Felicita Casella: composer between France, Italy, and Portugal

Life

Her entire creative arc, from training to full maturity, unfolded consistently within the great stream of Italian Romanticism, in the midst of the Risorgimento struggles.

Felicita Casella, born Lacombe in Bourges in 1820, was the sister of composer Louis Lacombe. Before 1849 she married the cellist and composer Cesare Casella, with whom she moved to Porto. There her first opera, Haydée, was performed in 1849 to favorable reception from the public and critics.

Success continued with the revival of the same opera at the Dona Maria Theater in Lisbon in 1853, consolidating her reputation as a composer. In 1865 her Cristoforo Colombo was performed at the Théâtre Impérial in Nice, confirming her dramatic and musical skill.

A rare figure of a female composer in the nineteenth century, she established herself in international contexts, bringing her name from France to Portugal and Italy. She died around 1865, leaving a significant mark in the history of female theatrical music.

Works

Haydée (1849, Porto; 1853, Lisbon, Dona Maria Theater); Cristoforo Colombo (1865, Nice, Théâtre Impérial). These works bear witness to her international vocation and her courage in tackling complex and solemn subjects.