Opera
La Gioconda
A memorable performance of Ponchielli’s opera
Opera Australia
by Peter Rose •
The cast of La Gioconda with the Opera Australia Orchestra (photograph by Keith Saunders).
Amilcare Ponchielli (1834–86) wrote ten operas, but only one of them is still performed – La Gioconda – and few attending Opera Australia’s concert performances in Sydney will have heard it often.
Ponchielli – Italy’s leading composer between Verdi and Puccini – was born in Paderno, near Cremona. He was taught music by his father, the church organist. After graduating at the Milan Conservatory he returned to Paderno as a music teacher and organist. In 1881, he joined the staff at his alma mater, where his students included Puccini and Mascagni.
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