Caterina Gabrielli
Encyclopedia
Caterina Gabrielli was an Italian soprano.
, in Rome. With the support of the prince, she studied with García
and Porpora
and at the L'Ospedaletto conservatory in Venice
, and as a sign of gratitude she decided to take her patron's family name as her stage name. Her humble roots were remembered by audiences in her nickname La cochetta ("little cook"), which was actually recorded in the librettos published for her early appearances at the Teatro San Moisè
in Venice
during the 1754-55 operatic season.
In 1747 she sang at the theater of Lucca
in Sofonisba by Baldassare Galuppi and appeared in 1750 she appeared in Niccolò Jommelli
's Didone. Her first distinguished season of singing was in Venice in 1754-55. She then was hired by the imperial court of Vienna
and sang in a serious of dramatic works of various types written by Christoph Willibald von Gluck: La danza (1755), Le cinesi (1755), L'innocenza giustificata (1755), and Il re pastore (1756). She also appeared in two sacred works of Georg Christoph Wagenseil
: Gioas re ti Giuda (1755) and Il roveto di Mosè (1756). She flourished in Italy for the remainder of the 1750s, notably appearing in the world premieres of Pasquale Errichelli
's Siroe
(1758, Emira) and Gaetano Latilla
's Ezio
(1758, Fulvia).
In 1760 Gabrielli returned to Vienna to appears in Gluck's Tetide, Giuseppe Scarlatti
's Issipile, and Johann Adolf Hasse's Alciade al Bivio. A second return to Italy brought even greater prestige. In 1767, she created the role of Argene in Josef Mysliveček
's opera Il Bellerofonte
at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples
, thereby helping the composer break through to the upper echelon of operatic masters in Italy. In the period 1772-75, she was employed at the imperial court of St. Petersburg, appearing mainly in operas of Tommaso Traetta
. She then moved to London for several years.
During her last period of activity in Italy, in the title role of Mysliveček's Armida
, performed in Milan
during carnival of 1780 as one of the earliest operas produced at La Scala
, she was forced to interrupt her performances in order to give birth to a baby daughter, the identity of whose father remains unknown. She also suffered the indignities of having to substitute arias by Giuseppe Sarti
for the ones provided for her by Mysliveček and being taunted for her age by the Milanese audience. Although Gabrielli and Mysliveček were close artistic collaborators at times, there is no documentation to support reports that they were romantically involved; the earliest mention of a love affair with Mysliveček is found in the fifth edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1954). She was actually closer to the composer Traetta, who was probably responsible for having her brought to St. Petersburg.
After her last known operatic appearances in Venice in 1782, she retired to Bologna
, where she died in 1796. She was the most important soprano of her age. A woman of great personal charm and dynamism, Charles Burney referred to her as "the most intelligent and best-bred virtuosa" that he had ever encountered. The excellence of her vocal artistry is reflected in the fact that she was able to secure long-term engagements in three of the most prestigious operatic centers in her day outside of Italy (Vienna, St. Petersburg, and London).
The singer Francesca Gabrielli (born ca. 1735) was probably her sister. She frequently traveled with Caterina and sometimes appeared in lesser roles in the same operas that featured her as prima donna
.
Source: Claudio Sartori. I libretti italiani a stampa dalle origini al 1800. Cuneo, 1992-1994.
Biography
Caterina Gabrielli was the daughter of a cook in the service of prince GabrielliGabrielli
220px|right|The Gabrielli Madonna, by Mello da Gubbio. Gubbio, Pinacoteca Civica.Giovanni Gabrielli, lord of Gubbio, is introduced to the Blessed Virgin Mary by a group of Saints...
, in Rome. With the support of the prince, she studied with García
Francisco Javier García Fajer
Francisco Javier García Fajer «El Españoleto» was a Spanish composer of the Italianate galante school.He studied at the choir school at Zaragoza Cathedral...
and Porpora
Nicola Porpora
Nicola Porpora was an Italian composer of Baroque operas and teacher of singing, whose most famous singing student was the castrato Farinelli. One of his other students was composer Matteo Capranica.-Biography:Porpora was born in Naples...
and at the L'Ospedaletto conservatory in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, and as a sign of gratitude she decided to take her patron's family name as her stage name. Her humble roots were remembered by audiences in her nickname La cochetta ("little cook"), which was actually recorded in the librettos published for her early appearances at the Teatro San Moisè
Teatro San Moisè
The Teatro San Moisè was an opera house in Venice, active from 1640 to 1818. It was in a prominent location near the Palazzo Giustinian and the church of San Moisè at the entrance to the Grand Canal....
in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
during the 1754-55 operatic season.
