Coccia was born in
Naples, and studied in his native city with Pietro Casella,
Fedele Fenaroli, and
Giovanni Paisiello, who introduced him to King
Joseph Bonaparte for whom he became the private musician. He wrote his first opera,
Il matrimonio per lettera di cambio, in 1807, but it was a failure; however, the following year, with the help of Paisiello, his second opera,
Il poeta fortunato, was well received. He then moved to
Venice, where he concentrated on opera semiseria, of which
Clotilde from 1815, is perhaps the best example. Accused of imitating other composers, and of producing too many uneven operas in great haste, he was eventually eclipsed by the emerging
Rossini, and left for
Lisbon, where he remained from 1820 to 1823. He then settled in
London in 1824, where he was conductor at
His Majesty's Theatre. In 1827, he wrote
Maria Stuarda for
Giuditta Pasta, which, despite her and the celebrated bass
Luigi Lablache being in the cast, was not successful, achieving only four performances. Back in Italy, he concentrated on
opera seria, and obtained some success with
Caterina di Guisa, in 1833, but by then he had to compete with the likes of
Donizetti and
Bellini. Carlo Coccia contributed to a portion of
Messa per Rossini, specifically the seventh section of
II. Sequentia,
Lacrimosa Amen. He became
Maitre de chapelle in
Novara, in 1837, and director of the Music Conservatory of
Turin, where he wrote his last opera in 1841. He died in Novara. ==Major works==