Editing Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari

{{short description|Italian composer (1876–1948)}}
[[File:Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari 1906.jpg|thumb|Wolf-Ferrari circa 1906]]
'''Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari''' (born '''Ermanno Wolf''') (January 12, 1876 &ndash; January 21, 1948)<ref>{{cite book|author=John Lazarus|title=The opera handbook|publisher=G.K. Hall|year=1990|ISBN=9780816190942|page=68}}</ref> was an Italian [[composer]] and [[teacher]]. He is best known for his comic [[opera]]s such as ''[[Il segreto di Susanna]]'' (1909). A number of his works were based on plays by [[Carlo Goldoni]], including ''[[Le donne curiose]]'' (1903), ''[[I quatro rusteghi]]'' (1906) and ''[[Il campiello]]'' (1936).

==Life==
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari was born in [[Venice]] in 1876, the son of German painter August Wolf and Emilia Ferrari, from Venice. He added his mother's maiden name, Ferrari, to his surname in 1895. Although he studied piano from an early age, music was not the primary passion of his young life. As a teenager Wolf-Ferrari wanted to be a painter like his father; he studied intensively in Venice and  [[Rome]] and traveled abroad to study in [[Munich]]. It was there that he decided to concentrate instead on [[music]], taking lessons from [[Josef Rheinberger]]. He enrolled at the Munich conservatory and began taking counterpoint and composition classes. These initially casual music classes eventually completely eclipsed his art studies, and music took over Wolf-Ferrari's life. He wrote his first works in the 1890s.
[[File:Ottobrunn Wolf-Ferrari-Haus Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari Büste 1.jpg|thumb|left|Bust of Wolf-Ferrari in the Wolf-Ferrari-Haus, [[Ottobrunn]]]]
At age 19, Wolf-Ferrari left the conservatory and traveled home to Venice. There he worked as a choral conductor, married, had a son called Federico Wolf-Ferrari, and met both [[Arrigo Boito]] and [[Verdi]]. In 1900, having failed to have two previous efforts published, Wolf-Ferrari saw the first performance of one of his [[opera]]s, ''Cenerentola'', based on the story of Cinderella. The opera was a failure in Italy, and the humiliated young composer moved back to Munich. German audiences would prove more appreciative of his work; a revised version of ''Cenerentola'' was a hit in Bremen in 1902, while the cantata ''La vita nuova'' brought the young composer international fame.

Wolf-Ferrari now began transforming the wild and witty farces of the 18th-century Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni into comic operas. The resulting works were musically eclectic, melodic, and utterly hilarious; every single one became an international success. In fact, until the outbreak of World War I, Wolf-Ferrari's operas were among the most performed in the world. In 1902 he became professor of composition and director of the [[Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello di Venezia|Liceo Benedetto Marcello]].

In 1911 Wolf-Ferrari tried his hand at full-blooded [[Verismo]] with ''[[I gioielli della Madonna]]''; a story of passion, sacrilege and madness. It was quite popular in its day and for a period after, especially in Chicago, where the great Polish soprano [[Rosa Raisa]] made it a celebrated vehicle. [[Maria Jeritza]] (and, later, [[Florence Easton]]) triumphed in it at the [[Metropolitan Opera]], in an all-out spectacular production in 1926.

World War I, however, was a nightmare for Wolf-Ferrari. The young composer, who had been dividing his time between Munich and Venice, suddenly found his two countries at war with each other.  With the outbreak of the War, he moved to [[Zürich]] and composed much less, though he still wrote another comedy, ''[[Gli amanti sposi]]'' (1916). A new melancholy vein appeared in his post-war work; his operas grew darker and more emotionally complex.
[[File:wolfferrarigrave.jpg|thumb|Wolf-Ferrari's grave in the [[Isola di San Michele|San Michele]] cemetery]]
He did not really pick up his rate of output until the 1920s, when he wrote ''[[Das Himmelskleid]]'' (1925) and ''[[Sly (opera)|Sly]]'' (1927), the latter based on [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]''. In 1939 he became professor of composition at the [[Mozarteum]] in [[Salzburg]]. In 1946 he moved again to Zürich before returning to his home city of Venice.  He died in Venice at [[Palazzo Malipiero]] and is buried in [[San Michele Cemetery, Venice|the San Michele cemetery]] on [[Island of San Michele]].

==Music==
As well as his operas, Wolf-Ferrari wrote a number of instrumental works, mainly at the very beginning and very end of his career. Only his [[violin concerto]] has ever been performed with anything approaching regularity, though he also wrote ''Idillio-concertino'' (essentially a chamber [[symphony]]), various pieces of [[chamber music]] including a [[piano quintet]] and two [[piano trio]]s, three [[violin sonata]]s and a number of works for the [[organ (instrument)|organ]] amongst others. In recent years, a recovery of his instrumental music has been underway by the pianist [[Costantino Catena]], who has recorded his piano works, sonatas for violin and piano, sonata for cello and piano and piano quintet for the [[Brilliant Classics]] label.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.brilliantclassics.com/articles/w/wolf-ferrari-piano-music/|title = Wolf-Ferrari: Piano Music - Brilliant Classics}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.brilliantclassics.com/articles/w/wolf-ferrari-3-violin-sonatas/|title=Wolf-Ferrari: 3 Violin Sonatas - Brilliant Classics}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.brilliantclassics.com/articles/w/wolf-ferrari-piano-quintet-cello-sonata-duo/|title=Wolf-Ferrari: Piano Quintet - Cello Sonata - Brilliant Classics}}</ref>

