- Jacopo Ferretti
Jacopo Ferretti (
16 July 1784 –7 March 1852 ) was an Italian writer,poet andopera librettist . He is most famous for having supplied the libretti for two operas by Rossiniand for five operas by Donizetti.Another version of his name is Giacomo Ferretti, and it is also sometimes erroneously spelled "Jacobo Ferretti".
Life
Introduced by his father to literature while very young, in addition to his native Italian, Ferretti mastered not only
Latin andAncient Greek but also French and English, and began writing verse early. Even though he worked in the tobacco industry from the age of about 30 until he was over 60, he was extremely prolific, writing "everything from love letter to odes and welcoming speeches" [ [http://www.operatalent.com/Safe/Librettists/Ferretti39205570.asp?librettista=46 Opera Talent entry for Jacopo Ferretti] ] , and numerous opera libretti, all but the few listed below being generally forgotten.His first big success was
La Cenerentola , written at great speed forRossini over Christmas in 1816. Ferretti wrote afterwards how he had agreed to write a libretto on a subject which the censor vetoed, so he met the composer and the theatre manager to discuss alternatives. He struggled to find a new subject that appealed, but about two dozen were rejected for one reason or another. At last, yawning wearily, Ferretti said "La Cenerentola" ("Cinderella") and at last Rossini decided he liked it, so Ferretti went home and began at once, worked night and day on it, and gave sections to Rossini on Christmas Day. Early on during the production there were problems, but Rossini predicted (correctly) that it would be a great success in the long term.Ferretti married the singer Teresa Terziani, and their house was continually visited by musicians and poets, including
Donizetti who was a good friend.Operas
Operas with music by
Gaetano Donizetti *"
L'ajo nell'imbarazzo , o Don Gregorio" (1824)
*"Zoraide di Grenata" (1824)
*"Olivo e Pasquale " (1827)
*"Il furioso all'isola di San Domingo" (1832)
*"Torquato Tasso" (1833)Operas with music by
Saverio Mercadante *"Scipione in Cartagine" (1820)
*"Gli amici di Siracusa" (1824)Operas with music by
Giovanni Pacini *"Cesare in Egitto" (1821)
Operas with music by
Luigi Ricci *"L’orfanella di Ginevra" (1829)
Operas with music by
Lauro Rossi *"La figlia di Figaro" (1846)
Operas with music by
Gioachino Rossini *"La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo" (1817)
*"Matilde di Shabran , o sia Bellezza, e cuor di ferro" (1821)Operas with music by
Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli *"Baldovino" (1811)
Many others for other composers, now mainly forgotten.
References
Bibliography
*The Viking Opera Guide, ed. Amanda Holden with Nicholas Kenyon and Stephen Walsh, Viking (1993) ISBN 0-670-81292-7
*Jacopo Ferretti e la cultura del suo tempo (Jacopo Ferretti and the culture of his time), Annalisa Bini, Skira (1996) ISBN 8-881-18599-7Persondata
NAME=Ferretti, Jacopo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Ferretti, Giacomo;Ferretti, Jacopo
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Italian librettist
DATE OF BIRTH=16 July 1784
PLACE OF BIRTH=Rome
DATE OF DEATH=7 March 1852
PLACE OF DEATH=
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.