Giuseppe Gazzaniga

Gazzaniga studied music in a clandestine fashion before the death of his father who did not want him to pursue music. After studying with Porpora in Venice, with the help of his patron he was enabled to study composition with Piccinni. Traveling to Naples he composed the comic intermezzo "Il barone di Trocchia" shortly thereafter returning to Venice. Gazzaniga scored operas for a number of different theatres. "La contessa di Nuovaluna" was produced in Dresden "Il finto cieco" brought commissions from Italy, Germany ad England. These opera buffas speak to the appeal and acceptance of his works. "Don Giovanni Tenorio o sia Il convitato di pietra" brought him widespread acclaim and may have been an inspritation or source for Mozart's "Don Giovanni." (It is not known i Mozart ever had access to this work.) A composer who was among the last age of Italian buffa composers, Gazzaniga possessed great melodic abilities and can be understood as a `pons' to the tradition of Rossini's comic opera. ~ Keith Johnson