# Albert Visetti

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Italian composer

Albert Visetti in 1913

**Albert Anthony Visetti** (13 May 1846–10 July 1928) was a [Dalmatian](/source/Dalmatia) musician who moved to London where he was Professor of Singing at the [Royal College of Music](/source/Royal_College_of_Music), becoming a Fellow in 1921. He was the stepfather of the novelist [Radclyffe Hall](/source/Radclyffe_Hall).

## Early life

Born in [Solin](/source/Solin) in [Dalmatia](/source/Dalmatia) to a landowner Italian father and an English mother, Visetti was originally intended by his father for a career as a surgeon so was sent to the [University of Padua](/source/University_of_Padua) to study medicine. Affected by the sights of the dissecting room, he withdrew and turned instead to music. He was awarded musical scholarships from the Austrian and Italian governments. He studied music at the [Milan Conservatory](/source/Milan_Conservatory) where a friend was [Arrigo Boito](/source/Arrigo_Boito) who wrote the [libretto](/source/Libretto) for Visetti's *Cantico des Cantici*, and where he was a pupil of [Alberto Mazzucato](/source/Alberto_Mazzucato) in class composition, winning several awards. While there he made the acquaintance of [Verdi](/source/Giuseppe_Verdi).[1] Visetti was later engaged as a conductor at [Nice](/source/Nice) before moving to Paris where he was an assistant to the composer [Daniel Auber](/source/Daniel_Auber) at the Court of [Napoleon III](/source/Napoleon_III). While in Paris, he composed the [opera](/source/Opera) *Les Trois Mousquetaires* after he met [Alexander Dumas](/source/Alexander_Dumas), who wrote the [libretto](/source/Libretto).[2] However, the almost complete manuscript was destroyed in a fire during the [Siege of Paris](/source/Siege_of_Paris_(1870%E2%80%9371)).[3]

## Move to London

The [Royal College of Music](/source/Royal_College_of_Music), where Visetti was Professor of Singing

Visetti moved to England in May 1871 after the turmoil of the [Siege of Paris](/source/Siege_of_Paris_(1870%E2%80%9371)), living there for the rest of his life, being naturalised in 1884.[2] There he became a champion of English music and musicians, arranging for the works of such composers as [Arthur Sullivan](/source/Arthur_Sullivan), [William Sterndale Bennett](/source/William_Sterndale_Bennett) and [Charles Villiers Stanford](/source/Charles_Villiers_Stanford) to be performed for the first time at [La Scala](/source/La_Scala) in [Milan](/source/Milan) and in Rome and Naples.[2][4]

Visetti became one of the leading professors of singing in the country, teaching singing at the [Guildhall School of Music](/source/Guildhall_School_of_Music) where his students included [Bruce Carey](/source/Bruce_Carey); the [London Academy of Music](/source/London_Academy_of_Music_and_Dramatic_Art), at Watford School and the [Royal College of Music](/source/Royal_College_of_Music), where his students included [Clara Butt](/source/Clara_Butt),[5] [Denise Orme](/source/Denise_Orme),[1] [Gwynn Parry Jones](/source/Gwynn_Parry_Jones), [Louise Kirkby Lunn](/source/Louise_Kirkby_Lunn), [Phyllis Lett](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phyllis_Lett&action=edit&redlink=1) and [Agnes Nicholls](/source/Agnes_Nicholls). Visetti was musical adviser to the [soprano](/source/Soprano) [Adelina Patti](/source/Adelina_Patti) for five years, and wrote the popular song *La Diva* for her. He was Director and Conductor of the Philharmonic Society of Bath from 1878 to 1890 and for whom he wrote two [cantatas](/source/Cantata), *The Desert* and *The Praise of Song*. In 1880, [Umberto I](/source/Umberto_I_of_Italy), the King of Italy, conferred on him the [Order of the Crown of Italy](/source/Order_of_the_Crown_of_Italy) for his literary achievements.[1] He wrote and translated several books including a life of [Giovanni Palestrina](/source/Giovanni_Pierluigi_da_Palestrina) and wrote a biography of [Verdi](/source/Giuseppe_Verdi) for the Bells Miniature Series of Musicians (1905). In 1921, Visetti was made a Fellow of the [Royal College of Music](/source/Royal_College_of_Music).[2][4][6]

## Personal life

Visetti's grave in [Brookwood Cemetery](/source/Brookwood_Cemetery)

By marriage he became the stepfather of the novelist [Radclyffe Hall](/source/Radclyffe_Hall) in 1889; he had a tempestuous relationship with her mother Marie (née Sager) because of his affairs with his female students and Radclyffe Hall, who hated him, claimed he made sexual advances to her when she was a teenager.[7][8]

He died in London in 1928 and is buried with his wife Marie in the Catholic Section of [Brookwood Cemetery](/source/Brookwood_Cemetery).

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Musica_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Musica_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Musica_1-2) [Biography of Albert Anthony Visetti (1914) on the Grande Musica website](http://grandemusica.net/musical-biographies-v/visetti-albert-anthony)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Times_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Times_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Times_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Times_2-3) Article on Albert Visetti in *[The Musical Times](/source/The_Musical_Times)* 1 March 1913 pgs 153-156

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Mr Albert Visetti *[Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News](/source/Illustrated_Sporting_and_Dramatic_News)* - 2 January 1886

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Clarke_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Clarke_4-1) Clarke, John M., *London's Necropolis: A Guide to Brookwood Cemetery*, Sutton Publishing (2004), p. 216 [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-7509-3513-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7509-3513-8)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Maurice Leonard, *Hope and Glory: A Life of Dame Clara Butt*, Victorian Secrets Limited (2012)](https://books.google.com/books?id=OfgvfQO5zRYC&dq=albert+visetti&pg=PA32) - [Google Books](/source/Google_Books) p32

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Fellows of the Royal College of Music - \[\[Royal College of Music\]\] website"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160918124655/http://www.rcm.ac.uk/about/historyofthercm/honoursandfellowships/New%20Fellows%20List%20(2016).pdf) (PDF). Archived from [the original](http://www.rcm.ac.uk/about/historyofthercm/honoursandfellowships/New%20Fellows%20List%20(2016).pdf) (PDF) on 2016-09-18. Retrieved 2016-11-28.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [Laura Seddon, *British Women Composers and Instrumental Chamber Music in the Early Twentieth Century*, Routledge (2013)](https://books.google.com/books?id=jY0GDAAAQBAJ&dq=albert+visetti+radclyffe+hall&pg=PA158) - [Google Books](/source/Google_Books) p158

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [Radclyffe Hall Biography - Your Dictionary](http://biography.yourdictionary.com/radclyffe-hall)

## External links

- [Visetti](http://www.npgprints.com/image/942010/bassano-ltd-albert-visetti-viola-tree) with [Viola Tree](/source/Viola_Tree) - the [National Portrait Gallery, London](/source/National_Portrait_Gallery%2C_London) website

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND WorldCat National United States Italy 2 Spain Vatican Israel Artists MusicBrainz FID Other Open Library

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Albert Visetti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Visetti) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Visetti?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.