Born Paderno Fasolaro, 31 August 1834.
Died Milan, 17 January 1886.
Italian composer.
Amilcare Ponchielli was one of the most notable Italian composers of the second rank - indeed his home village is, it seems, now called Paderno Ponchielli in his honour. He studied at the Milan Conservatorio from 1843 to 1854. For the last years of his life, from 1880, he was professor of composition there, and Puccini's teacher, His first complete opera, I promessi sposi, derived from Manzoni's great novel, had an enthusiastic reception at Cremona, which was essentially his home town. It is a very patchy work, though his later revision of it did give him a reputation. While several later operas, such as I lituani, enjoyed success in their day, none of his output begins to approach the overall quality of La Gioconda - a gloriously tuneful melodrama, very loosely based on Victor Hugo, which audiences always enjoy.
Operas performed in Scotland are shown in bold:
Il sindaco babbeo (with others) (Milan 1851) ()
I promessi sposi (Cremona 1856; rev Milan 1872) (anon, rev Praga)
Bertrando del Bormio (1858) (anon)
La savoiarda (Cremona 1861, rev 1877 as “Lina”) (Guidi)
Roderico, re dei goti (1863) (Guidi) (lost)
I lituani (Milan 1874) (Ghislanzoni)
La Gioconda (Milan 1876) (Boito, as 'Gorrio')
I mori di Valenza (1879; orch Cadore, Monte Carlo 1914) (Ghislanzoni)
Il figliuol prodigo (Milan 1880) (Zanardini)
Marion Delorme (Milan 1885) (Golisciani)
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