A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Faccio, Franco

by J. A. Fuller-Maitland

FACCIO, Franco, born March 8, 1840,^[1] at Verona, of parents in humble circumstances, who deprived themselves almost of the necessaries of life in order to give their son a musical education. In Nov. 1855 he entered the Conservatorio of Milan, where he made remarkable progress in composition under Ronchetti. An overture by him was played at one of the students' concerts in 1860. In the following year he left the institution, and on Nov. 10, 1863, he had the good fortune to have a three-act opera, 'I Profughi Fiamminghi,' performed at La Scala. Before this a remarkable work, written in collaboration with his friend Boito, and entitled 'Le Sorelle d'ltalia,' had been performed at the Conservatorio. [See vol. iv. p.550.] The same friend, for whom he had formed a warm attachment during the time of their studentship, wrote him the libretto of 'Amleto,' which was given with success at the Teatro Carlo Fenice, at Genoa, on May 30, 1865 (not at Florence, as Pougin states), but which was unfavourably received at the Scala in Feb. 1871. In 1866 'he fought, together with Boito, in the Garibaldian army, and in 1867–8 undertook a tour in Scandinavia. A symphony in F dates from about this time. In July 1868 he succeeded Croff as professor of harmony in the Conservatorio, and after acquiring great experience as a conductor at the Teatro Carcano, was made conductor at La Scala. A Cantata d'inaugurazione was performed in 1884, and two sets of songs by him have been published by Ricordi. Faccio holds an important position among the advanced musicians of Italy, and as a composer his works command attention by their originality. It is, however, as a conductor that he is most successful, and he may be considered as the greatest living Italian conductor. He directed the first European performance of Verdi's 'Aïda' in 1872, and the production of his 'Otello' in 1887, both at Milan.

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1. Paloschi. Fougin gives the date as 1841. Various articles in the 'Gazetta musicale di Milano' support either date indifferently.