Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

134 EOMER KONCONI
performed at the Musical Society in Moscow,
March 4, 1870. It was publish.ed by Bote &
Boch in the following year, and waa afterwards,
(in 1881) issued in a curtailed and revised
form. G.
EOMER, Emma, soprano singer,
pupil of Sir
George Smart, born in 1814, made her first
appearance at Oovent Garden, Oct. 16, 1830,
as Clara in ' The Duenna.' She met with a
favourable reception, and for several years
filled the position of prima donna at Covent
Garden, the English Opera-House, and Drury
Lane, with great credit. In 1852 she took
the management of the Surrey Theatre, with
a company containing Miss Poole and other
good singers, and brought out a series of operas
in English. Miss Eomer was rarely heard in
the concert -room, but appeared at the Westminster
Abbey Festival in 1834. She was the
original singer of the title-parts in Barnett's
'
Mountain Sylph ' and ' Fair Rosamond.' Her
performance of Amina in
the English version
of Bellini's Sonnambula ' ' was much admired.
She married a Mr. Almond, and died at Margate,
April 14, 1868. w. H. H.
RONALD, Landon. See Russell, Henry.
RONCONI, DoMENioo, was born July 11,
1772, at Lendinara-di-Polesine in Venetia. He
first appeared on the stage in 1797 at La Fenice,
Venice, and obtained great renown both as a
singer and actor, there and in other Italian
cities, sang in Italian opera at St. Petersburg
(1801-5), was director of the Italian opera in
Vienna in 1809, sang in Paris in 1810, and
was engaged at Munich in 1819-29, becoming a
teacher of singing there. He founded a vocal
school in 1829 at Milan. He died at St. Petersburg,
April 13, 1836. Of his three sons,
Felice, born in 1811, at Venice, under the
direction of his father devoted himself to instruction
in singing, and became a professor
in 1837 at Wurzburg, at Frankfort, and, in
1844-48, at Milan. He was similarly engaged
for some years in London, and finally at St.
Petersburg, where he died Sept. 10, 1875. He
was the author of a method of teaching singing,
and of several songs. His elder brother,
Giorgio, the celebrated baritone, was born at
Milan, August 6, 1810, He received instruction
in singing from his father, and began his
dramatic career in 1831, at Pavia, as Arturo
in 'La Straniera.' He played in some of the
small Italian cities, then at Rome, where
'
Torquato
Donizetti wrote for him 'II Furioso, '
Tasso,' and Maria ' di Rohan,' in which last, as
the Due de Ghevreuse, he obtained one of his
greatest triumphs—also at Turin, Florence, and
Naples, where he on Oct. 8, 1837, married
Signorina Elguerra Giannoni, who, according
to some accounts, had recently sung with success
at the Lyceum and King's Theatres, London.
He began his career in England at Her Majesty's,
April 9, 1842, as Enrico in 'Lucia,' and was
well received during the season in that character
and in those of Filippo ('Beatrice di Tenda'^,
Belcore('L' Elisir'), Basilic, Riecardo('Puritani'),
Tasso, etc. In the last opera his wife played
with him, but neither then, nor five years later
as Maria di Rohan, did she make the least impression
on the English public. He then made
a provincial tour with her, Thalberg, and John
Parry. In the winter he played at the Italiens,
Paris, with such success that he was engaged
there for several subsequent seasons, and at one
time was manager of the theatre, and was also
engaged at Vienna, Pesth, Madrid (where he
was manager), Barcelona, and Naples. He reappeared
in England, April 13, 1847, at Covent
Garden, as Enrico, and also played Figaro
(' Barbiere '),
May 8, De Chevreuse on the production
in England of 'Maria di Rohan,' and
the Doge on the production of Verdi's ' I due
Foscari,' June 19, in which 'by his dignity
and force he saved the opera . . . from utter
condemnation' (Chorley). 'There are few
instances of a voice so limited in compass (hardly
exceeding an octave), so inferior in quality, so
weak, so habitually out of tune. . . . The
low stature, the features, unmarked and
commonplace when silent, promising nothing
to an audience, yet which could express a
dignity of bearing, a tragic passion not to be
exceeded, or an exuberance of tlie wildest,
quaintest, most whimsical, most spontaneous
comedy. . . . These things we have seen,
and have forgotten personal insignificance,
vocal power beyond mediocrity, every disqualification,
in the spell of strong real sensibility
' (/6. ). There have been few such examples
of terrible courtly tragedy as ' Signer Eonconi's
Chevreuse—the polished demeanour of his earlier
scenes giving a fearful force of contrast to the
latter ones. . . .'(lb.) He sang at the Italian
Opera every season until 1866 inclusive, excepting
in 1855 and 1862. His parts included
Don Juan, Papageno, Leporello, Masetto, lago,
Podestk ('La Gazza Ladra'), Isidore ('Matilda
di Shabran '),
Nabucoo, Faust (Spohr),iligoletto,
Lord AUcash ( ' Fra Diavolo ')
, Dandolo ( ' Zampa'),
Barberino (' Stradella'), and Crispino (' Crispino
e la Comare '), etc. His Rigoletto was unrivalled,
but his Don Juan was a disappointment. He
sang in America (1866-74) with great success,
and on his return to Europe he became a teacher
of singing at the Conservatorio at Madrid. In
1863 he founded a school of singing at Granada.
He died at Madrid, Jan. 8, 1890. A warm
appreciation of his powers appears in Santley's
Student and Singer.
Sebastiano, the other son, also a baritone,
born May 1814, at Venice, received instruction
from his father and the elder Romani, and
made his first appearance in 1836, at the Teatro
Pantera, Lucca, as Torquato Tasso, in which
part throughout his career he made one of his
greatest successes. He enjoyed considerable