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Celebrating the 150th anniversary of his birth, this first critical biography of Italo Montemezzi (1875-1952) offers fascinating new insights into the life and work of an important opera composer, seventeen years younger than Puccini, who became internationally famous with L'amore dei tre re (1913). For many years, it seemed as if Montemezzi was Puccini's obvious successor, with numerous critics prepared to rank L'amore dei tre re above any Puccini opera, judging it a distinctively new kind of Italian opera, closer to the Wagnerian music drama. The fascinating story of Montemezzi's life and career, divided between Italy and America, and set against the background of two world wars, will interest anyone who has ever wondered what happened to Italian opera after Puccini.
About the author
David Chandler obtained his M.Phil and D.Phil at the University of Oxford and has been a Professor in the English Department, Doshisha University, Kyoto, since 2002. He is widely published in the areas of the literature and culture of the British Romantic period, and the history of musical theatre in Britain. He is a director of the record company Retrospect Opera and a regular contributor of reviews and features to Opera.
Raffaele Mellace obtained his D.Phil in Musicology at the University of Bologna and has been a Professor in the DIRAAS, University of Genoa, since 2011, and the Dean of the School of Humanities from 2021 to 2024. He has also taught at the Università del Piemonte Orientale and the Università Cattolica, Milan. He is widely published on the history of opera since the eighteenth century, co-edits the journal Il Saggiatore musicale, is scientific advisor at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, and the music critic of Il Sole 24 Ore.
