_-_Archivio_storico_Ricordi_FOTO001319.jpg)
Luigi Denza (24 February 1846 – 27 January 1922) was an Italian composer.[1]
Denza was born atCastellammare di Stabia, nearNaples.[2] He studied music withSaverio Mercadante andPaolo Serrao at the Naples Conservatory.[2] In 1884, he moved toLondon, taught singing privately and became a professor of singing at theRoyal Academy of Music in 1898, where he taught for two decades. He died inLondon in 1922.[1][2]
Denza is best remembered for "Funiculì, Funiculà" (1880), a humorousNeapolitan song inspired by the inauguration of afunicular to the summit ofVesuvius. Neapolitan journalistPeppino Turco contributed the lyrics and may have prompted the song by suggesting that Denza compose something for thePiedigrotta song-writing competition. "Funiculì, Funiculà" was published the same year byRicordi and within a year had sold a million copies.[3][a]
In addition to "Funiculì, Funiculà", Denza composed hundreds of popular songs. Some of them, such as "Luna fedel", "Occhi di fata", and "Se", have been sung byEnrico Caruso,Mario Lanza,Carlo Bergonzi,Luciano Pavarotti, andRonan Tynan.[citation needed] He was also an able mandolinist and guitarist, and for those instruments he wrote "Ricordo di Quisisana", "Come to me", "Nocturne", and several others.[1] Denza also wrote anopera,Wallenstein (1876).[b]
Other than writing songs and music, Denza's enduring legacy was his judging ofJames Joyce, who was a singer before he became a world-famous novelist.[7][8][9][10][11]
When Denza was Professor of Music at theLondon Academy of Music, he was asked to judge the 1904Feis Ceoil Irish Singing Contest, a prototype of today's musical reality shows.[7][8][10][11] On 16 May 1904, Denza attempted to mentor Joyce, and would have awarded him the Gold Medal, but Joyce could notsight read, missing a crucial part of the competition; Denza instead awarded Joyce the third-place Bronze medal.[7][8][10][11] Disgusted, Joyce gave the medal to his Aunt Josephine; the medal ended up years later being bought byMichael Flatley at an auction.[9][11]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
 | This article about an Italian composer is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
