte | 1768 (?), Rome |
Didone abbandonata | Pietro Metastasio | 1769, Venice |
Adriano in Siria | Pietro Metastasio | 1769 (?), Rome |
literature
- Sabine Rademacher, contribution to the program of the opera Allessandro nell 'Indie of the Nationaltheater Mannheim , 228th season.
Web links
- Sheet music and audio files by Gian Francesco de Majo in the International Music Score Library Project
- List of stage works by Gian Francesco de Majo based on the MGG at Operone
- Search for operas by Gian Francesco de Majo (search term in the Autore field : “Majo Gian Francesco”) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna
Individual evidence
- ^ Dataset on Alessandro at Operone , accessed on October 1, 2014.
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Majo, Gian Francesco de |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Majo, Ciccio de; Majo, Cicillo de |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian classical composer |
DATE OF BIRTH | March 24, 1732 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Naples |
DATE OF DEATH | November 17, 1770 |
Place of death | Naples |