<i>Vita e melodramma: Temistocle Solera (1815-1878)</i>

Abstract

Temistocle Solera (1815-1878), best known as the first librettist of Giuseppe Verdi, for whom wrote, among others, Nabucodonosor (Nabucco) and I lombardi alla prima crociata, was also an operal composer (first of all of the three acts "dramma lirico" Ildegonda, dated 1840, whose libretto has later been used also by Emilio Arrieta and Melesio Morales). Beside many artistic and literary activities such as poetry, music, a novel, journalism and so on, he also knew many other jobs: he has been a "protected" in the spanish court of queen Isabel II, a diplomat, maybe a spy in pre-union Italy, surely a questore (police chief) after the Union and also in Egypt, and an art merchant. He also had to work in different humile or irregular tasks, such employee, possibly circus rider, saltimbanco, and acquaiolo (water porter), as he once describes himself in a letter. Upon his real or presumed adventures - escapes, conspiracies, duels, goliard acts, shipwrecks, detentions, "impossible" loves, in extremis recognitions... - grew a great amount of very difficoult to enradicate legends. This is the primary task of this essay.