Fedeli, Ruggiero (EN)

Fedeli Ruggiero, Rudcher, Rüdiger Fidel, *ca. 1655, Venice, buried 30 January 1722, Kassel, Italian composer, instrumentalist, conductor, and singer. From 1669, he was a violist in the orchestra of the theater in Venice and in the ensemble of St. Mark’s Church, where he sang bass in the choir from 1674 to 1677. From that time on, he had difficulty finding permanent employment. In 1681, he served as conductor in Bayreuth for only a short period. He was also forced to leave Dresden, where he stayed in 1687/88, due to a conflict with the conductor. At that time, he founded an ensemble composed exclusively of Italian musicians, with whom he staged operas, including his own opera pastorale La Silvia in Regensburg (1690). He also stayed in Berlin in 1691–95 and worked as a singer in Hanover. From May 1701 until the end of his life (except for short stays in Berlin, where he collaborated with the royal chapel), he lived in Kassel. In 1701, he was appointed conductor at the court in Kassel. At that time, the court orchestra was one of the best in Germany, with a permanent staff of up to 18 people, as well as a boys’ choir. 

Ruggiero’s works, both sacred and secular, refer to the style of the Neapolitan school. A significant part of his works has survived only in manuscripts.

Literature: W. Braun Der „Almira”-Stoff in den Vertonungen von R. Fedeli, R. Keiser und G. F. Händel, in “Händel-Jahrbuch” 36, 1990; R.-S. Pegah, H. Broszinski Fedeli, Ruggiero, in: MGG Online 2016–2025.