Cilea, Francesco

Italian classical composer Francesco Cilea (July 23, 1866 – November 20, 1950) was born in Palmi near Reggio Calabria. He received an excellent musical education. At the age of four, he listed a performance of Vincenzo Bellini's Norma and was heavily influenced by it. Later, he moved to Naples to study music at the Conservatorio San Pietro a Maiella. His talent was noticed there. For his final examination, he offered his own written opera Gina. In the late 1890s, he moved to Milan. There he achieved mainstream success with his third opera L'Arlesiana, which was based on the play by Alphonse Daudet. His final opera was performed at La Scala in Milan under the baton of Arturo Toscanini. It also became one of his most successful and popular compositions. Now, you may download Francesco Cilea's work, Gloria (Marco Pace), in mp3 from our site.