Silverio Franconetti

Silverio Franconetti also known simply as Silverio ( born June 10, 1831 in Seville, † 30 May 1889 in Seville ) was a famous Spanish flamenco singer and a major figure in the Golden Age (1869 - 1910) of flamenco. During this period many musical forms and the performances shifted from private events to professional performances in cafés cantante.

Biography

His parents were Nicolás Franconetti from Italy and María de la Concepción Aguilar, born in Alcalá de Guadaira. He spent his childhood in Morón de la Frontera and was Schneider. He learned Kale songs by listening and was inspired by Gypsy singer El Fillo on vocals. He soon decided his profession as a tailor for a career as a singer, first in Seville and later in Madrid to trade. At the age of 25, he moved to Montevideo, Uruguay where he lived as a soldier and Picador. In 1864 he returned to Spain and resumed his career as a singer again. Together with Manuel El Burrero he opened a café cantante, which was also called El Burrero. As for El Burrero the business, Silverio for the artistic quality but was crucial, they parted soon. Silverio opened his own café cantante, the Café de Silverio, in which he himself appeared regularly and in which he invited the most outstanding flamenco artists of his time. His café was in Andalusia and the rest of Spain initiated the opening of dozens of ' cafés cantante in just a few years.

Work

Silverio was strongly influenced by El Fillo, from whom he learned much of his repertoire. According to the traditional flamenco Logie he gave these songs to his own style. However, it is difficult some flamenco form to declare as his creation. The song Cabal de Silverio is often associated with El Fillo. Despite all the debates about possible assignments, he remains the most famous flamenco singers of his time.

The popularization of flamenco through the café cantante was contradicted by folklorists Demofilo, who wrote the first biography of Silverio in the book Colección de cantes flamenco. According Demofilo the popularity of the café cantante would sooner or later contradict the intention of Silverio to keep the Gypsy Genre authentic.