Giuseppe Calegari: Paduan cellist and composer

Life

His training took place at a cultural crossroads where Rococo elegance, the spirit of the Enlightenment, and the dawn of Neoclassicism coexisted, while his full maturity was expressed entirely in the Neoclassical taste and style.

Giuseppe Calegari, also known as Callegari, was born in Padua around 1750. He studied cello with Antonio Vandini and perhaps also with Carlo Antonio Campioni, two prominent figures in the instrumental music of the time.

From 1770, he began to distinguish himself as a musician, replacing Vandini as first cellist in the orchestra of the Basilica of Saint Anthony. In 1778, he became its permanent principal, holding this role for many years. Simultaneously, he embarked on a career as a composer, debuting with the theatrical action L’isola disabitata, on a libretto by Metastasio, performed in Padua in 1770.

In the following years, he composed numerous operas that were performed in the theaters of Venice and Modena. Noteworthy works include Il convitato di pietra, La Zenobia in Palmira, and Artemisia, which consolidated his fame. From 1787 to 1801, he was also the impresario of the Teatro Nuovo in Padua, a role in which he helped stimulate the city's musical life.

He died in Padua in 1812, leaving a rich musical heritage including sacred works, cantatas, and instrumental pieces.

Works

Giuseppe Calegari's catalog includes theatrical and sacred works. Among his secular works are L’isola disabitata (1770, Padua), Ezzelino (1776, Padua), Il convitato di pietra (1776, Venice), La Zenobia in Palmira (1779, Modena), Artemisia (1782, Venice), Il natal d’Apollo (1783, Padua), and L’ape musicale ossia Il poeta impresario (1792, Trieste, a pastiche with a libretto by Da Ponte).

His sacred repertoire includes oratorios such as Betulia liberata (1771, Padua) and La morte d’Abel (Florence), as well as masses, Kyries, Glorias, a Requiem, and psalms. Among his choral cantatas, Voti d’Euganea all’eternità (1787, Padua) should be mentioned as an expression of wide-ranging choral writing.