Born in
Lendinara, Domenico Ronconi studied singing with Abbot Cervellini in
Rovigo. He made his debut at the
Teatro San Benedetto in Venice in 1796. From 1802 to 1805 he was committed to the
Mariinsky Theatre in
St. Petersburg. In 1808 he was heard in the premiere of
Giuseppe Maria Orlandini's
La Dama Soldato at
La Scala. Ronconi performed at the
Vienna Court Opera in 1809–1810. In
Vienna he sang before
Napoleon who later acquired his talents for his marriage celebration to
Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma in
Paris in 1810. He made appearances at the
Paris Opera in 1810–1811, and was thereafter active in Italy's leading opera houses for most of that decade. From 1819 to 1829, he was committed to the
Munich Hofoper. After his retirement from the stage in 1829, Ronconi founded a music school in Milan, which became widely known. He became a famous teacher of singing, with his notable pupils including soprano
Erminia Frezzolini and contralto
Caroline Unger. He was also the teacher of three of his sons,
Giorgio Ronconi,
Sebastiano Ronconi, and
Felice Ronconi, all of whom had successful singing careers. ==References==