Baldassare Galuppi

Baldassare Galuppi ( born October 18, 1706 Burano near Venice; † January 3, 1785 in Venice) was an Italian composer of central importance for the development of opera buffa of his time, but also one of the most important representatives of opera seria. After his birth, he was referred to as il Buranello or under the Venetian form of his name Baldissara.

Life

After Galuppi had probably received a musical education from his father, a barber and amateur violinist, he composed at the age of 16 years, his first opera, Gli amici rivali a " favola pastoral ", but the completely fell through. Well, on the advice of the composer Benedetto Marcello, he studied counterpoint with Antonio Lotti, first organist of St. Mark, though he did not, as previously suggested by Marcello, for the rest of his life by composing operas took distance.

1726 he was engaged in the Venetian theaters San Samuele, San Angelo ( the " home theater " by Vivaldi ), and in the largest and most important theaters of Venice, the San Giovanni Chrysostom, which focused on the opera seria. His work there was to build operas by other composers for certain occupations, which included also the composing of insertion arias, and harpsichord. Gli'odi del sangue 1728, a Seria like almost all the operas of Galuppi's early work, the three acts he shared with his fellow students Giovanni Pescetti, had some success and paved his way forward; had already in December 1737 two of his operas, Alessandro nell'Indie in Mantua and Issipile in Turin, where Galuppi was almost simultaneously premiere probably present only in the Mantuan premiere. The music composed by him music for the Feast of St.. Mary Magdalene led to a job from 1740 to 1751 as maestro di coro at the Ospedale dei Mendicanti, which guaranteed him a degree of financial independence.

1740 appeared with Oronte his first opera for the stage of the San Giovanni Gristomo. Shortly thereafter, he was invited to London, where he led eleven operas during a one and a half year stay, including four new own works. In London, the opinion was divided about him: Handel made ​​fun of the only opera he had seen, and to Walpole his music was " a disappointment for everyone." Nevertheless, his operas were well received and other works by him have also been performed after his stay in London. Upon his return to Italy Galuppi took his position in Mendicanti up again and continued to work as a harpsichordist, composer and arranger. As he set up opera by Gaetano latilla, Rinaldo di Capua and others, he came for the first time with the style of the Neapolitan opera buffa -Roman in contact, which gradually spread to Northern Italy. His first attempt with the comic genre, La forza d' amore on a libretto by Panicelli, however, was a failure. Nevertheless, his career took as seria composer great progress, his operas were played frequently abroad and better absorbed. In May 1748 he was given the important position of vice - maestro of the Cappella Ducale of St. Mark. Shortly afterwards he had with Demetrio set a tremendous success in Vienna, the new box-office records.

Although the first setting of Goldoni's text with the seria " Gustavo I, re di svezia " took place in 1740, the collaboration for which Galuppi today is primarily known and the total for himself, but also, indirectly, for the opera buffa should should be influential, yet let to 1749 in coming: From this point on, and beginning with L' Arcadia in Brenta Galuppi worked with this congenial partner in the field of comic opera together. Fruits of this collaboration were over the next eight years 15 comic operas, including Il filosofo di campagna, Il mondo della Luna and Le Nozze who were mostly in the Venetian theaters San Samuele and San Moise premiere. These works conquered with an ease Europe's stages, which sought equal. A short time later Galuppi was the most famous opera composer of his time. As developed its activity in the field of opera seria this new career notwithstanding, he had to leave in 1751 due to overwork his post at the Ospedale dei Mendicanti. He wrote with Demofoonte both the Madrid opera engagement as well as the Turin festa teatrale La vittoria di Imeneo, which was more than twenty times listed, on the occasion of the wedding of Maria Antonietta Ferdinanda of Spain with the Piedmontese heir Vittorio Amadeo. In 1762 he was maestro di cappella at Incurabili. He held at that time a so undisputed position in Venice, that he could occupy the most important position in the musical life of the city without ill will, the maestro di coro of St. Mark.

