Francesco Cilèa

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Francesco Cilea (also Cilèa)[1] (July 23, 1866 – November 20, 1950) was an Italian composer. Today he is particularly known for his operas L'arlesiana and Adriana Lecouvreur. Born in Palmi near Reggio Calabria, Cilea gave early indication of an aptitude for music when at the age of four he heard a performance of Vincenzo Bellini's Norma and was greatly affected by it. He was sent to study music at the Conservatorio San Pietro a Maiella in Naples, where he quickly demonstrated his diligence and precocious talent, earning a gold medal from the Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione (Department of Education). At the end of his course of study in 1889, for his final examination he offered his opera Gina, which had a libretto by Enrico Golisciani, adapted from the old French play Catherine, ou La Croix d'or by Baron Anne-Honoré-Joseph Duveyrier de Mélésville (1787—1865). This melodramma idilico was performed in the college theatre, and it attracted the notice of the publishers Sonzogno, who arranged for a second production, at Florence, in 1892. Sonzogno also then commissioned from Cilea La Tilda, a verismo opera in three short acts along the lines of Cavalleria rusticana. With a libretto by Angelo Zanardini, La Tilda had a successful first performance in April 1892 at the Teatro Pagliano in Florence, and after performances in a number of Italian theatres, it arrived at the Vienna Exhibition on 24 September 1892, alongside other works from the firm of Sonzogno. The composer never

top songs

albums

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Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur

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Cielo e mar

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Adriana Lecouvereur

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Adriana Lecouvreur

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Great Singers Live: Mirella Freni

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Soprano Arias (1930-1946)

100 Best Opera Classics

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Cilèa: Adriana Lecouvreur, Vol. 1

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Aufnahmen in Mono von 1954-61

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Cilèa: Adriana Lecouvreur, Vol. 2

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The Best Opera Album In The World... Ever!

Verismo

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