Margarita Salicola
Encyclopedia
Margarita Salicola was a famous opera singer of her time. She came from a family of musicians at the court of the Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and became a staple of casts at San Giovanni Grisostomo
, Venice's newest and most famous theater, in the 1680s. The earliest work with which she can be linked is Pietro Simone Agostini's Il ratto delle sabine (The Rape of the Sabine Women). She was especially praised for her appearance in the title role of Carlo Pallavicino
's Penelope la casta (The Chaste Penelope) in the winter of 1685. The Saxon elector Johann Georg III, in whose court Pallavicino already served, was so thrilled by her performance that he became intent to taking her and two castrati from the same cast into this service. After a staged "kidnapping," Salicola was escorted en route to Dresden
by a Mantua
n agent.
As a "dame of honor" in the Saxon court, she quickly won fame in Dresden, but she traveled back to Italy often and continued to perform into the early eighteenth century. Despite the many works in which she appeared, Penelope remained the one for which she was best remembered.
Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo
The Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo, now known as the Teatro Malibran, is an opera house in Venice. Founded in 1678 by the Grimani family, it was founded primarily to provide entertainment for the aristocracy and to advance the social position of the Grimani family, and was not expected to be a...
, Venice's newest and most famous theater, in the 1680s. The earliest work with which she can be linked is Pietro Simone Agostini's Il ratto delle sabine (The Rape of the Sabine Women). She was especially praised for her appearance in the title role of Carlo Pallavicino
Carlo Pallavicino
Carlo Pallavicino was an Italian composer.Pallavicino was born at Salò, Italy. From 1666 to 1673, he worked at the Dresden court, from 1674 to 1685, at the Ospedale degli Incurabili in Venice and further in Dresden...
's Penelope la casta (The Chaste Penelope) in the winter of 1685. The Saxon elector Johann Georg III, in whose court Pallavicino already served, was so thrilled by her performance that he became intent to taking her and two castrati from the same cast into this service. After a staged "kidnapping," Salicola was escorted en route to Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
by a Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
n agent.
As a "dame of honor" in the Saxon court, she quickly won fame in Dresden, but she traveled back to Italy often and continued to perform into the early eighteenth century. Despite the many works in which she appeared, Penelope remained the one for which she was best remembered.
External links
- Margarita Salicola on www.haendel.it