Giuseppe Millico (19 January 1737 – 2 October 1802) was an Italian soprano castrato, composer, and music teacher of the 18th century who is best remembered for his performances in the operas of Christoph Willibald Gluck.
Millico was born at Terlizzi, near Bari. In 1754, he came to Naples. In 1757 in Rome, he had his first performance as a singer. From 1758 to 1765, he worked in Russia, and then returned to Italy. In 1769, Gluck adapted role of Orpheus in his Orfeo ed Euridice for Millico to perform at Parma — the original role, composed for the alto castrato Gaetano Guadagni, was transposed up for Millico's soprano voice.[1] In 1772, he travelled to London in order to perform the role of Orpheus again. In 1770, Millico created the role of Paris in Gluck's Paride ed Elena, the last in the trilogy of the composer's Italian reform operas.[1]
After performing at Venice, Florence, Rome and Milan, Millico returned to Naples in 1780, where he became highly popular as a composer and teacher.[2] He taught singing to the Bourbon princesses Maria Teresa and Luisa Maria, and to Emma Hamilton, not yet the lover of Lord Nelson.[2] During this time at Naples, he composed eight operas that are confirmed as being his work, nearly all of which premiered in Naples — two to libretti by Metastasio and one to words by Ranieri de' Calzabigi, Gluck's librettist for all three of his Italian reform operas. The published score of Millico's opera La pietà d’amore includes a message of support for Gluck's attempted reforms of opera seria. Millico also composed eight cantatas, a Salve regina, 23 arias and 22 duets unattached to a dramatic work, and 82 canzonets. These works are usually composed for harp accompaniment and were extremely popular at the time; many of them were published, both individually and as a part of collections. A collection of his keyboard compositions, Musical Trifles: a Collection of Sonatine, was published in 1791 in London.[2] He remained at Naples, where he died.
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