Fabio Campana

Fabio Campana was an Italian composer and singing teacher born in Livorno in 1819 and who died in London in 1882. His career unfolded between mid-nineteenth-century Italian opera and London's musical life, the city in which he eventually settled and gained recognition.

He trained at the Liceo Musicale in Bologna. His first opera was staged in Livorno while he was still a student. According to Fétis, his early operas in Italy were not particularly successful. In 1850 he moved to London, where he became known as a singing teacher and as the composer of Italian romanzas.

In London, his opera Almina was performed at Her Majesty's Theatre on 26 May 1860, with the soprano Marietta Piccolomini. Later, Esmeralda, premiered in Saint Petersburg in 1869, reached Covent Garden in 1870 with Adelina Patti in the title role.

Today his name is associated above all with the transmission of bel canto in England and with an operatic catalogue that reflects the Italian tradition of his time. His output also includes numerous romanzas, symphonies and chamber works.