Life
His entire creative arc, from training to full maturity, unfolded consistently within the great flow of Italian Romanticism, in the midst of the Risorgimento struggles.
Vincenzo Capecelatro was born in Naples in 1815 and received his first music lessons from his mother, a pianist. He studied composition and by 1834 had already written a mass and several romanzas. In 1837, he married the poet and librettist Irene Ricciardi, who supported him by providing texts for his works.
He debuted in the same year at the Accademia Filarmonica in Naples with La soffitta degli artisti. His theatrical career took him to the Teatro San Carlo, where he performed Mortedo with the famous singer Eugenia Tadolini. His works, often based on original subjects, were distinguished by melodic invention and dramatic sensitivity.
After moving to Florence, he continued to compose and teach. He died in 1874, leaving a catalog that, while not vast, is a significant part of the Italian opera production of the mid-nineteenth century.
Aneddoto
A Librettist Wife
Capecelatro's wife, Irene Ricciardi, was a poet and librettist: she wrote the texts for some of his works and contributed literary imagination to her husband's career.Works
Among Capecelatro's operas are La soffitta degli artisti (1837, Naples) and Mortedo (Naples, Teatro San Carlo, with Eugenia Tadolini). He also composed other theatrical works that are less known today, along with sacred pieces and romanzas, which attest to his versatility.