Domènec Terradellas

Who was Domènec Terradellas?

Domènec Terradellas was a Spanish opera composer, although all his works were thoroughly Italian in style. Born in Barcelona, the son of a day laborer, his early musical training is unknown. It has been said that Terradellas studied with the composer Francisco Valls in Barcelona, but Carreras i Bulbena did considerable research in Barcelona and found no evidence of this. On May 23, 1732 he entered in Naples as a student in the Conservatorio dei Poveri di Gesù Cristo. He studied composition with the famous Neapolitan composer, Francesco Durante.

Terradellas was one of a group of foreign-born composers who studied in Italy and adopted the Italian style. The reason for this is that Italian opera was by far the dominant genre of opera at this time, attracting composers from all across Europe: