Antônio Carlos Gomes | |
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 Gomes in 1886 | |
| Born | (1836-07-11)11 July 1836 |
| Died | 16 September 1896(1896-09-16) (aged 60) |
| Occupation | Composer |
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Antônio Carlos Gomes (Brazilian Portuguese:[ɐ̃ˈtoni.uˈkaʁluzˈɡomis,ɐ̃ˈtonju-]; 11 July 1836 inCampinas – 16 September 1896 inBelém) was a Brazilian composer notable for being the firstNew World composer whose work was accepted byEurope. He was the only non-European who was successful as an opera composer in Italy, during the "golden age of opera" contemporary toVerdi andPuccini, and the first composer of non-European lineage to be accepted into theclassic tradition of music.[1]
Younger than Verdi, yet older than Puccini, Carlos Gomes achieved his first major success in a time when the Italian audiences were eager for a new name to celebrate and Puccini had not yet officially started his career. After the successful premiere ofIl Guarany, Gomes was considered the most promising new composer.[2] Verdi said his work was an expression of "true musical genius".[3]Liszt said that “it displays dense technical maturity, full of harmonic and orchestral maturity.”[4]
He was born on 11 July 1836 inCampinas,São Paulo Province, son ofMaestro Manuel José Gomes and Fabiana Maria Jaguari Cardoso.
His childhood's musical tendencies were soon stimulated by his father and by his older brother, José Pedro de Sant'Ana Gomes, also a conductor. José Pedro was the most dedicated guide and adviser in his brother's artistic career. He convinced Antônio to visit theCourt where he became aprotégé of EmperorDom Pedro II, who, being notoriously interested in the careers of Brazilian artists and intellectuals, made it possible for Antônio Carlos to study at the Musical Conservatory ofRio de Janeiro.
After having graduated with honours, Carlos produced his first opera,A noite do castelo (September 1861), which was a big success. Two years later, he repeated it with his second opera,Joana de Flandres, which was considered superior to the first. These two pieces convinced the Emperor to offer him a Royal scholarship to study inItaly in 1864. He studied inMilan at thelocal conservatory withLauro Rossi andAlberto Mazzucato and completed in three years a course which was normally completed in four years, obtaining the title of Maestro Composer.
Interested in composing an opera which dealt with a truly Brazilian subject, Carlos Gomes chose as the theme of his next work the romance novelO Guarani, by Brazilian writerJosé de Alencar. The opera was given an Indian subject and setting and it premiered in May 1870 at theLa Scala Theater in Milan asIl Guarany.
The success was enormous. Even the most strict musical critics compared the Brazilian musician to the great European maestros, such asRossini and Verdi. TheKing of Italy,Victor Emmanuel II, decorated the creator of the opera, which was presented in all major European capitals. Before that year was over, Gomes returned to Brazil, where he organized the premiere ofIl Guarany in Rio de Janeiro. The piece achieved the same success Gomes had seen in Italy.
Returning to Italy, Carlos Gomes married Adelina Peri, an Italian pianist he had met while studying in Milan.
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In 1876, at the request of EmperorDom Pedro II, Carlos Gomes composed theHymn for the First Centennial of the American Independence (also known asSaluto del Brasile), written especially for the celebrations of the centennial of theUnited States’independence. The work was performed during theCentennial Exposition onJuly 4 of that year, and again in New York on July 9. The emperor, who attended the ceremony and presented U.S. PresidentUlysses S. Grant with a copy of the score, recorded in his diary that the performance received little attention due to the noise and distance from the audience.[5] The original handwritten score is now part of the Carlos Gomes Collection at theImperial Museum inPetrópolis.
In1883 the maestro traveled to Brazil, receiving homages in every city he visited. When he returned to Italy, he dedicated himself to the composition of an opera themed againstslavery, inspired by the liberation struggle ofblack slaves in Brazil, which got the title ofLo schiavo. The composition, which had been suggested by a great friend of Antônio's, a black engineer namedAndré Rebouças, only debuted several years later in1889.
When theBrazilian republic wasproclaimed in 1889, Carlos Gomes, who at this time was in Campinas, sailed once more to Italy. Faithful to theBrazilian monarchy andDom Pedro II, Gomes refused the opportunity given to him by presidentDeodoro da Fonseca to compose the newBrazilian National Anthem. In the following years, he composed the operaCondor and thecantataColombo, for the Columbus Festival (12 October 1892), in celebration of the fourth centenary of the discovery ofAmerica.
Invited by the governor of the Brazilian province ofPará to direct the Musical Conservatory, the maestro traveled to the capitalBelém, willing to take the position. However, shortly after arriving, Carlos Gomes, by then an elderly man in poor health, died at 22:20 BRT on 16 September1896. Besides his eight operas, he composed songs (3 books), choruses, and piano pieces.
Studies have discussed how the public image of Carlos Gomes was historically presented as that of a white man, despite references to his mixed-race background and experiences of racial prejudice in 19th-century Brazil. Scholars link this portrayal to visual and narrative standards of the period, such as studio photography and the monumentalization of the composer, which contributed to a “whitened” social memory. The debate relates Gomes’s case to figures likeMachado de Assis andCastro Alves and to broader discussions ofscientific racism and memory politics in Brazil.[6][7] Recent perspectives emphasize that recognizing his racial background enriches the understanding of his artistic path and inspires new interpretations, such as educational projects inCampinas and the upcoming biopicBravo! Carlos Gomes do Brasil, starring tenorJean William.[8][9]
Many honours were given to conductor Carlos Gomes throughout Brazil and abroad where he ruled and made fame.
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