In 1747 she sang at the theater of Lucca
Lucca
Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
in Sofonisba by Baldassare Galuppi and appeared in 1750 she appeared in Niccolò Jommelli
Niccolò Jommelli
Niccolò Jommelli was an Italian composer. He was born in Aversa and died in Naples. Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he made important changes to opera and reduced the importance of star singers.-Early life:Jommelli was born to Francesco Antonio Jommelli and...
's Didone. Her first distinguished season of singing was in Venice in 1754-55. She then was hired by the imperial court of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and sang in a serious of dramatic works of various types written by Christoph Willibald von Gluck: La danza (1755), Le cinesi (1755), L'innocenza giustificata (1755), and Il re pastore (1756). She also appeared in two sacred works of Georg Christoph Wagenseil
Georg Christoph Wagenseil
Georg Christoph Wagenseil was an Austrian composer.He was born in Vienna, and became a favorite pupil of the Vienna court'sKapellmeister, Johann Joseph Fux. Wagenseil himself composed for the...
: Gioas re ti Giuda (1755) and Il roveto di Mosè (1756). She flourished in Italy for the remainder of the 1750s, notably appearing in the world premieres of Pasquale Errichelli
Pasquale Errichelli
Pasquale Errichelli was an Italian composer and organist based in the city of Naples. Trained at the Conservatorio della Pietà dei Turchini, his compositional output consists of 7 operas, 2 cantatas, 1 symphony, 3 sonatas, several concert arias, and the oratorio Gerosolina protetta...
's Siroe
Siroe (Errichelli)
Siroe is a dramma per musica or opera seria in 3 Acts by composer Pasquale Errichelli. The opera uses an Italian language libretto by Pietro Metastasio. The opera premiered at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples on 26 December 1758. Vincenzo Re designed the sets for the premiere production.-Roles:...
(1758, Emira) and Gaetano Latilla
Gaetano Latilla
Gaetano Latilla was an Italian opera composer, the most important of the period immediately preceding Niccolò Piccinni .Latilla was born in Bari, and studied at the Loreto Conservatory in Naples...
's Ezio
Ezio (Latilla)
Ezio is an opera eroica or "heroic" opera in 3 Acts by Gaetano Latilla. The opera uses an Italian language libretto by Pietro Metastasio. Metastasio's libretto was partly inspired by Jean Racine's play Britannicus and had earlier been set to music by George Frideric Handel in 1732...
(1758, Fulvia).
In 1760 Gabrielli returned to Vienna to appears in Gluck's Tetide, Giuseppe Scarlatti
Giuseppe Scarlatti
Giuseppe Scarlatti was a composer of opere serie and opere buffe. He worked in Rome from 1739 to 1741, and from 1752 to 1754 in Florence, Pisa, Lucca and Turin. From 1752 to 1754, and again from 1756 to 1759, he worked in Venice and for short periods in Milan and Barcelona...
's Issipile, and Johann Adolf Hasse's Alciade al Bivio. A second return to Italy brought even greater prestige. In 1767, she created the role of Argene in Josef Mysliveček
Josef Myslivecek
Josef Mysliveček was a Czech composer who contributed to the formation of late eighteenth-century classicism in music...
's opera Il Bellerofonte
Il Bellerofonte
Il Bellerofonte is an 18th-century Italian opera in three acts by the Czech composer Josef Mysliveček. It conforms to the serious type that was typically set in the distant past. The libretto, based on the Greek legend of Bellerophon, was written by Giuseppe Bonecchi...
at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, thereby helping the composer break through to the upper echelon of operatic masters in Italy. In the period 1772-75, she was employed at the imperial court of St. Petersburg, appearing mainly in operas of Tommaso Traetta
Tommaso Traetta
Tommaso Michele Francesco Saverio Traetta was an Italian composer.-Biography:Traetta was born in Bitonto, a town near Bari, near the top of the heel of the boot of Italy. He eventually became a pupil of the composer, singer and teacher Nicola Porpora in Naples, and scored a first success with his...
. She then moved to London for several years.
During her last period of activity in Italy, in the title role of Mysliveček's Armida
Armida (Mysliveček)
Armida is an opera in three acts by Josef Mysliveček set to a libretto by Gianambrogio Migliavacca based on an earlier libretto by Philippe Quinault. It is one of many operas set at the time of the Crusades that is based on characters and incidents from Torquato Tasso's epic poem La Gerusalemme...
