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.

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Cimarosa, Domenico

(born Dec. 17, 1749, Aversa, Kingdom of Naples—died Jan. 11, 1801, Venice) Italian opera composer. Son of a stonemason, he studied at the Naples Conservatory. His first opera was produced in 1772, and by the mid-1780s he was internationally known. A short engagement as kapellmeister at the Viennese court resulted in the famous comic opera Il matrimonio segreto (1792). In 1796 he became organist in the royal chapel of Naples. He wrote some 75 operas, remarkable for their apt characterizations and abundant comic life. He wrote many choral works, including the cantata Il maestro di cappella, a popular satire on contemporary operatic rehearsal methods. Among his instrumental works, which, like his operas, have been successfully revived, are many sparkling harpsichord sonatas and a concerto for two flutes.

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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.