Raffaello de Banfield
Raffaello de Banfield | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 June 1922 Légion d'Honneur (France) |
Raffaello de Banfield (2 June 1922 – 7 January 2008), also known as Raphael Douglas, Baron von Banfield Tripcovich, was a British-born Italian composer.
Family
Raffaello de Banfield was the son of Austro-Hungarian flying ace
He was married to Maria delle Grazie dei Conti dei Brandolini d'Adda (1923-2017) on 27 December 1976. The marriage remained childless; Brandolini d'Adda had three children from her first marriage to Count Leonardo Arrivabene Valenti Gonzaga.
Life
Raffaello de Banfield attended the Swiss International "Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz", the "Dante Alighieri" Lyceum in
He became famous for his compositions, which were performed worldwide and received countless honours and recognitions, such as the Italian "Grand Ufficiale"; in 1994, through François Mitterrand, he became a Knight of the Legion of Honour.[citation needed] He died at his home near the so-called "Rive" in Trieste, Italy.
Selected works
- Le combat, ballet, Original production 1949 in London.
- Theatre Music for 'Much Ado About Nothing, 1953.
- Una lettera d'amore di Lord Byron ("Lord Byron's Love Letter", by Tennessee Williams), Original production 1955 in New Orleans with Astrid Varnay and Patricia Neway.
- Quatuor, ballet (1957)
- Acostino, ballet based on a story by Alberto Moravia, Original production 1958 in Genoa.
- Colloquio col Tango ossìa La Formica ("Conversation with the Tango or The Ant" by C. Terron), Opera in One Act. Original production September 1959 in Como[2]
- Alissa, Opera in One Act with Four Scenes. Libretto by R. Miller. Original production March 1965 in Geneva[3]
- Serale, (after poem of Rainer Maria Rilke), lyric work for soprano and large orchestra, 1968.
- Liebeslied, (after poem of Rilke), lyric work for soprano and large orchestra, 1968.
- Der Tod der Geliebten (The death of the beloved), (after poem of Rilke), lyric work for soprano and large orchestra, 1972.
- Der Sturm (The storm) (after poem of Rilke), lyric work for soprano and large orchestra, 1972.
- For Ophelia, concert piece for soprano and orchestra, Original production c1976 in London (Kiri te Kanawa, John Pritchard).
- Vier Rilke Lieder (Four songs of Rilke) for soprano and orchestra, original presentation 1986 in Brussels.
References
- ^ Countess Tripcovich died in 1976. cf Osborne 1998, 184–5 & Pl 18.
- ^ "Description Page for Colloquio" (in Italian). Casa Ricordi. Retrieved 11 July 2008.
- ^ "Description Page for Alissa" (in Italian). Casa Ricordi. Retrieved 11 July 2008.
Further reading
- Richard Osborne, Herbert von Karajan. A Life in Music (Chatto & Windus, London 1998). (Many refs, and photo Pl. 19).
External links
- Biography of Raffaello de Banfield (Italian) [1]
- Report of demise (Italian, Il Piccolo) [2]
- Biography (English) [3]
- "Composer Raffello de Banfield is dead" (Wiener Zeitung) Archived 11 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- NY Times: "Opera 'Lord Byron' and 'Renard' at Festival", 26 May 1986 [4]
