Giovanni Paisiello (also spelled Paesiello; born May 9, 1740; died June 5, 1816) was an Italian composer from the Classical era. He was the most well-known opera composer of the late 1700s. His style of writing operas influenced famous composers such as Mozart and Rossini.

Life

Paisiello was born in Taranto, a city in the Apulia region of Italy, and was taught by the Jesuits there. He was known for his beautiful singing voice and in 1754 was sent to the Conservatorio di S. Onofrio in Naples, where he studied under Francesco Durante and eventually became an assistant teacher. While working at the theatre of the Conservatorio, which he left in 1763, he wrote some short musical pieces called intermezzi. One of these pieces gained so much attention that he was invited to write two operas, La Pupilla and Il Mondo al Rovescio, for Bologna, and a third, Il Marchese di Tidipano, for Rome.

His reputation was now strong, and he settled in Naples for several years. Even though other composers like Niccolò Piccinni, Domenico Cimarosa, and Pietro Guglielmi were popular, Paisiello was jealous of their success. He created a series of successful operas, one of which, L'idolo cinese, deeply impressed the people of Naples. In 1771, the young Mozart and his father met Paisiello in Naples.

In 1772, Paisiello began writing church music and composed a requiem for Gennara di Borbone, a member of the royal family. That same year, he married Cecilia Pallini, and their marriage was happy. In 1776, he was invited by Empress Catherine the Great of Russia to Saint Petersburg, where he stayed for eight years. During this time, he created many works, including his masterpiece, Il barbiere di Siviglia, which quickly gained a European reputation. This opera marked an important time in Italian art history, as it signaled the end of the gentle style of 18th-century composers and the beginning of a more dazzling style.

In 1816, Gioachino Rossini wrote a new version of the same story, called Almaviva ossia la inutil precauzione. Fans of Paisiello were upset and protested at the performance. Rossini’s version, now known as Il barbiere di Siviglia, is now considered his greatest work, while Paisiello’s opera is rarely performed. This is an unusual example of artistic rivalry, as Paisiello had once tried to outshine Giovanni Battista Pergolesi by rewriting the libretto of Pergolesi’s famous piece, La serva padrona.

Paisiello left Russia in 1784 and later wrote Il Re Teodoro in Vienna. He then joined the service of Ferdinand IV of Naples, where he composed many of his best operas, including Nina and La Molinara.

The Irish tenor Michael Kelly saw another meeting between Paisiello and Mozart in Vienna later that year. At the time, Mozart had just finished writing piano concertos, K. 449 and 453, for his student Barbara Ployer. When Ployer’s father arranged a performance at his summer home in Döbling, Mozart wrote to his father, “Fräulein Babette will play her new concerto in G, and I shall play the Quintet. Then we will perform together the grand sonata for two pianos. I will bring Paisiello with my carriage so he can hear my compositions as well as my pupil.”

After facing many challenges due to political and royal changes, Paisiello was invited to Paris in 1802 by Napoleon. Napoleon had previously won his favor by composing a march for the funeral of General Hoche. Napoleon treated Paisiello kindly but ignored two other famous composers, Luigi Cherubini and Étienne Méhul, who had become his new favorites.

Paisiello composed 94 operas, known for their graceful and beautiful melodies. One of his most famous tunes is “Nel cor più non mi sento” from La Molinara, which became famous when Beethoven created piano variations based on it. Paganini also wrote violin variations using the same tune. Another popular piece is “Chi vuol la zingarella” from I zingari in fiera, which vividly describes a scene with a charming gypsy girl through dramatic music. Paisiello also wrote a lot of church music, including eight masses, as well as fifty-one instrumental pieces and many solo songs. He composed the national anthem of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Inno al Re. Manuscripts of many of his operas were donated to the British Museum by Domenico Dragonetti.

The Gerolamini Library in Naples holds a collection of Paisiello’s handwritten notes, which include his opinions on other composers. These notes show that he was a strict critic, especially of Pergolesi’s work.

According to The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music, “Paisiello was one of the most successful and influential opera composers of his time. Most of his over 80 operas are comic and use a simple, direct, and lively style, with later works featuring more detailed characters, brighter music, and warmer melodies (features that influenced Mozart). His serious operas have less virtuoso singing than usual; those written for Russia are closest to Gluck’s ‘reform’ style.”

Works

Here is the simplified and restructured version of the text, written at a 6th-grade reading level while preserving all factual details:

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List of Operas and Musical Works

Section 1
– R 1.00 La moglie in calzoni (February 18, 1764, Modena)
– R 1.01 Il ciarlone (May 12, 1764, Bologna) – lost
– R 1.02 I pescatori di Ostia (May 16, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.03 La serva padrona (May 18, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.04 La serva padrona (May 21, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.05 I due rivali (May 23, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.06 La serva padrona (May 25, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.07 La serva padrona (May 28, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.08 La serva padrona (May 30, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.09 La serva padrona (June 1, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.10 La serva padrona (June 2, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.11 La serva padrona (June 4, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.12 La serva padrona (June 6, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.13 La serva padrona (June 8, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.14 La serva padrona (June 10, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.15 La serva padrona (June 12, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.16 La serva padrona (June 14, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.17 La serva padrona (June 16, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.18 La serva padrona (June 18, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.19 La serva padrona (June 20, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.20 La serva padrona (June 22, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.21 La serva padrona (June 24, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.22 La serva padrona (June 26, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.23 La serva padrona (June 28, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.24 La serva padrona (June 30, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.25 La serva padrona (July 2, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.26 La serva padrona (July 4, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.27 La serva padrona (July 6, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.28 La serva padrona (July 8, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.29 La serva padrona (July 10, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.30 La serva padrona (July 12, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.31 La serva padrona (July 14, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.32 La serva padrona (July 16, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.33 La serva padrona (July 18, 1764, Rome)
– R 1.34 La serva padrona (July 20, 17

Editions

• Stefano Faglia and Franca Saini (editors): Il Mondo della Luna, Saint Petersburg, 1783. Monza: Accademia Musicale IAMR, 2006. Parma: L'oca del Cairo Edizioni Musicali, 2006.