Fabrizi, Vincenzo

(b Naples, 1764; d ?after 1812). Italian composer. After starting to

compose at the age of 18 or 19, within six years he had written 14
operas and gained an international reputation; he then
disappeared from public notices, though Gerber, about 1812,
wrote of him as still living. His first stage work, a revision of the
Goldoni-Ciampi intermezzo I tre gobbi rivali (originally La favola
de tre gobbi, 1749, Venice), was produced in Carnival 1783 during
a period when Neapolitan theatres were experimenting with the
French fashion of presenting several short comic pieces instead of
a full-length opera. This was the third of three short works
commissioned by the Teatro dei Fiorentini; as the other two were
written by Giacomo Tritto, Prota-Giurleo regarded Fabrizis
contribution as evidence that he was Trittos pupil. He worked in
northern Italy during 17845. In 1786 he was in Rome where his
election to the maestri di cappella of the university was announced
on 1 March. In the same year, his comedy La sposa
invisibile produced loud applause both for its novelty and its
expression. As a result he received a three-year appointment as
musical director at the Teatro Capranica. His three-act version of
the Don Giovanni story, produced in the following year, proved
successful throughout Europe.
Gervasoni observed that in the space of a few years [Fabrizi]
contributed greatly to the refinement of musical taste. His extant
music, which includes chamber works as well as comic operas,
shows him to have been a competent composer, with ensembles
distinguished by a solid structural sense and an ability to achieve
desired effects with economy of means. In particular his harmony,
while essentially simple and diatonic, shows skilful and judicious
use of chromatic detail.
There is no evidence that he was related to the composer Paolo
Fabrizi (b Spoleto, 1809; d Naples, 3 March 1869), who studied at
Naples with Zingarelli and had seven operas given there, 1830
40, and two later at Spoleto.

WORKS
operas
opere buffe unless otherwise stated

I tre gobbi rivali (int, after C. Goldoni), Naples, Fiorentini, carn. 1783
La necessit non ha legge, Bologna, Marsigli-Rossi, ?July 1784; also as Noth hat
kein Gesetz
I due castellani burlati (F. Livigni), Bologna, Marsigli-Rossi, aut. 1785; also as I due
castellani ossia I due rivali in amore, I due castellani delusi, I due rivali in amore; ?
D-Dl, F-Pc, I-Tf, P-La
La sposa invisibile (farsetta a 5), Rome, Capranica, 20 Feb 1786, ?D-Dl, Ms (?
excerpts), P-La
Chi la f laspetti, ossia I puntigli di gelosia (Livigni), Florence, Intrepidi, spr. 1786;
also as La moglie alla moda, La moglie capricciosa, I puntigli di gelosia; I-Bc, Fc
La contessa di Novaluna (G. Bertati), Venice, S Mois, aut. 1786
Lamore per interesse (Bertati), Parma, Ducale, 26 Dec 1786; orig. title La
Mirandolina
Il convitato di pietra (G. Lorenzi), Rome, Valle, ?carn. 1787; also as Don Giovanni
Tenorio, ossia Il convitato di pietra; GB-Lbl (aria, trio, finale), I-Rmassimo, Rsc, SSkma (excerpts)
La nobilit villana, Rome, Capranica, 30 Jan 1787
Gli amanti trappolieri (G. Palomba), Naples, spr./sum. 1787
Il viaggiatore sfortunato in amore (F. Ballani), Rome, Valle, aut. 1787
Il Colombo o La scoperta delle Indie (farsa, M. Mallio), Rome, Capranica, carn.
1788; also as La tempesta, ossia Da un disordine ne nasce un ordine
Lincontro per accidente (G.M. Diodati), Naples, Fondo, spr./sum. 1788; also as Il
maestro di cappella, ossia Lincontro per accidente
Il caff di Barcellona, Barcelona, S Cruz, 1788
Impresario in rovina (dg, A. Piazza), Casale, spr. 1797

other works
Sonatas, pf 4 hands, I-Mc, PEsp
Pieces in A-Sca, GB-Ob, I-CHf, Fc, Gl, Pca, PAc, PEsp, Rsc, Vc, S-Skma

BIBLIOGRAPHY
ES (U. Prota-Giurleo)
FlorimoN
GerberNL
C. Gervasoni: Nuova teoria di musica (Parma, 1812/R), 129
30
S. Kunze: Don Giovanni vor Mozart: die Tradition der DonGiovanni-Opern im italienischen Buffa-Theater des 18.
Jahrhunderts(Munich, 1972), 8790
JAMES L. JACKMAN/REBECCA GREEN