Alberto Bimboni

Alberto Bimboni (1882–1960) was an Italian-born American composer and conductor. He is remembered today, if at all, for his opera Winona; consequently, he is sometimes grouped with other composers of the Indianist movement in American music.

Biography Born in Florence, Bimboni came to the United States in 1911, immediately finding employment with Henry Savage, who engaged him to conduct his company's tour of Giacomo Puccini's La fanciulla del West. Upon conclusion of the run, he continued to find employment as a conductor in various areas of the country. The opera's music is heavily based on the music of various Indian tribes, including songs from the Chippewa and Sioux; moccasin, war, and hunting songs are included in the score as well. Bimboni strove not to violate Indian convention; consequently, the choral passages are in unison, with no part-singing. From 1930 to 1942 he was a teacher at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, and since 1933 also at the Opera Department at Juilliard School of Music in New York. For eighteen years, he directed the summer season in Chautauqua, New York, and from 1942 was director of the opera company of Canton (Ohio). He has been listed as one of Gian-Carlo Menotti's instructors. He died in New York in 1960.

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