Born in Palmi in Calabria on 23 July 1866, died in Varazze near Genoa on 20 November 1950; Francesco Cilea was an Italian composer. In November 1878 he entered the Naples Conservatory, where his first opera “Gina” was performed on 9 February 1889. “L’Arlesiana” (1897), after Alphonse Daudet, gave the tenor Enrico Caruso his first success; his best-known work, “Adriana Lecouvreur”, to a libretto by Arturo Colautti, was premiered at the Teatro Lirico in Milan on 6 November 1902. He directed the Palermo Conservatory from 1913 to 1916 and the Naples Conservatory from 1916 to 1935. On the gala recording Doc Heilein and Friends Gala 2023 – Ich will keine Schokolade (2023) Alexandra von der Weth sings “Io son l’umile ancella”, the title heroine’s aria from the first act of “Adriana Lecouvreur”.
Francesco Cilea
Composer
