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descended to low tricks to promote laughter... By a mere look he sometimes produced an irresistibly comical effect; and although his voice was rich and smooth, its inflections conveyed ludicrous ideas with a delicacy and quickness which pierced his audiences with laughter. To his mother's great delight he was an outstandingly musical child, unlike his sisters, who inherited their father's indifference to music, while his brother was interested only in cats. His principal operas were
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152:. 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
97:, 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
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had a special place in his heart and in March 1831, when this opera returned at The King's
Theatre in London, a great surprise awaited the public with Lablache singing Dandini and de Begnis as Don Magnifico: "The duet between them, "Un segreto d'importanza" was a rich unctuous piece of comic acting".
115:
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
619:
De Begnis died in New York on 10 August 1849 after contracting cholera. Apparently he chose not to return to Europe by crossing the
Atlantic again through fear of sea sickness. His obituary placed him at the same level of Lablache. According to a British magazine, de Begnis left a large fortune for
257:
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
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unnamed heirs, and therefore the estate was passed on to the public administrator of New York, in default of a will. However, in
November 1849, Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis placed a claim on the husband's estate which was granted after her death to her daughter Clotilde Fraschini in September 1854.
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of his time. He was a singer of the old
Italian school, had been thoroughly trained in music from his childhood up, and would have been an accomplished artist even without his vocal gifts and his comic opera. With him, buffo-singing did not mean buffoonery, and he thought great scorn of those who
160:– 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".
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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.
548:
to great acclaim. Later, returning to Dublin between 1834 and 1837, his continued presence there led to his becoming the impresario who produced the first professionally managed
Italian opera company in Northern Ireland. Furthermore, he was long remembered for being the first Giorgio in
173:. 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
602:
Based in New York and living and working there, de Begnis' experience was typical of
Italian and other companies of the period which travelled to present performances in various parts of the East Coast, including Boston and other cities. For a while he successfully managed
565:
In 1838 Giuseppe de Begnis travelled to the United States where he was to remain for the rest of his life. His reputation had preceded him and his New York debut took place on 18 September at the
National Theatre where he shone as Figaro in a grand scene from
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This situation occurred again in 1833, when Vincenzo Galli sang Dandini opposite to de Begnis's Don Magnifico. In both instances the critics would have preferred a switch of the roles, although they credited de Begnis with doing an excellent job.
612:, an anthology of vocal music. He made a living as a vocal teacher and in due course he started a profitable pedagogical venture with Madame Mecovino-Malone, an English mezzo soprano that had settled in New York. As late as 1844 he was Figaro in
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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
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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
985:
A Dictionary of Musicians: from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time. Comprising the Most Important Biographical Contents of the works of Gerber, Choron, and Fayolle, Count Orloff, Dr. Burney, Sir John Hawkins, &c.
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and given his entrepreneurial skills, in 1842 he made a concerted effort to organize an opera season in New York but encountered a large number of obstacles. In the meantime he had compiled and published
112:
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.
287:. In the course of time his voice matured and his technique became more sophisticated and as early as 1821 he was described as baritone. In 1818, for the grand inauguration of the newly built
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praised Giuseppe for his Uberto and Giuseppina for her Isabella. In due course, by popular demand, Paër expanded Giuseppe's role by adding a scena and an aria expressly for him in Act 1.
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at Palmo's Opera House in April and in July; the latter was an eleventh hour notice to replace an indisposed baritone and save the night for Cinti-Domoreau who sang the Rosina.
531:
Meanwhile, in 1823, he had become the artistic director of Italian opera seasons in Bath, a post he held until 1824. Then he held the same post in Edinburgh from 1827 to 1828.
214:. 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 with his performance in
245:
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
268:. 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.
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receiving good reviews; this role remained in his repertory and he sang the role in Scotland in 1832. A real war-horse for Giuseppe was his Don Febeo in
373:: Giuseppe sang Marforio and Giuseppina sang Clarice. At the end of 1821 Giuseppe was in Bologna for the Carnival season and there he sang in Rossini's
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574:. Don Febeo and Figaro remained his most applauded roles in the United States. On 3 November 1838, he gave a concert in Boston at the Boylston Hall.
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Annals of the Theatre Royal, Dublin, from Its Opening in 1821 to Its Destruction by Fire, February, 1880; With Occasional Notes and Observations
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Among the artists of reputation who were known in the second quarter of this century, Giuseppe de Begnis was indisputably the great
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Giuseppe de Begnis, portrait of December 1828 when appointed "Director and Instructor of the Pupils of the Royal Academy of Music"
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in Pesaro, Rossini wanted Isabella Colbran and Andrea Nozzari—who had appeared in the Naples premiere—for a new production of his
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395:. As would be expected, the public and critics were enchanted with Giuseppina, but Giuseppe was equally praised.
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297:. However budget constraints forced him to downsize and when an attempt to secure his friend Rosa Morandi for
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critic, Thomas M. Alsager, described his voice as "barytone, not powerful, but extremely pure and flexible".
391:
In April 1822 the de Begnises arrived in London, where their debut took place that summer in the well-tested
467:
were roles in which he was frequently heard. Similarly, in 1826, he made appearances as Don Magnifico in
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109:
944:
The Italian Opera in 1839: Its Latest Improvements and Existing Defects, Impartially Considered (1840)
222:. He delivered his main aria in the old rondo style imitating the celebrated mezzo-soprano castrato
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In January 1819, Giuseppe and Giuseppina moved to Paris where they sang for the re-opening of the
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The positive reception which de Begnis received is confirmed by the contemporary American critic
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725:"Giuseppe de Begnis": Details of his life and operas performed in Edinburgh, late 1827 to 1832
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During the 1815–1816 carnival season, on 17 February 1816, he made his debut at La Scala in
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512:. In 1827, his last season at the King's Theatre in London, he was seen again in Pacini's
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death in 1849. He has been described as "an ideal interpreter of Rossini's comic operas".
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353:. Positive reviews greeted them during the summer of the same year when they sang in
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In the meantime Rossini had been informed that the de Begnises had been secured for
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American Wills and Administrations in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury 1610–1857
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The Great Lablache: Nineteenth Century Operatic Superstar His Life and His Times
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Strong on Music: The New York Music Scene in the days of George Templeton Strong
226:; his falsetto stunned the public and an ovation followed. De Begnis went on to
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De Begnis made his debut in Modena during the Carnival 1813 season as a primo
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at Faenza; that same year and in the following few years, Count Almaviva in
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That same first London season, he sang in the London premiere of Rossini's
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which he sang throughout his career. In 1825 he appeared in Mercadante's
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205:
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Teatro alla Scala, Cronologia di tutti gli Spettacoli...con Annotazioni
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That same year while in Verona, the de Begnis couple met a very young
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details of his career in Scotland and elsewhere on operascotland.org.
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In May/June 1827, he returned to Italy for a brief period to sing in
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284:
1011:, Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana 1925 forward. Online at
343:. The prospects were encouraging and on 5 May the couple sang in
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861:
Ferdinando Paer: Biografia, Opere e Documenti degli anni parigini
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Rossini's relationship with the de Begnis couple, 1817 to 1819
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369:. On 3 April 1821 the couple was busy singing in Rossini's
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De Begnis as opera company artistic director, 1823 to 1832
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234:, and concluded the carnival season with the opera buffa
925:. Dublin. US: Nabu Press, 2010; UK: Read Books, 2008.
433:. Still in London in 1824, he appeared as Leporello in
544:
Appearing in Dublin in 1829, de Begnis sang Figaro in
880:
Forbes, Elizabeth, (1998), “Begnis, Giuseppe de" in
481:, with Caradori, Zuchelli and Curioni, as well as in
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516:. After this, he led a touring company to Scotland.
163:
This was followed by an equally successful Selim in
423:and during the same year Giuseppe sang Fernando in
419:The de Begnises returned the following season in
324:on 20 March. The opera received a good review in
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973:, New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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1005:Campa, Cecilia (1997), "Giuseppe de Begnis" in
890:, Vol. One. London: MacMillan Publishers, Inc.
868:Opera in London: Views of the Press, 1785–1830
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570:; the following night he sang his time-tested
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108:In the autumn of 1816 he married the soprano
427:. On 10 September 1823 he sang in Rossini's
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754:
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557:with Berrettoni was very highly regarded.
232:La burla fortunata ossia I due prigionieri
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1090:Deaths from cholera in the United States
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739:, London, April 1831, Vol. XXXIII, p.170
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1065:19th-century Italian male opera singers
921:Levy, Richard N.; O'Rourke, J. (1880),
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519:De Begnis began teaching acting at the
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1014:Enciclopedia/arte lingua e letteratura
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964:Opera Scotland: "Giuseppe de Begnis":
849:, Vol. 1. University of Chicago Press
748:Novello, J. Alfred (pub.) 1840, p. 89
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86:(1793-10 August 1849) was an Italian
1008:Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani
782:, Vol. I, New York, 1947, pp.310–315
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35:Giuseppe de Begnis in London in 1822
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13:
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946:. US: Kessinger Publishing, 2010.
942:Novello, J. Alfred (pub.) (1840),
907:Lablache Cheer, Clarissa, (2009),
791:Brodsky 1988, pp. 45, 149, 166–167
387:London and Edinburgh, 1822 to 1832
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14:
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887:The New Grove Dictionary of Opera
870:. Southern Illinois University.
