In his time, Saverio Mercadante, baptized on Sept. 17, 1795, was a well-known and well-liked composer. We don’t live in his time. The Italian maestro, born in Altamura, was even given the approval of Rossini and it was under the guidance of the Italian genius that Mercadante really started dedicating himself to writing operas. Rossini even invited him to Paris {…}
Victor Hugo, born on Feb. 26, 1802, was one of the great French writers of the 19th century. Many know him as the author of “Les Miserables,” which was then adapted to the famed musical. Or others might recognize his work “Notre Dame de Paris,” in its English title “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” He is well-noted for the populism {…}
A week ago we remarked that in the modern operatic canon, the works of Giacomo Meyerbeer are non-existent. That is even truer for Saverio Mercadante, a composer who was famous in his time but has not seen his works achieve anything resembling a revival. Baptized on Sept. 17, 1795 (the date of his “illegitimate” birth remains a mystery), he was {…}