Nicola D'Arienzo

Nicola d'Arienzo (24 December 1842 – 25 April 1915) was an Italian composer, music pedagogue, and writer on music. He spent his entire career in his native Naples where all but one of his nine of his operas were premiered. His other compositions included instrumental music, sacred music and art songs. From 1909 until 1911, d'Arienzo served as the director of the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella having taught there since 1875. He also wrote several books on the history and theory of music.

Life and career Nicola d'Arienzo was born in Naples, the son of Maddalena (née Santelia) and Gaetano d'Arienzo. His father, a notary, was strongly opposed to him pursuing a career in music, and he initially studied piano secretly with Pietro Labriola and Michelangelo Russo. His uncle Marco d'Arienzo, a lawyer by profession and a prolific librettist by avocation, paid for the lessons and helped the young Nicola to overcome his father's opposition. He went on to study harmony and counterpoint with Vincenzo Fioravanti and orchestration with Giovanni Moretti, both of whom were opera composers.

From 1872, d'Arienzo had a parallel career as a music pedagogue and writer. He was appointed to the chair of harmony and counterpoint at the music school of the Real Albergo dei Poveri in 1872 and two years later became the school's director. In 1875, he moved to the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella where his pupils included Niccolò van Westerhout, Leoncavallo and Luigi Denza. He initially taught harmony, counterpoint, and composition and from 1904 music history. On the death of Giuseppe Martucci in 1909, d'Arienzo was appointed director of the conservatory and served in that position until his retirement in 1912. In 1878 he wrote a book on music theory, Introduzione del sistema tetracordale nella musica moderna. In it he formulated a tetrachordal harmonic system based on the ancient Greek Phrygian mode which he linked historically to Neapolitan folk music. According to d'Arienzo, his opera La figlia del diavolo was attempt to put his new harmonic system into practice. The opera premiered in 1879 and proved to be somewhat controversial. It was well received by the public but was negatively reviewed by the critics for its "verismo tendencies".

Operas

Monzù Gnazio o La fidanzata del parrucchiere (dramma giocoso in 2 acts); libretto by Andrea Passaro; premiered Teatro Nuovo, Naples, 1860 I due mariti (commedia lirica in 3 acts); libretto by Almerindo Spadetta; premiered Teatro Bellini, Naples, 1 February 1866 Le rose (commedia lirica in 3 acts); libretto by Almerindo Spadetta; premiered Teatro Bellini, Naples, February 1868 Il cacciatore delle Alpi (azione semiseria in 1 act); libretto by Almerindo Spadetta; premiered Teatrino del Collegio dei Nobili, Naples, 23 June 1870 Il cuoco e il segretario (opera buffa in 3 acts); libretto by Almerindo Spadetta after Eugène Scribe; premiered Teatro Rossini, Naples, 11 January 1873 I viaggi (commedia lirica in 3 acts); libretto by Almerindo Spadetta; premiered Teatro Castelli, Milan, 23 June 1875. La figlia del diavolo (leggenda marinaresca in 3 acts); libretto by Alberto Landi; premiered Teatro Bellini, Naples, 16 November 1879 I tre coscritti (melodramma in 2 acts); libretto by Leone Emmanuele Bardare; premiered Reale Albergo dei Poveri, Naples, 10 February 1880 La fiera (commedia lirica in 3 acts); libretto by Salvatore Di Giacomo; premiered Teatro Nuovo, Naples, February 1887