Recent from talks
Giuseppe de Begnis
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Giuseppe de Begnis
Giuseppe de Begnis (1793-10 August 1849) was an Italian operatic bass singer. Born in Lugo di Romagna, he started his musical education when he was 7 years old, under Padre Bongiovanni, and sang soprano in the church. At age 15 he had serious problems with his voice and began studying acting under Mandini, a famous actor of the time. His father did not want Giuseppe to become a comedian and in due course the young man became a pupil of the composer Giovanni Morandi, the husband of the singer Rosa Morandi.
In the autumn of 1816 he married the soprano Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis in Bologna and they were together until 1825. His countenance was seriously affected by smallpox, but he was skilled at applying make-up and on stage he gave no evidence of facial disfigurement.
By 1815 he had established himself in a promising career which continued until the late 1820s in Italy, France and London and then in Ireland from 1829 where he also ran an opera company. He continued to sing and manage opera companies in Scotland and from New York from 1838, where he lived until his death in 1849. He has been described as "an ideal interpreter of Rossini's comic operas".
De Begnis made his debut in Modena during the Carnival 1813 season as a primo buffo in Stefano Pavesi's Ser Marcantonio. He was greeted by generous applause and this proved to him that he was moving in the right direction. From there he went to Forli and Rimini, ending the first year of his professional career again in Modena. For the new carnival season he was in Siena for the inauguration of the newly built Teatro degli Accademici Rozzi. There he sang the most demanding role of Uberto in Ferdinando Paër's Agnese – an opera semi-seria that includes one of the earliest and most dramatic mad scenes. This was a challenge that did not intimidate the young de Begnis because he had studied and refined his acting; in fact, the audience responded with enthusiasm and he was praised "both as an actor and singer".
This was followed by an equally successful Selim in Rossini's Il Turco in Italia. His familiarization with stage and public, as well as with colleagues and musicians, was a learning process that enabled him to aim higher. From Tuscany he moved on to Ferrara, Badia, and Trieste. At the Teatro Nuovo of the latter town he sang Don Placenzio in Luigi Caruso's Così si fa alle donne, followed by Carlo Coccia's farsa per musica La Matilde; Giuseppe Farinelli's Teresa e Claudio; Pietro Carlo Guglielmi's Don Papirio; and Filippo Celli's Don Timonella di Piacenza.
During the 1815–1816 carnival season, on 17 February 1816, he made his debut at La Scala in Simone Mayr's Ginevra di Scozia. This was only a short engagement; but for most of the carnival season he was busy closer to home at Cesena where he impressed the audience[according to whom?] with his performance in Valentino Fioravanti's dramma giocoso per musica Il bello piace a tutti. He delivered his main aria in the old rondo style imitating the celebrated mezzo-soprano castrato Gaspare Pacchierotti; his falsetto stunned the public and an ovation followed.[citation needed] De Begnis went on to Vincenzo Pucitta's farsa giocosa per musica La burla fortunata ossia I due prigionieri, and concluded the carnival season with the opera buffa La guerra aperta by Pietro Carlo Guglielmi. Between 1934 and 1938, he was director of the company and after 1938 he became its general manager. The latter he repeated in Mantova during spring, but before that, he appeared for the first time in Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri as the bey of Algiers, Mustafà. The Rossini fever that was sweeping Italy had reached Udine, where in the summer de Begnis repeated his Mustafà, followed by L'inganno felice.
Between 1802 and 1804 Rossini lived in Lugo, his father's birthplace and Giuseppe de Begnis' birthplace. Both studied music in Lugo, Giuseppe being only one year younger than Gioachino. How much this coincidence influenced Giuseppe's career may never be known, but certainly Lugo di Romagna was, at the time, a small town where everyone knew each other. The Morandis were good friends of Giacchino Rossini, and it was probably at their suggestion that the composer offered Giuseppe a magnificent opportunity, creating the role of Dandini for him in La cenerentola. This opera premiered in Rome on 25 January 1817 and ran for twenty consecutive performances; it was to remain in his repertory for the rest of his life.[citation needed]
That same year while in Verona, the de Begnis couple met a very young Donizetti. In the course of time his voice matured and his technique became more sophisticated and as early as 1821 he was described as baritone.[why?] In 1818, for the grand inauguration of the newly built Teatro Nuovo in Pesaro, Rossini wanted Isabella Colbran and Andrea Nozzari—who had appeared in the Naples premiere—for a new production of his Armida. However budget constraints forced him to downsize and when an attempt to secure his friend Rosa Morandi for La gazza ladra failed, he engaged Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis as Ninetta and, at a reduced fee, her husband Giuseppe de Begnis as the Mayor. He often composed with particular performers in mind. This move left him with enough money to engage a first class tenor like Alberico Curioni for the role of Giannetto.
