Feliciano Strepponi

Feliciano Cristoforo Bartolomeo Strepponi (26 October 1793 – 13 January 1832) was an Italian composer and conductor. He was born in Lodi and died in Trieste at the age of 38. Amongst his compositions were seven operas which had a modest success in their day. The last one, L'Ullà di Bassora, premiered at La Scala in 1831. He was the father and first teacher of the opera singer Giuseppina Strepponi who later became the second wife of Giuseppe Verdi.

Life Strepponi was born in the northern Italian city of Lodi to Maria (née Destefani) and Giuseppe Strepponi. Although some older sources give his birth year as 1797, research published in 2006 by Lodi historian Maria Moretti gives his birth date as 26 October 1793. He was baptised the following day with the name Feliciano Cristoforo Bartolomeo. The Strepponi family were intellectuals and liberal-minded supporters of Napoleon Bonaparte. They also had a strong interest in music with several members of the family having attended the Milan Conservatory. Strepponi's older brother Francesco became the maestro di cappella at the Church of the Beata Vergine Incoronata in Lodi. His sister Giovanna was a schoolmistress in the city. was born on 9 September 1815. In 1820 Strepponi received his diploma from the Milan Conservatory winning a special prize in composition. His first opera, Amore e fedeltà alla prova premiered at the theatre in Lodi that same year.

Upon completion of his music studies in Milan, Strepponi was appointed maestro di cappella at Monza Cathedral on the recommendation of his former teacher Vincenzo Federici. For the next few years he travelled between Lodi, Monza, Milan, and Turin, while his wife and children remained in Lodi. Three more of his operas were produced, two of which had librettos by Felice Romani with whom he would form a close friendship. Both were members of the Carbonari, a secret revolutionary society founded in the early 19th-century which played an active role in opposing Austrian rule of northern Italy. In 1828, he was dismissed from his post at Monza Catherdral, partly because of his frequent absences and partly because of his suspected revolutionary tendencies. However, he had an offer from the Teatro Grande in Trieste to serve as the assistant conductor to Giuseppe Farinelli and to compose two new operas. Chi fa così fa bene (melodramma giocoso in 2 acts), libretto by Felice Romani, Teatro Re, Milan, 6 February 1823 Francesca da Rimini (dramma per musica in 3 acts), libretto by Felice Romani, Teatro Eretenio, Vicenza, 23 July 1823 Gli Illinesi (melodramma serio in 2 acts), libretto by Felice Romani, Teatro Grande, Trieste, 20 November 1829 L' Ullà di Bassora (melodramma comico in 2 acts), libretto by Felice Romani, La Scala, Milan, 20 September 1831