Francesco Uttini

Francesco Antonio Uttini was an Italian composer, conductor and music-educator who is particularly noted for his work in Sweden. Born in Bologna in 1723, he studied under Giovanni Battista Martini and Giacomo Antonio Perti. In 1743 he debuted with the opera Alessandro nelle Indie and later accompanied the Mingotti opera troupe to northern Europe. From around 1755 he established himself in Stockholm as court conductor. In 1772 he was commissioned by King Gustav III to compose Thetis och Pelée, the first opera in Swedish, premiered in 1773. His output includes about 20 operas, numerous sacred- and chamber-works, and symphonies.

He also studied with Pietro Giuseppe Sandoni and in 1743 became a member of the Philharmonic Academy in Bologna. Before leaving Italy he served in church chapels while composing successful opera seria works that were performed across Italy, Germany and Denmark. His early career with the Mingotti troupe led to his first marriage to the singer Rosa Scarlatti, and after arriving in Sweden he premiered Il re pastore at Drottningholm, along with works such as a flute concerto and harpsichord sonatas.

Following the dissolution of the troupe, Uttini remained in Sweden and was appointed Kapellmeister of the royal chapel in 1757, succeeding Per Brant. Alongside numerous Italian- and French-language operas, he composed symphonies, cantatas, and later Swedish-language operas including Birger Jarl och Mechtilde in 1774 and Aline, drottning uti Golconda in 1776. He resigned his Kapellmeister post in 1778, after which the role passed to Joseph Martin Kraus and Johann Gottlieb Naumann.

Widowed in 1775, Uttini remarried in 1788 to the singer Sofia Liljegren and subsequently ceased composing. He died in Stockholm on 25 October 1795. His legacy includes not only his operatic and instrumental output, which encompasses seventeen concertos, seven symphonies and two oratorios, but also his influence on Swedish musical culture. He was the father of the ballet dancer Carlo Uttini and the double bassist Adolpho Ludovico Uttini.

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