Alberto Franchetti: a biography

Abstract

The discovery of a substantial and interesting corpus of letters has permitted the reconstruction, even if for a relatively short period of time, of the biography of Alberto Franchetti, the Turin musician who was active between the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century. Addressed for the most part to his father, Raimondo and to the superintendent of the Carlo Felice Theatre of Genoa, Cesare Gamba, the letters (which are the property of his heirs) not only throw light on the artistic tastes of Franchetti and on his aesthetic ideas, but also provide specific information on his operas. In particular, the letters examined give information on the beginnings of Franchetti's musical career; on the vicissitudes of the performances of Asrael, Fior d'Alpe, Il signore di Pourceaugnac; on the origins and performance of Germania; on the relations between Franchetti and the librettist Luigi Illica and with the publishers Ricordi and Sonzogno; on his projects (never completed) for the operas Tosca, Maria Egiziaca, Macboulè.

The later period of Franchetti's life has been reconstructed on the basis of the recollections of his daughter Elena. A particularly important document dates back to this period: the score of the last work of Alberto Franchetti, Don Bonaparte, which he finished a year before he died and which was never published and has remained unknown until today.