Giuseppe Farinelli (7 May 1769 – 12 December 1836) was an Italian composer active at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century who excelled in writing opera buffas. Considered the successor and most successful imitator of
Domenico Cimarosa, the greatest of his roughly 60 operas include I riti d'Efeso (1803, Venice), La contadina bizzarra (1810, Milan) and Ginevra degli Almieri (1812, Venice). More than 2/3 of his operas were produced between 1800-1810 at the height of his popularity. With the arrival of
Gioachino Rossini his operas became less desirable with the public, and by 1817 his operas were no longer performed. His other compositions include 3 piano forte sonatas, 3 oratorios, 11 cantatas, 5 masses, 2
Te Deums, a Stabat mater, a Salve regina, a Tantum ergo, numerous motets, and several other sacred works.
Born Giuseppe Francesco Finco in Este, he assumed the professional name of Farinelli after the
famous castrato of that name in gratitude to the singer for his help in his musical education and his protection. He studied with Lionelli in Este and with Antonio Martinelli in Venice before going to Naples in 1785 to pursue studies at the Conservatorio della Pietà dei Turchini. While at the conservatory he was a pupil of Lorenzo Fago (harmony),
Nicola Sala (counterpoint),
Giacomo Tritto (composition), and Barbiello (singing). His first opera, Il dottorato di Pulcinella, displayed a talent for comedy and was performed at the conservatory in 1792 to an enthusiastic reception. His first opera performed in one of the public Italian opera houses was L’uomo indolente in Naples at the Teatro Nuovo in 1795. In 1808, his Cantata in three voices, words by Gaetano Rossi, titled Il nuovo destino was performed in celebration of the birthday of Emperor Napoleon in the hall of Monsignor Nicola Saverio Gamboni, Patriarch of Venice.
After several more years in Naples, Farinelli moved to Turin in 1810. He left there in 1817 to assume the position of maestro al cembalo at the Teatro Nuovo in Trieste. In 1819 he became maestro di cappella and organist of the Susa Cathedral, a position he held until his death in Trieste in 1836.
