Consider Antonio Smareglia for a moment. This bust immortalizes a composer of considerable talent. Antonio Smareglia was born in Pola on May 5 1854. He became a composer of some renown between the 19th and 20th centuries.
Smareglia did not begin piano lessons until he was 16. He studied composition in Milan. He quickly caught up writing his first opera Prezioso in 1876.
In 1882 Antonio Smareglia married Maria Jetti Polla. They settled in Trieste in 1895. That year his opera Nozze Istriane premiered at the Teatro Verdi.
Silvio Benco wrote the librettos for several of Smareglia’s operas. Tragically Smareglia went completely blind in 1900 due to a failed cataract surgery. Yet this did not stop him. He continued to compose by dictating to his wife son and students.
Smareglia’s relationship with Trieste deepened over time. James Joyce admired Smareglia’s work. Joyce lived near Smareglia in Barriera Vecchia. Stanislaus Joyce recalled his brother James singing an aria from Nozze Istriane. In 1912 Benco wrote to Smareglia relaying Joyce’s admiration. Joyce believed Smareglia would be the only artist from Trieste whose name would last a century.
After World War I Smareglia taught composition at the Tartini Conservatory. Antonio Smareglia spent his final years in Grado near Trieste. He died there on April 15 1929.
Smareglia’s early works showed Wagnerian influences. Later works leaned towards a more abstract symbolic drama. His first major success was Il vassallo di Szigeth in Vienna in 1889. It was acclaimed across Europe and even in New York.
Nozze Istriane became his most popular opera in 1895. Though popular it wasn’t necessarily his best work. In 1897 La falena premiered in Venice. It was the first in a trilogy completed by Oceana and Abisso.
Toscanini asked Smareglia to complete Arrigo Boito’s unfinished opera Nerone. Smareglia completed the first act but was then removed from the project.
Shortly before his death Antonio Smareglia revised Cornill Schut. He presented it in Trieste in 1928 as Pittori fiamminghi. It became his last success.
Despite his talent Smareglia’s works faced challenges. The decline of the Austro-Hungarian Empire affected his audience. He was sometimes seen as “foreign” in his own land. Some critics unfairly accused him of bringing bad luck after Oceana.
Antonio Smareglia’s music was often caught between cultures. Italians considered it too Austrian or Slavic. Central Europeans found it too Italian. His music reflected the mix of cultures in Istria and Trieste. Today Antonio Smareglia remains a significant figure. He embodies Trieste’s complex cultural identity. The bust stands as a reminder of his musical contributions. It invites us to remember his legacy.