1085:People from Lugo, Emilia-Romagna
812:, New York, 15 August 1849, p.24
473:, in 1827 it was as Mustapha in
1080:Musicians from the Papal States
1075:Immigrants to the United States
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859:Castellani, Giuliano, (2009),
852:Coldham, Peter Wilson, (1989)
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275:Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis by
1:
991:Schiavo, Giovanni E. (1947),
769:Levy and O'Rourke 1880, p. 94
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561:America, 1838 until his death
316:in the Parisian premiere of
230:'s farsa giocosa per musica
218:'s dramma giocoso per musica
101:, the husband of the singer
16:Italian operatic bass singer
7:
988:. London: Sainsbury and Co.
983:Saintsbury, John H. (1827)
345:Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi
193:; Pietro Carlo Guglielmi's
10:
1106:
1024:, Milan, Pirola Publishers
969:Osborne, Richard, (2007),
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824:, London, Vol. 187, p. 446
381:Teatro Comunale di Bologna
110:Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis
866:Ferner, Theodore (1994),
800:Brodsky 1988, pp. 261–263
680:Castellani 2009, p. 127
596:Il fanatico per la musica
572:Il fanatico per la musica
449:Il fanatico per la musica
199:Don Timonella di Piacenza
62:
40:
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993:Italian-American History
822:The Gentleman's Magazine
780:Italian-American History
737:The New Monthly Magazine
712:Ferner 1994, pp. 188–189
689:Castellani, 2009, p. 328
553:on 4 February 1837: his
322:I Fuoriusciti di Firenze
125:Beginnings, 1813 to 1817
1070:Italian operatic basses
845:Brodsky, Vera, (1988),
698:Castellani 2009, p. 505
662:Saintsbury 1827, p. 203
614:Il Barbiere di Siviglia
568:Il Barbiere di Siviglia
546:Il Barbiere di Siviglia
1020:Romani, Luigi (1862),
778:Schiavo, Giovanni E.,
521:Royal Academy of Music
407:
371:La Pietra del Paragone
280:
220:Il bello piace a tutti
197:; and Filippo Celli's
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760:Lablache 2009, p. 280
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360:Il matrimonio segreto
326:Le Moniteur Universel
320:'s dramma semi-serio
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175:Così si fa alle donne
132:
1041:on operascotland.org
727:on operascotland.org
648:Forbes, 1998, p. 377
514:La schiava di Bagdad
479:La Schiava in Bagdad
350:La pastorella nobile
242:L'Italiana in Algeri
224:Gaspare Pacchierotti
216:Valentino Fioravanti
181:'s farsa per musica
863:, Bern: Peter Lang
833:Coldham 1989, p. 85
671:Osborne 2007, p. 55
605:Palmo's Opera House
579:Richard Grant White
540:Dublin 1829 to 1837
523:in London in 1828.
308:Paris, 1819 to 1822
995:, Vol. I, New York
502:Giuseppe Farinelli
498:Matilde di Shabran
484:Il Turco in Italia
458:Le nozze di Figaro
421:Il Turco in Italia
413:Matilde di Shabran
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393:Il Turco in Italia
366:Il Turco in Italia
281:
187:Giuseppe Farinelli
170:Il Turco in Italia
138:
133:Scene from Mayr's
84:Giuseppe de Begnis
23:Giuseppe de Begnis
979:978-0-19-518129-6
355:Domenico Cimarosa
211:Ginevra di Scozia
135:Ginevra di Scozia
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247:L'inganno felice
236:La guerra aperta
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191:Teresa e Claudio
99:Giovanni Morandi
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103:Rosa Morandi
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68:(1849-08-10)
1060:1849 deaths
1055:1793 births
1035:Begnis in "
911:, Xlibris,
592:II Barbiere
441:Simone Mayr
328:, and the
262:for him in
206:Simone Mayr
195:Don Papirio
1049:Categories
952:1120891809
931:1177657759
876:0809319128
624:References
551:I Puritani
183:La Matilde
1017:, Vol 33.
884:, (Ed.),
397:The Times
285:Donizetti
447:renamed
88:operatic
986:&c.
971:Rossini
840:Sources
506:Camilla
379:at the
260:Dandini
165:Rossini
57:, Italy
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430:Otello
294:Armida
158:Agnese
76:, U.S.
587:buffo
142:buffo
975:ISBN
955:ISBN
948:ISBN
934:ISBN
927:ISBN
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899:ISBN
892:ISBN
872:ISBN
594:and
508:and
487:and
91:bass
63:Died
55:Lugo
48:1793
44:1793
41:Born
581::
504:'s
477:'s
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