Antonio Buzzolla

Antonio Buzzolla (2 March 1815 – 20 March 1871) was an Italian composer and conductor.

Life Antonio Buzzolla was born on 2 March 1815. A native of Adria, he studied in Venice from 1832, and he joined the orchestra of La Fenice. His first opera, Il Ferramondo, was performed at Teatro San Benedetto. He later completed his studies under Gaetano Donizetti and Saverio Mercadante at the Naples Conservatory from 1837 to 1839. He returned to Venice in 1839 and had two more operas performed there.

He left for Berlin in 1843 and was a conductor at the Italian Opera. After touring Poland and Russia, he went to Paris in 1847 and was a conductor at Théâtre Italien. He returned to Venice the following year and performed two more operas, Amleto and Elisabetta di Valois. Buzzolla was better known in his lifetime for ariettas and canzonettas in the Venetian dialect. Beginning in 1855, he served as the of the Cappella Marciana at St Mark's Basilica in Venice. Buzzolla was one of the composers invited by Giuseppe Verdi to contribute to the Messa per Rossini; he composed the opening movement, the Requiem e Kyrie.

He died in Venice on 20 March 1871, and was interred at the San Michele cemetery on the Isola di San Michele in Venice.

Compositions

Sacred works

Messa a quattro parti e piena orchestra Requiem a quattro Requiem aeternam e Kyrie della Messa per Rossini (1871 al Teatro La Fenice di Venezia con Teresa Stolz ed Achille De Bassini) Miserere, a tre voci many works for Cappella Marciana not published.

Piano Music Sonata [n. 1] in mi bemolle maggiore, Op. 1 Sonata n. 2 in sol maggiore Marziale in do maggiore Notturno in fa minore Due valzer

Operas Ferramondo (Venezia, Teatro San Benedetto, 3 December 1836) Mastino I° della Scala (Venezia, Gran Teatro La Fenice, 31 May 1841) Gli Avventurieri (Venezia, Gran Teatro La Fenice, 14 May 1842) Amleto (Venezia, Gran Teatro La Fenice, 24 February 1848, libretto by Giovanni Peruzzini) Elisabetta di Valois (Venezia, Gran Teatro La Fenice, 16 February 1850) La puta onorata, (in Venetian dialect, after Carlo Goldoni) unfinished

Songs

Serate a Rialto, a una voce con accompagnamento di pianoforte Il gondoliere, raccolta di dodici ariette veneziane I giardinieri, duetto in veneziano La campana del tramonto La desolada La farfala Un baso in falo Un ziro in gondola Mi e ti El fresco El canto Cantata funebre dei caduti di Solferino e S. Martino