Federico Ricci

Born in Naples, he was the younger brother of Luigi Ricci, with whom he collaborated on several works.

After another success closely followed by a major flop in Vienna, Federico took an official job teaching in St Petersburg and for 16 years he wrote no operas.

In 1869 he moved to Paris, and there Une folie à Rome ran for 77 nights; other French comedies of his — mainly revisions of his own and his brother's earlier works — found some success.

In 1870 for Cremona he created a pastiche, La vergine di Kermo, containing music by Pedrotti, Cagnoni, Ponchielli, Pacini, Rossi, and Mazzucato.

Although he did not have his brother's energy, Federico's scores are judged by some to be more skilfully written than Luigi's: for example, it has been said that La prigione di Edimburgo shows a sensitivity towards its subject (from Sir Walter Scott's The Heart of Midlothian) that is rare among Italian operas of the period.