Lodi, 27 Jan 1837 - Bologna, 23 Nov 1907

Italian composer and poet.
She studied composition at the Milan Conservatory with Alberto Mazzucato.
She lived mostly in Bologna, teaching the piano and singing.
Her appreciable literary gifts are exemplified by her patriotic and dramatic poetry; she provided the librettos for her own operas and the texts of her songs.
Benevolent critics referred to her as ‘the Italian Sappho’ (Dall’Ongaro) or ‘a Bellini in skirts’ (Sanelli) for her polished verses and the fluency of her melodies. Ferrari collected her poetic and prose works in four volumes, Versi e prose (Bologna, 1878–82), which testify to a wide range of interests (e.g. the poem In morte di Felice Romani and the four-act drama Il vicario di Wakefield from Goldsmith's novel).
The third volume contains the librettos of her three operas.
The style and format of Ferrari's musical works adhere to the conventions of the mid-19th century.

Bibliography:

J. Fétis: Biographie universelle des musiciens suppl.
C. Schmidl: Dizionario universale dei musicisti
C. Ferrari: ‘Memoria documentata sulle mie opere musicali’, Versi e prose (Bologna, 1878), III
A. Bonaventura: ‘Le donne italiane e la musica’, Rivista musicale italiana, XXXII (1925)
P. Adkins Chiti: Donne in musica (Rome, 1982)
Grove Music Online: www.oxfordmusiconline.com

Author:

Matteo Sansone

Works:

all librettos by Ferrari
Ugo (dramma lirico, 4), Milan, Teatro di S Radegonda, 5 July 1857
Sofia (dramma lirico, 3), Lodi, Teatro Sociale, March 1866
Eleonora d’Arborea (dramma lirico, 4), Cagliari, Teatro Civico, March 1871