Teresa Saporiti
Encyclopedia
Teresa Saporiti (1763 – 17 March 1869) was an Italian soprano
, most remembered today for creating the role of Donna Anna in Mozart's opera Don Giovanni
.
Saporiti was born in Milan
. Little is known about her early life, but in 1782 she and her elder sister Antonia were engaged by the impresario
, Pasquale Bondini, to sing with his Italian opera company in Leipzig
. According to The Cambridge Mozart Encyclopedia (and several other sources), Theresa and Antonia may have been the sisters of Caterina Bondini, who was the first Zerlina in Don Giovanni and Pasquale Bondini's wife. Antonia abandoned her career early on and died in Milan in 1787. Teresa, however, stayed with the company until 1788 and performed with them in Leipzig, Dresden and Prague, most famously as Donna Anna in the 1787 world premiere of Don Giovanni. She was an attractive woman, and several authors have speculated that Don Giovanni's emphatic line in the Act II dinner scene, "Ah che piatto saporito!" (Ah, what a tasty dish!) is a pun
ning reference to Saporiti.
Between 1788 and 1789, she sang in Venice
at the Teatro Venier as Mandane in Ferdinando Bertoni
's Artaserse (November 1788); as Selene in the world premiere of Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi
's Arsace (26 December 1788); and as Armida in the world premiere of Guglielmi's Rinaldo (28 January 1789). She then appeared at La Scala
where on 20 April 1789 she sang the title role in the world premiere of Francesco Bianchi
's Nitteti. She went on to perform in Parma
, Modena
, Bologna
, Vienna
, Moscow
, and St. Petersburg. In St. Petersburg she was the prima buffa assoluta in Gennaro Astarita
's opera company and sang in operas by Astarita, Paisiello, and Cimarosa.
Saporiti also composed two aria
s, "Dormivo in mezzo al prato" and "Caro mio ben, deh senti", which were published in 1796. In her later years, she was often referred to by her married name, Teresa Saporiti-Codecasa, and lived in Milan where she held salon concerts in her house. At one of these concerts in 1841, Verdi
presented the music for his opera Nabucco
which was to premiere the following year at La Scala. Teresa Saporiti died in Milan on 17 March 1869 at the age of 106. Her daughter, Fulvia, continued corresponding with Verdi for several years afterwards.
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, most remembered today for creating the role of Donna Anna in Mozart's opera Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
.
Saporiti was born 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 ,...
. Little is known about her early life, but in 1782 she and her elder sister Antonia were engaged by the impresario
Impresario
An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...
, Pasquale Bondini, to sing with his Italian opera company in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. According to The Cambridge Mozart Encyclopedia (and several other sources), Theresa and Antonia may have been the sisters of Caterina Bondini, who was the first Zerlina in Don Giovanni and Pasquale Bondini's wife. Antonia abandoned her career early on and died in Milan in 1787. Teresa, however, stayed with the company until 1788 and performed with them in Leipzig, Dresden and Prague, most famously as Donna Anna in the 1787 world premiere of Don Giovanni. She was an attractive woman, and several authors have speculated that Don Giovanni's emphatic line in the Act II dinner scene, "Ah che piatto saporito!" (Ah, what a tasty dish!) is a pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
ning reference to Saporiti.
Between 1788 and 1789, she sang 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...
at the Teatro Venier as Mandane in Ferdinando Bertoni
Ferdinando Bertoni
Ferdinando 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...
's Artaserse (November 1788); as Selene in the world premiere of Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi
Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi
Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi was an Italian opera composer.Guglielmi was born in Massa. He received his first musical education from his father, and afterwards studied under Francesco Durante at the Conservatorio di Santa Maria di Loreto at Naples...
's Arsace (26 December 1788); and as Armida in the world premiere of Guglielmi's Rinaldo (28 January 1789). She then appeared 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...
where on 20 April 1789 she sang the title role in the world premiere of Francesco Bianchi
Francesco Bianchi (musician)
Giuseppe Francesco Bianchi was an Italian opera composer. Born at Cremona, Lombardy, he studied with Pasquale Cafaro and Niccolò Jommelli, and worked mainly in London, Paris and in all the major Italian operatic scenes, Venice, Naples, Rome, Milan, Turin, Florence.He wrote at least 78 operas of...
's Nitteti. She went on to perform in Parma
Parma
Parma 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....
, Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
, 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,...
, 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...
, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, and St. Petersburg. In St. Petersburg she was the prima buffa assoluta in Gennaro Astarita
Gennaro Astarita
Gennaro Astarita was an Italian composer, mainly of operas. The place of his birth is unknown, although he was active in Naples for many years. He became the maestro di cappella there in 1770. He is also considered to have played an important role in the development of opera in Russia...
's opera company and sang in operas by Astarita, Paisiello, and Cimarosa.
Saporiti also composed two aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
s, "Dormivo in mezzo al prato" and "Caro mio ben, deh senti", which were published in 1796. In her later years, she was often referred to by her married name, Teresa Saporiti-Codecasa, and lived in Milan where she held salon concerts in her house. At one of these concerts in 1841, Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
presented the music for his opera Nabucco
Nabucco
Nabucco is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the Biblical story and the 1836 play by Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and Francis Cornue...
which was to premiere the following year at La Scala. Teresa Saporiti died in Milan on 17 March 1869 at the age of 106. Her daughter, Fulvia, continued corresponding with Verdi for several years afterwards.
Sources
- Cairns, David, Mozart and his operas, University of California Press, 2006. ISBN 0520228987
- Campana, Alessandra, "The performance of opera buffa" in Stefano La Via and Roger ParkerRoger ParkerRoger Parker is an English musicologist, and is currently Thurston Dart Professor of Music at King's College London....
(eds.), Pensieri per un maestro: studi in onore di Pierluigi Petrobelli, EDT srl, 2002, pp 125–134. ISBN 8870636453 - Casaglia, Gherardo, "Saporiti", Almanacco Amadeus. Accessed 25 May 2009.
- Keefe, Simon, "Saporiti, Teresa" in Cliff Eisen and Simon P. Keefe (eds.), The Cambridge Mozart Encyclopedia, Cambridge University Press, 2006, pp. 444–445. ISBN 0521856590
- Deutsch, Otto Erich, Mozart, a documentary biography (English translation by Eric Blom), Stanford University Press, 1965, p. 102. ISBN 0804702330
- Kelly, Thomas Forrest, First Nights at the Opera, Yale University Press, 2006, pp. 95–96. ISBN 0300115261
- Phillips-Matz, Mary Jane, Verdi: A Biography, Oxford University Press, 1933, p. 110 and note 35, p. 794. ISBN 0193132044
- Randel, Don Michael (ed.), The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music, Harvard University Press, 1996 p. 785. ISBN 0674372999
- Sadie, Stanley (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Macmillan, 1980, Vol. 1, p. 488-489. ISBN 0333231112