Marcos Portugal
Marcos António da Fonseca Simao, known as the Marcos António Portugal ( born March 24, 1762, Lisbon, † February 7, 1830 in Rio de Janeiro) was a Portuguese composer of operas and sacred music of the classical period.
Life
Marcos António Portugal studied from 1771 to João de Sousa Carvalho on Seminário Patriarcal in Lisbon composition, vocals and organ. 1783 Portugal was added as an organist and composer at Seminário Patriarcal in the Brotherhood of Santa Cecilia. During this time his long association began with the Portuguese Royal House, for its chapels he created his numerous sacred compositions. Portugal in 1785 set as Kapellmeister at the Lisbon Teatro do salite and composed for this theater a number of Farsas and interludes until 1792, when he traveled to Naples for the purpose of deepening his opera practice, but there has composed surprising themselves and with the opera buffa " La confusione della somiglianza " could achieve a quick success. Then he could bring different buffo operas and farces in Italy and the rest of Europe to successfully performance, while his efforts in the field of opera seria were less well received.
In 1800 he returned to Lisbon, where he was selected as director of the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos. He shared that position from 1803 to 1807 with Valentino Fioravant, who was responsible for buffo operas, while Portugal, with its own opera company, for the range of Seria had the responsibility. This explains that he wrote twelve opere serie in this time, but only a buffa, which could gain greater popularity outside of Portugal, only the latter.
In 1807, when the Prince Regent and later King John VI. his court moved to the Palace of Mafra, Portugal created an unusual number of sacred works, which were intended for performances in the palace basilica, with its six organs. When Napoleon Bonaparte invaded in Lisbon in November 1807, Portugal remained in the city. On the occasion of the birthday of the emperor, a revised version of his opera demo Fonte was given, which was first performed in 1797 in Milan.
In 1811 he embarked for Rio de Janeiro, where the royal family lived since 1808. He got the job as a royal court composer and was a music teacher of the children of the Prince. 1815 Portugal traveled to Milan, where his carnival opera Adriano in Siria was given. When the Court in 1821 returned to Lisbon, Portugal remained in the service of his pupil, later Emperor Peter I of Brazil. After 1825, he no longer composed, with a few become known sacred works.
Work
Portugal composed throughout his career more than 40 works for the stage and music, among those of the pure number when seen no genus is particularly striking: Many farsas, dramma giocoso per musica and serio, but also interludes are represented. His fame, however, seemed to be limited mainly to his comic works.
Stylistically, Portugal owes much of the proven Neapolitan tradition of Cimarosa and others, which it is closely arrested, but which at that time represents a certain conservative element.