Alberto Bimboni

Alberto Bimboni (1882-1960) was an Italian-born American composer and conductor. He is remembered today, if at all, for his opera "Winona"; consequently, he is sometimes grouped with other composers of the Indianist movement in American music.cite book |last= Howard|first= John Tasker|authorlink= |coauthors= |editor= |others= |title= Our American Music: Three Hundred Years of It|origdate= |origyear= |origmonth= |url= |format= |accessdate= |accessyear= |accessmonth= |edition= |series= |volume= |date= |year= 1939|month= |publisher= Thomas Y. Crowell Company|location= New York|language= |isbn= |oclc= |doi= |id= |pages= |chapter= |chapterurl= |quote= ]

Born in Florence, Bimboni came to the United States in 1911, immediately finding employment with Henry Savage, who engaged him to conduct his company's tour of Giacomo Puccini's "La fanciulla del West". Upon conclusion of the run, he continued to find employment as a conductor in various areas of the country. It was during this period that he became interested in American Indian subjects, and composed "Winona" to a libretto by a Minneapolis journalist, Perry S. Williams. The story is taken from a legend of the Sioux, and tells of a maiden, named Winona, who threw herself into Lake Pepin to avoid an arranged marriage.cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,737176,00.html|title=Winona Rewarded|date=2008-08-06|work=Time" magazine|publisher=Time" magazine] The opera's music is heavily based on the music of various Indian tribes, including songs from the Chippewa and Sioux; moccasin, war, and hunting songs are included in the score as well. Bimboni strove not to violate Indian convention; consequently, the choral passages are in unison, with no part-singing.

Bimboni had some difficulty in finding an audience for his work, and kept the score with him when he traveled to conduct. At one engagement, in Washington, D.C., his story caught the attention of then-president Warren G. Harding, who used his influence to try and have it performed. "Winona" finally saw the stage in Portland, Oregon in 1926; at a performance in Minneapolis two years later, the composer was awarded the Bispham Memorial Medal Award for his work in promoting American opera.

Bimboni wrote little else besides "Winona", although one of his songs was recorded by John McCormack.cite web|url=http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.110331|title=McCormack Edition, Vol. 4: The Acoustic Recordings (1913-1914)|date=2008-08-06|work=McCormack Edition, Vol. 4: The Acoustic Recordings (1913-1914)|publisher=Naxos Records] He also appears to have been active as a teacher, and has been listed as one of Gian-Carlo Menotti's instructors.cite web|url=http://www.wagneropera.com/meet.html|title=Meet the Artists|date=2008-08-06|work=Meet the Artists|publisher=WagnerOpera.com] He died in 1960.

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