Fiorillo, Ignazio

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Fiorillo, Ignazio

Fiorillo, Ignazio, Italian composer, father of Federigo Fiorillo; b. Naples, May 11, 1715; d. Fritzlar, near Kassel, June 1787. He studied with Durante and Leo in Naples, and composed his first opera, Mandane, at the age of 20 (Venice, 1736). Other operas were Artimene (Milan, 1738), Partenope nell’ Adria (Venice, 1738), and II Vincitor di se stesso (Venice, 1741). He traveled as a theater conductor. He was appointed court conductor at Braunschweig (1754), and in 1762 he received a similar post at Kassel, retiring in 1780. He wrote a number of German operas in Braunschweig and 3 Italian operas in Kassel. An oratorio, Isacco, a Requiem, and other church works are also noteworthy.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire