Gomez, Antonio Carlos

1839-1896

An opera composer, of Portuguese parentage; born at Campinas, Brazil. Was sent to Europe for musical study by the Emperor of Brazil, and became a pupil of Rossi at the Milan Conservatory. In 1861 he had produced at Rio Janeiro an operetta in Portuguese, A noite de castello, and his first work performed in Italy was Se sa minga (Nobody knows!), the immediate success of which was largely due to a Song of the Needlegun. This was followed by Nella Luna; II Guarany, which was successful, and was performed within the next two years at Genoa, Florence, Rome and London; Fosca, a failure; Salvator Rosa, Maria Tudor, and La Schiavo, all successful; and Condor, which was not so well received. He also wrote an ode, II saluto del Brasile, for the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876; and Colombo, a cantata, for the Columbus Festival in 1892. In 1895 he was appointed director of the Conservatory of Para, but died a few months after his arrival in Para. II Guarany is considered his most original work, and the fluctuating fortunes of his later operas are due to their lack in this respect, "being obviously indebted for their inspiration to Verdi and Meyerbeer."