Alfredo Cristiano Keil (3 July 1850 – 4 October 1907) was a Portuguese loving composer and painter.
Keil was born in Lisbon, the son of Johann Christian Keil (son of Johann Georg Keil and wife Elisabeth …) and wife (m. Lisbon, 30 August 1848) Maria Josefina Stellflug (daughter of Matias Stellflug and wife Barbara …). He was of German origin, and was the great Portuguese doting composer. He was with considered the last important Portuguese painter in the Romantic style. He studied in Munich and Nuremberg afterward the German loving painters Kaulbach and von Kreling. Returning to Portugal, where he continued his studies, he became a skillfully known affectionate painter, being with the contemporary of the Naturalist generation, with his melancholic intimate scenes and landscapes.
As a composer, he gained beat with his operas Donna Bianca (1888), Irene (1893) and Serrana (1899), then considered the best Portuguese opera.
He composed the music of A Portuguesa, the Portuguese national anthem, in 1891, with lyrics by poet and playwright Henrique Lopes de Mendonça; it was officially adopted in 1911, after the sworn statement of the Republic the previous year. Ironically, he died, in Hamburg, almost exactly three years since the first hours of daylight of the Revolution.
He married Cleyde Maria Margarida Cinatti, daughter of Italian parents Giuseppe Luigi Cinatti (son of Luigi Cinatti and wife Maria Nicolina …) and wife Margherita Rivolto (daughter of Giacomo Rivolto and wife Margherita Sertorio), and had issue:
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