In September 1765 Galuppi was invited to the court of Catherine the Great to Saint Petersburg. For this he composed among other works Iphigenia in Tauris, had with a performance of Dido abbandonata great success and was devoted to church music, 1768, more and more formed the focus of his work after his return to Venice. His last opera was the dramma giocoso La serva by livigna of in 1773. Nevertheless, Galuppi was very busy with his other musical and social activities. He was visited by the future Czar Paul and directed the musical honors of Pope Pius VI. in Venice. From 1784 Galuppi had increased health problems, but continued to exercise his compositional and musical duties. Shortly before his death on January 3, 1785, he composed his annual Christmas Fair for the St. Mark's Basilica.

The music historian Charles Burney, who kept him after Jommelli and before Piccini and Sacchini, for the most inspired Venetian composer, found him on the occasion of a visit by the year 1770 as charming and witty, he spoke against him from his office as "the space in which I spot paper ". He described Galuppi as a " figure of small and thin, but he has the appearance of a gentleman ," and he was impressed that Galuppi's excellent reputation in Venice seemed to be based on his character as well as in his public capacity as a musician. " A most excellent composer " was the assessment of hatred in a letter to Pietro Metastasio, and his longtime partner Goldoni honored him with the following dedication: " What kind of music! Which style! What masterpieces! "

Work

Galuppi's music history main merit lies certainly in the impulses which, either he could, along with any Goldoni, the opera buffa. The best example of this cooperation is the ensemble finale, which Galuppi and Goldoni developed a new, through-composed form, which should be the style for all opera buffa from this time to Haydn, Mozart, Rossini and many others. Goldoni's comic, spiced with puns and sometimes sentimental texts can be found in Galuppi's elegant, effortless melodies echo their equivalent, whose rhythmic instinct that contributes to his own joke of Goldoni's verses. Numerous contrasts in tempo, key and time signature reflect the diverse and surprising twists and turns of the plot and the facets of emotions within a musical " number" resist, without this having recourse to the recitative, as was customary. Form, melody and harmony here arrange themselves clearly under the forward thrust of the plot.

Although the name Galuppi So, partly rightly, from today's point of view associated with the opera buffa, wore in his lifetime his Opere serie at least as much to his glory in what was certainly due to the fact that Venice since Monteverdi rather a center of Seria represented and the Neapolitan opera buffa coinage had become established here only. Despite the enormous success of Goldoni's operas, which conquered the whole of Europe by storm, Galuppi were listed serious operas during his lifetime often as they numerically dominate clearly in his work; among a total number of about one hundred operas are located just 21 comical works. Goods of this type yet geared to the da capo aria, with its typical for time extensions and modifications of his early operas - as AABAA, AA'BAA' or ABCAB forms and metrical and tempo changes for the central parts - so his style later became more innovative.

Generally Galuppi is clear in the Italian tradition of the debtor in the first place, a charming, simple and beautiful melody music, with a clear, transparent way that leaves plenty of room for virtuosity and emotion. In an interview with Burney he called the most important elements of good music as " vaghezza, chiarezza e buona modulazione " ( Grace, clarity and beautiful tone ). Its often surprising musical ideas effectively characterize people and situations and sometimes open new perspectives, but always arrange the statement of original text below.

Galuppi, as conductor and arranger, an absolute man of theater practice, was a master of dramatic expedient use of the orchestra, whose main features are motivic and thematic links with the singing voice, coupled with a clear orchestral writing, which leaves enough room for the ensemble on stage. The Orchestra of St. Mark's Basilica, which he led for a long time, was regarded as the best in Italy. Likewise was the main focus of his compositional activity, since its earliest years, the setting up and customizing of arias and vocal parts for certain singers, a practice that is not an integral part of the former Italian theater life. Galuppi had, thanks to its position in Venice, one of the " capitals" of Italian opera, the opportunity to work with the most famous singers of his time, as Caffarelli, Gioacchino Conti, Caterina Gabrieli, Guadagni, Amorevoli and Manzuoli.

Although Galuppi music gained historical significance only in the opera profession, including his piano work is noteworthy. There are small pieces that can be classified between Scarlatti and Haydn. They show individual character and avoid the all too short-winded melody, as is typical in the early classical example for Cimarosa and the younger Haydn. He also composed numerous instrumental works.

Operas ( selection)

101144
de