, performed in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
during carnival of 1780 as one of the earliest operas produced at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
, she was forced to interrupt her performances in order to give birth to a baby daughter, the identity of whose father remains unknown. She also suffered the indignities of having to substitute arias by Giuseppe Sarti
Giuseppe Sarti
Giuseppe Sarti was an Italian opera composer.-Biography:He was born at Faenza. His date of birth is not known, but he was baptised on 1 December 1729. Some earlier sources say he was born on 28 December, but his baptism certificate proves the later date impossible...
for the ones provided for her by Mysliveček and being taunted for her age by the Milanese audience. Although Gabrielli and Mysliveček were close artistic collaborators at times, there is no documentation to support reports that they were romantically involved; the earliest mention of a love affair with Mysliveček is found in the fifth edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1954). She was actually closer to the composer Traetta, who was probably responsible for having her brought to St. Petersburg.
After her last known operatic appearances in Venice in 1782, she retired to Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, where she died in 1796. She was the most important soprano of her age. A woman of great personal charm and dynamism, Charles Burney referred to her as "the most intelligent and best-bred virtuosa" that he had ever encountered. The excellence of her vocal artistry is reflected in the fact that she was able to secure long-term engagements in three of the most prestigious operatic centers in her day outside of Italy (Vienna, St. Petersburg, and London).
The singer Francesca Gabrielli (born ca. 1735) was probably her sister. She frequently traveled with Caterina and sometimes appeared in lesser roles in the same operas that featured her as prima donna
Prima donna
Originally used in opera or Commedia dell'arte companies, "prima donna" is Italian for "first lady." The term was used to designate the leading female singer in the opera company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given. The prima donna was normally, but not necessarily, a soprano...
.
Operatic roles in Italy
- Sofonisba by Baldassare Galuppi (LuccaLuccaLucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
, 1747) - Didone by Niccolò Jommelli (NaplesNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, 1750) - Ermione in Antigona by Baldassare Galuppi (VeniceVeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, 1754) - Ermione in Astianatte by Antonio Gaetano Pampani (Venice, 1755)
- Emira in Solimano by Domenico FischiettiDomenico FischiettiDomenico Fischietti was an Italian composer.He was born in Naples and studied at the Conservatory of Sant'Onofrio Porta Capuana under the leadership of Leonardo Leo and Francesco Durante....
(Venice, 1755) - Lisinga in L’eroe cinese by Gaetano Piazza (MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, 1758) - Ipermestra in Ipermestra by Baldassare Galuppi (Milan, 1758)
- Fulvia in EzioEzio (Latilla)Ezio is an opera eroica or "heroic" opera in 3 Acts by Gaetano Latilla. The opera uses an Italian language libretto by Pietro Metastasio. Metastasio's libretto was partly inspired by Jean Racine's play Britannicus and had earlier been set to music by George Frideric Handel in 1732...
by Gaetano Latilla (Naples, 1758) - Beroe in the pasticcioPasticcioIn music, a pasticcio or pastiche is an opera or other musical work composed of works by different composers who may or may not have been working together, or an adaptation or localization of an existing work that is loose, unauthorized, or inauthentic.-Etymology:The term is first attested in the...
Nitteti (GenoaGenoaGenoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, 1758) - Dircea in Demofoonte by Baldassare Galuppi (PaduaPaduaPadua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
, 1758) - Cleofide in an anonymous Alessandro nell’Indie (Milan, 1759)
- Dircea in Demofoonte by Antonio Ferradini (Milan, 1759)
- Aricia in Ippolito ed Aricia by Tommaso TraettaTommaso TraettaTommaso Michele Francesco Saverio Traetta was an Italian composer.-Biography:Traetta was born in Bitonto, a town near Bari, near the top of the heel of the boot of Italy. He eventually became a pupil of the composer, singer and teacher Nicola Porpora in Naples, and scored a first success with his...
(ParmaParmaParma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
, 1759) - Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito by Baldassare Galuppi (TurinTurinTurin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, 1760) - Lavinia in Enea nel Lazio by Tommaso Traetta (Turin, 1760)
- Telaire in I tindaridi by Tommaso Traetta (Parma, 1760)
- Cleonice in an anonymous Demetrio (Padua, 1761)
- Zenobia in an anonymous Zenobia (Lucca, 1761)
- Cleonice in Demetrio by Giuseppe Ponzo (Turin, 1762)
- Ifigenia in Ifigenia in Aulide by Ferdinando BertoniFerdinando BertoniFerdinando Bertoni was an Italian composer and organist.He was born in Salò, and began his music studies in Brescia, not far from his birthplace. Around 1740 he went to Bologna, where he studied till 1745 with the famous music theorist Giovanni Battista Martini...