Hub AI
Giuseppe de Begnis AI simulator
(@Giuseppe de Begnis_simulator)
Giuseppe de Begnis
Giuseppe de Begnis (1793-10 August 1849) was an Italian operatic bass singer. Born in Lugo di Romagna, he started his musical education when he was 7 years old, under Padre Bongiovanni, and sang soprano in the church. At age 15 he had serious problems with his voice and began studying acting under Mandini, a famous actor of the time. His father did not want Giuseppe to become a comedian and in due course the young man became a pupil of the composer Giovanni Morandi, the husband of the singer Rosa Morandi.
In the autumn of 1816 he married the soprano Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis in Bologna and they were together until 1825. His countenance was seriously affected by smallpox, but he was skilled at applying make-up and on stage he gave no evidence of facial disfigurement.
By 1815 he had established himself in a promising career which continued until the late 1820s in Italy, France and London and then in Ireland from 1829 where he also ran an opera company. He continued to sing and manage opera companies in Scotland and from New York from 1838, where he lived until his death in 1849. He has been described as "an ideal interpreter of Rossini's comic operas".
De Begnis made his debut in Modena during the Carnival 1813 season as a primo buffo in Stefano Pavesi's Ser Marcantonio. He was greeted by generous applause and this proved to him that he was moving in the right direction. From there he went to Forli and Rimini, ending the first year of his professional career again in Modena. For the new carnival season he was in Siena for the inauguration of the newly built Teatro degli Accademici Rozzi. There he sang the most demanding role of Uberto in Ferdinando Paër's Agnese – an opera semi-seria that includes one of the earliest and most dramatic mad scenes. This was a challenge that did not intimidate the young de Begnis because he had studied and refined his acting; in fact, the audience responded with enthusiasm and he was praised "both as an actor and singer".
This was followed by an equally successful Selim in Rossini's Il Turco in Italia. His familiarization with stage and public, as well as with colleagues and musicians, was a learning process that enabled him to aim higher. From Tuscany he moved on to Ferrara, Badia, and Trieste. At the Teatro Nuovo of the latter town he sang Don Placenzio in Luigi Caruso's Così si fa alle donne, followed by Carlo Coccia's farsa per musica La Matilde; Giuseppe Farinelli's Teresa e Claudio; Pietro Carlo Guglielmi's Don Papirio; and Filippo Celli's Don Timonella di Piacenza.
During the 1815–1816 carnival season, on 17 February 1816, he made his debut at La Scala in Simone Mayr's Ginevra di Scozia. This was only a short engagement; but for most of the carnival season he was busy closer to home at Cesena where he impressed the audience[according to whom?] with his performance in Valentino Fioravanti's dramma giocoso per musica Il bello piace a tutti. He delivered his main aria in the old rondo style imitating the celebrated mezzo-soprano castrato Gaspare Pacchierotti; his falsetto stunned the public and an ovation followed.[citation needed] De Begnis went on to Vincenzo Pucitta's farsa giocosa per musica La burla fortunata ossia I due prigionieri, and concluded the carnival season with the opera buffa La guerra aperta by Pietro Carlo Guglielmi. Between 1934 and 1938, he was director of the company and after 1938 he became its general manager. The latter he repeated in Mantova during spring, but before that, he appeared for the first time in Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri as the bey of Algiers, Mustafà. The Rossini fever that was sweeping Italy had reached Udine, where in the summer de Begnis repeated his Mustafà, followed by L'inganno felice.
Between 1802 and 1804 Rossini lived in Lugo, his father's birthplace and Giuseppe de Begnis' birthplace. Both studied music in Lugo, Giuseppe being only one year younger than Gioachino. How much this coincidence influenced Giuseppe's career may never be known, but certainly Lugo di Romagna was, at the time, a small town where everyone knew each other. The Morandis were good friends of Giacchino Rossini, and it was probably at their suggestion that the composer offered Giuseppe a magnificent opportunity, creating the role of Dandini for him in La cenerentola. This opera premiered in Rome on 25 January 1817 and ran for twenty consecutive performances; it was to remain in his repertory for the rest of his life.[citation needed]
That same year while in Verona, the de Begnis couple met a very young Donizetti. In the course of time his voice matured and his technique became more sophisticated and as early as 1821 he was described as baritone.[why?] In 1818, for the grand inauguration of the newly built Teatro Nuovo in Pesaro, Rossini wanted Isabella Colbran and Andrea Nozzari—who had appeared in the Naples premiere—for a new production of his Armida. However budget constraints forced him to downsize and when an attempt to secure his friend Rosa Morandi for La gazza ladra failed, he engaged Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis as Ninetta and, at a reduced fee, her husband Giuseppe de Begnis as the Mayor. He often composed with particular performers in mind. This move left him with enough money to engage a first class tenor like Alberico Curioni for the role of Giannetto.
Recent media