Wolf-Ferrari's work is not performed very widely (with the exception of several of his overtures and his ''Jewels of the Madonna'' intermezzo) although he is generally thought of as probably the finest writer of Italian comic opera of his time. His works often recall the [[opera buffa]] of the 18th century, although he also wrote more ambitious works in the manner of [[Pietro Mascagni]], which are thought of less well.

==Works==

===Operas===

::See '''[[List of operas by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari]]'''

===Other vocal works===
*''La sulamite'' (canto biblico), Op. 2 (1898)
*''8 cori'' (unaccompanied) (1898)
*''Talitha Kumi (La figlia di Giaro)'' (oratorium, Bible: [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]]), Op. 3 (1900)
*''La vita nuova'' (cantata, after [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]]), Op. 9 (1901)
*''4 Rispetti'', Op. 11 (1902)
*''4 Rispetti'', Op. 12 (1902)
*''Canzoniere'' ([[Tuscany|Tuscan]] trad.) Op. 17 (1936)
*''La passione'' (Tuscan trad.) Op. 21 (for chorus, 1939; for voice and piano, 1940),

===Orchestral===
* Serenade for Strings in E flat major
* Idillio-concertino in A major for Oboe and small orchestra, Op. 15 (1932)
* Suite-concertino in F major for Bassoon and small orchestra, Op. 16 (1933)
* Venezianische Suite (Suite Veneziana) in A minor, Op.18
* Triptychon (Trittico) op.19
* Divertimento in D major op.20
* Arabesken (Arabeschi) für Orchester op.22 (after a theme of Ettore Tito)
* Violin Concerto in D, Op. 26 ''Guila Bustabo in ammirazione'' (1943)
* Sinfonia Brevis in E flat major op.28
* Concertino in A flat major for English horn and small orchestra, Op. 34 (1947)

===Chamber music===
* String Sextet in C minor (1894/95, also as a string trio)<ref>In manuscript, mentioned by Hamann in his ''Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari'', (Schneider, 1986). Performed in several concerts in Germany in 2011. - see http://www.kathrintenhagen.de/en/schedule.html</ref>
* Sinfonia da Camera Op. 8 (1901)
* Sonata No.1 for Violin & Piano in G minor, Op.1 (1895)
* Sonata No.2 for Violin & Piano in A minor, Op.10 (1901)
* Sonata No.3 for Violin & Piano in E major, Op.27 (1943)
* Sonata for Cello & Piano in G major, Op.30  (1945)
* String Duo in G minor for Violin & Cello, Op.33b (1946)
* String Duo, "Introduzione e Balletto", for Violin & Cello, Op.35 (1948)
* String Trio in B minor for Violin, Viola & Cello, WoO. (1894)
* String Trio in A minor for Violin, Viola & Cello, Op.32 (1945)
* String Quartet in E minor, Op.23 (1940)
* String Quintet in C major for 2 Violins, 2 Violas & Cello, Op.24 (1942)
* Piano Trio No.1 in D major, Op.5 (1898)
* Piano Trio No.2 in F{{music|sharp}} major, Op.7 (1900)
* Piano Trio "Sonata" for in F major for 2 Violins & Piano, Op.25 (1943)
* Piano Quintet in D{{music|flat}} major, Op.6 (1901)

==Sources==
''Wolf-Ferrari, Ermanno'' by John C G Waterhouse, in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', ed. [[Stanley Sadie]] (London, 1980) {{ISBN|0-333-23111-2}}

''Wolf-Ferrari, Ermanno'' by John C G Waterhouse, in ''The [[New Grove Dictionary of Opera]]'', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) {{ISBN|0-333-73432-7}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [[doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.30507|Wolf-Ferrari [Wolf], Ermanno]] in [https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/ Grove Music Online]
* [http://www.wolf-ferrari.com/ Wolf-Ferrari.com] Biography, current performances, publications, discography
* [http://editionsilvertrust.com/wolf-ferrari-piano-quintet.htm Wolf-Ferrari Piano Quintet Soundbites & Discussion]
* {{IMSLP|id=Wolf-Ferrari, Ermanno|cname=Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari}}

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[[Category:1876 births]]
[[Category:1948 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Italian classical composers]]
[[Category:19th-century Italian male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Italian classical composers]]
[[Category:20th-century male composers]]
[[Category:20th-century Italian male musicians]]
[[Category:Burials at Isola di San Michele]]
[[Category:Italian opera composers]]
[[Category:Italian people of German descent]]
[[Category:Italian Romantic composers]]
[[Category:Italian male opera composers]]
[[Category:Composers from Venice]]
[[Category:Pupils of Josef Rheinberger]]