Zingarelli, Nicola Antonio (EN)

Zingarelli Nicola, Niccoló, Antonio, *4 April 1752 Naples, †5 May 1837 Torre del Greco (near Naples), Italian composer and teacher. He was a student of, among others, S. Carcajus in terms of playing the violin and F. Fenaroli and A. Speranza in terms of composition at Conservatorio di Santa Maria di Loreto in Naples which he graduated from in 1772; in the same year, he became an organist at Torre Annunziata. Here, thanks to the protection of Caterina Francone, duchess of Castelpagano, some of his cantatas were staged in Naples. As a composer, he debuted with the opera Montezuma, staged in 1781 at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. Around 1784, he came to Milan, where his drama serio Alsinda (1785) was enthusiastically received by the audience, which initiated Zingarelli’s opera career. His scenic works, mostly opera seria, were staged almost exclusively in Italian theatres, only Antigone was premiered in Paris in 1790; however, the French Revolution forced Zingarelli to leave this city. In 1792, he became a Kapellmeister at the cathedral in Milan; from 1796, a Kapellmeister in Santuario della Santa Casa di Loreto. During the period he spent in Milan and Loreto, he created his two most known and valued works – his most popular opera Giulietta e Romeo, which gained publicity already at the first staging (1796) at La Scala in Milan, and a collection of liturgical works Annuale di Loreto. In 1804, Zingarelli took up a position as Kapellmeister Cappella Giulia of the Saint Peter Basilica in Rome after P.A. Guglielmi’s death. According to a well-known anecdote, in 1811, Zingarelli was arrested and taken to Paris as he refused to conduct his Te Deum at the ceremony of the coronation of Napoleon the Emperor of Rome (Zingarelli recognised only the power of the church and the House of Bourbon); however, Napoleon Bonaparte, a huge admirer of Zingarelli’s music, set him free. Zingarelli received a gold medal Conservatoire Imperial de Musique in Paris and the Knight Order of Franz Joseph. In 1813, he became a director of the Conservatorio di San Sebastiano founded in 1808 in Naples, where G. Paisiello, G. Tritto and F. Fenaroli worked at that time. Zingarelli’s students there included V. Bellini (who dedicated him opera Norma), S. Mercadante, F. Morlacchi and M. Costa. From 1816 to the end of his life, Zingarelli was maestro del coro (as a successor of Paisiell) at the cathedral in Naples. Zingarelli’s students also included L. and F. Ricci, L. Rossi, G. Curci, G. Lillo and E. Petrella.

Zingarelli was the last prominent composer of opera seria from the Neapolitan School. He fully used formal means and thematic threads typical of this genre in the second half of the 18^th century; Zingarelli’s operas constitute his crowning achievement. The composer was valued not so much because of his originality, but rather because of his technical skill and quantitatively significant compositional achievements. Individual features in Zingarelli’s style should be sought in the liltingness of the melodic line (vocal or instrumental); Zingarelli’s melodies are characterised by lyricism, natural and touching expressiveness and simplicity, especially present in the very wide repertoire of arias written for the most famous opera singers of his time, such as G. Grassini, G. Crescentini, A. Catalani, G. Pasta and M. Malibran.

Zingarelli’s position as Kapellmeister of the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome contributed to changing his interest in composition towards religious music (only one opera, the last one staged – Malvina – was composed during Zingarelli’s stay in Rome, in cooperation with M. Costa). Zingarelli was characterised by a conservative and isolated attitude among his contemporary composers, which was manifested, among others, by respecting the ad uso character of sacred music, especially related to the liturgy.

In symphonic music originating from the early classical style, Zingarelli already used instruments typical of classical symphony. In his early symphonies (from the period of Zingarelli’s stay in Milan) he used a three-part form; in his later ones (from his stay in Naples), he used a single-part form; it is most common in Zingarelli’s symphonic works and distinguishes his works from the European repertoire of the time. Mature symphonies are characterised by bolder use of expressive means, especially articulatory ones, typical of particular groups of instruments. Zingarelli also used, among others, lighter texture and contrasting dynamics; he often used imitation techniques and punctuated rhythms. He achieved similar expressive depth and dynamism in other instrumental forms by contrasting rhythm, dynamics and articulation (e.g. staccato combined with legato). The enormous number of his concert arias played a fundamental role in shaping the idiom of Italian salon songs.

Zingarelli’s conservative attitude was also reflected in his teaching work, in which he placed emphasis on improving the study of harmony and counterpoint. Zingarelli mostly used examples from instrumental works by W. A. ​​Mozart and J. Haydn, and he also attached – based on F. Durante’s singing theory – great importance to composing songs with lilting melodies, called solfeggio: “If your compositions ‘sing,’ your music will most certainly please,” he reportedly once said to Bellini, who became the main follower of Zingarelli’s method and who derived his most famous melodic ideas from his own solfeggios.

Literature: R. M. Longyear The symphonies of Nicola Zingarelli, w: Studien zur italienisch-deutschen Musikgeschichte XII, Cologne 1979; M. Caraci Vela Niccolò Zingarelli tra mito e critica, in: “Nuova Rivista Musicale Italiana” 1988 no. 22; M. Caraci Vela Il «tragico colorito» della musa zingarelliana dalla cantata da camera alla romanza da salotto and P. Peretti «All’armi franche». Una cantata rivoluzionaria di Nicola Zingarelli, Jesi 1798, w: Gli affetti convenienti all’idee: studi sulla musica vocale italiana, ed. M. Caraci Vela, R. Cafiero, A. Romagnoli, Naples 1993; C. Bongiovanni Una messa inedita autografia di Zingarelli a Piacenza, in: Jommelli e la musica religiosa in Italia alla fine del Settecento…, Aversa 1996; P. Peretti Due sinfonie lauretane di Niccolò Zingarelli, in: Francesco Florimo e l’Ottocento musicale, materials from conference in Morcone 1990, ed. R. Cafiero and M. Marino, Reggio Calabria 1999; L. Mattei, Metastasio con il berretto frigio. Sui “Veri amici repubblicani” di Nicola Zingarelli (Torino 1799), “Fonti musicali italiane” 2003 no. 8; A. Malnati, Per una storia della prassi esecutiva vocale dell’opera italiana: il caso di «Ombra adorata, aspetta» di Niccolò Zingarelli, in: “Bollettino del Centro Rossiniano di Studi” 2010, no. 50; M. Marino, Una messa di Zingarelli da Parigi a Napoli, in: Musica e spettacolo a Napoli durante il decennio francese (1806-1815), ed. P. Maione, Naples 2016; A. Rostagno, Il “nuovo Dante” nella musica. Dante e Petrarca in due manoscritti romani di Nicola Antonio Zingarelli, in: Settecento romano. Reti del Classicismo arcadico, ed. B. Alfonzetti, Roma 2017; A. Malnati, “Il funesto avvenimento di Giulietta e Romeo”: di alcune varianti d’autore e di tradizione nell’opera di Giuseppe Foppa e Nicola Zingarelli, in: Shakespeare all’Opera. Riscritture e allestimenti di “Romeo e Giulietta”, ed. M. I. Biggi and M. Girardi, Bari 2018; S. Aresi, «Udir la voce del divin Marchesi»: il Pirro di Zingarelli, l’arte del canto e una carrozza per Bergamo, in: «Cara scientia mia, musica». Studi per Maria Caraci Vela, ed. A. Romagnoli, D. Sabaino, R. Tibaldi and P. Zappalà, Piza 2018.