Life
His training took place in the heart of the Fin de siècle, an era where Verismo, Decadentism, and Symbolism intertwined, while his maturity unfolded in a twentieth century marked by the revolution of Futurism.
Stefano Donaudy, the son of a French father and an Italian mother, was born in Palermo in 1879 and was a composer active between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His hometown, at that time, was experiencing a moment of great cultural ferment. From a very young age he showed a precocious talent; his first opera, Folchetto, and one of his most famous songs, Vaghissima sembianza, are dated 1892, when he was only thirteen years old.
After completing his studies with Guglielmo Zuelli, director of the Palermo Conservatory, Donaudy worked as a singing teacher and as a master and accompanist for some of the wealthiest Sicilian families. Throughout his career, he dedicated himself primarily to vocal music, writing both operas and songs. His production utilized the collaboration of his brother, the poet Alberto Donaudy (1880–1941), who wrote most of the lyrics for his songs and librettos in a literary style that reflected the tastes of the era, such as those of Arrigo Boito and Gabriele D'Annunzio.
Donaudy's fame rests almost exclusively on his collection of songs titled 36 arie di stile antico. This collection, first published by Casa Ricordi in 1918 and subsequently revised in 1922, is still in print today. Many of his songs have never left the repertoire of great lyric singers and have been interpreted by memorable voices such as Enrico Caruso, Tito Schipa, and Andrea Bocelli. He died in Naples in 1925 at the age of forty-six, leaving behind an elegant and sensual musical legacy.
Aneddoto
His last opera, La Fiamminga, debuted at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples on April 25, 1922. The resounding failure deeply wounded him, prompting him to abandon composition for the remaining three years of his life.
Works
Donaudy's work is vast and varied, although much of his production has been forgotten. His modern fame is almost entirely linked to the collection 36 arie di stile antico, which includes highly regarded pieces such as Vaghissima sembianza, Spirate pur, spirate, O del mio amato ben, and Amorosi miei giorni.
In the field of opera, Donaudy composed several works, including Folchetto (Palermo, 1892), La scampagnata (Palermo, 1898), Teodoro Koerner (Hamburg, 1902), Sperduti in buio (Palermo, 1907), and Ramuntcho (Milan, 1921). His last opera was La Fiamminga, performed in 1922 in Naples. In addition to vocal music, he also composed chamber and orchestral music, such as the cantata Il sogno di Palisenda and a symphonic poem.
Briciole di storia
The regicide of Monza, or the anarchist who came from America
On the evening of July 29, 1900, in Monza, King Umberto I of Italy was returning in a carriage after having attended a sporting event. Suddenly, a man emerged from the crowd and fired three pistol shots, killing him. The attacker was Gaetano Bresci, an anarchist who had emigrated to Paterson, USA, and returned to Italy specifically to carry out the act. Bresci declared that he wanted to avenge the victims of the brutal repression of the 1898 Milan riots, for which the King had awarded a decoration to General Bava Beccaris. The regicide deeply shook the country and closed in the most tragic way the end-of-century crisis, a period of strong social tensions and authoritarian temptations.
Pubblico dominio (Commons)
