Luigi Ricci

Luigi Ricci was the brother of Federico and perhaps the more famous of the two. He entered the Naples Conservatory at the age of nine, where he studied with Zingarelli and Furno, and was a private pupil of Generali. Luigi composed light opera at which he was quite successful, with the exceptional years between 1828 and 1831 when he composed three or four "failures." In collaboration with Federico, he composed the successful Crispino e la comare (1850). Other successes included Chiara di Rosembergh (1831), which was "the" popular favorite in the decade, and Un avventura di Scaramuccia (1834). One of his last operettas is memorable because of the oft-repeated tarantella. This dance is found in La festa di Piedigrotta (1852). His works characteristically demonstrated full control over the conventions of the time highlighted with occasional harmonic ingenuity, frequent use of folk tunes, and energetic and lilting melodies in duple meters. ~ Keith Johnson