(Turin, 1762) - Cleofide in Alessandro nell’Indie by Tommaso Traetta (Reggio EmiliaReggio EmiliaReggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....
, 1762) - Fulvia in Ezio by Giuseppe ScarlattiGiuseppe ScarlattiGiuseppe Scarlatti was a composer of opere serie and opere buffe. He worked in Rome from 1739 to 1741, and from 1752 to 1754 in Florence, Pisa, Lucca and Turin. From 1752 to 1754, and again from 1756 to 1759, he worked in Venice and for short periods in Milan and Barcelona...
(Lucca, 1762) - Emirena in Adriano in Siria by Giuseppe Colla (Milan, 1763)
- Didone in Didone abbandonata by Tommaso Traetta (Milan, 1763)
- Aristea in L’olimpiade by Pietro Guglielmi (NaplesNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, 1763) - Issipile in the pasticcio Issipile (Naples, 1763)
- Berenice in Lucio Vero by Antonio SacchiniAntonio SacchiniAntonio Maria Gasparo Sacchini was an Italian opera composer.Sacchini was born in Florence, but was raised in Naples, where he received his musical education at the San Onofrio conservatory. He wrote his first operas in Naples, thereafter moving to Venice, then London and eventually Paris, where...
(Naples, 1764) - Marzia in Catone in Utica by Johann Christian BachJohann Christian BachJohann Christian Bach was a composer of the Classical era, the eleventh and youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. He is sometimes referred to as 'the London Bach' or 'the English Bach', due to his time spent living in the British capital...
(Naples, 1764) - Marzia in Cajo Mario by Niccolò PiccinniNiccolò PiccinniNiccolò Piccinni was an Italian composer of symphonies, sacred music, chamber music, and opera. Although he is somewhat obscure, even to music lovers today, Piccinni was one of the most popular composers of opera—particularly the Neapolitan opera buffa—of his day...
(Naples, 1765) - Climene in Il grand Cid by Niccolò Piccinni (Naples, 1766)
- Berenice in Lucio Vero by Antonio Sacchini (Naples, 1766)
- Argene in Il BellerofonteIl BellerofonteIl Bellerofonte is an 18th-century Italian opera in three acts by the Czech composer Josef Mysliveček. It conforms to the serious type that was typically set in the distant past. The libretto, based on the Greek legend of Bellerophon, was written by Giuseppe Bonecchi...
by Josef MyslivečekJosef MyslivecekJosef Mysliveček was a Czech composer who contributed to the formation of late eighteenth-century classicism in music...
(Naples, 1767) - Clelia in Il trionfo di CleliaIl trionfo di CleliaIl trionfo di Clelia is an 18th-century Italian opera in three acts by the Czech composer Josef Mysliveček composed to a libretto by the Italian poet Metastasio. It was common in the 1760s for composers to set Metastasian texts written decades before...
by Josef Mysliveček (Turin, 1768) - Ariene in Creso by Pasquale CafaroPasquale CafaroPasquale Cafaro was an Italian composer who was particularly known for his operas and the significant amount of sacred music he produced, including oratorios, motets, and masses....
(Turin, 1768) - Dircea in Demofoonte by Baldassare Galuppi (PalermoPalermoPalermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, 1768) - Berenice in the pasticcio Antigono (Palermo, 1769)
- Aristea in the anonymous L’olimpiade (Palermo, 1770)
- Cleonice in the pasticcio Demetrio (Palermo, 1770)
- Armida in the anonymous Armida (Lucca, 1778)
- Armida in Armida by Josef Mysliveček (Milan, 1780)
- Beroe in La Nitteti by Pasquale AnfossiPasquale AnfossiBonifacio Domenico Pasquale Anfossi was an Italian opera composer. Born in Taggia, Liguria, he studied with Niccolò Piccinni and Antonio Sacchini, and worked mainly in London, Venice and Rome....
(Venice, 1780) - Semiri in Arbace by Giovanni Battista Borghi (Venice, 1782)
- Semira in Zemira by Pasquale Anfossi (Venice, 1782)
Source: Claudio Sartori. I libretti italiani a stampa dalle origini al 1800. Cuneo, 1992-1994.