Tommaso Traetta
Encyclopedia
Tommaso Michele Francesco Saverio Traetta (30 March 1727 – 6 April 1779) was an Italian
composer
.
, 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 opera Il Farnace, in Naples, in 1751. Around this time he seems too have come into contact with Niccolò Jommelli
. From here on in, Traetta seems to have had regular commissions from all around the country, running the gamut of the usual classical subjects. Then in 1759, something untoward happened that was to trigger Traetta's first operatic re-think. He accepted a post as court composer at Parma
.
Parma, it has to be said, was hardly an important place in the grand scheme of things: a minor dukedom
, but a dukedom with a difference, because the incumbent was Spanish
and his wife was French
. Parma had regularly changed owners between Austria
ns and Spaniards and the current Duke was the Infante Felipe. And in one of those inter-dynastic marriages which so complicate the history of Europe, he had married the eldest daughter of Louis XV
. With the result that there was currently in Parma a craze for all things French, and in particular a fixation with the splendour of Versailles
. Which is where the influence of the composer Jean-Philippe Rameau
comes in. It was in Parma that Traetta's operas first began to move in new directions.
And as a result there is no doubt that Antigona
, his 1772 opera for St. Petersburg, was amongst his most forward-looking, the closest he approached the famous reform ideals usually associated with Gluck, but in fact a current that was felt by several other composers of the time.
It was in Parma, at the court of the Bourbon
Duke there, that Traetta ran unexpectedly headlong into some fresh air from France. In Parma in 1759, he found a number of significant collaborators, and he was fortunate in finding that the man in charge of opera there was a highly-cultivated Paris
-trained Frenchman, Guillaume du Tillot
, who had the complete cultural portfolio among all his other responsibilities as Don Felipe's First Minister. To judge from the general stylistic influence in terms of grand scenic effects, and from some specific musical borrowings, Traetta had access in Parma to copies and reports of Rameau's operas. To their influence, Traetta added some ingredients of his own, especially a feeling for dramatic colour, in the shape of his melodies and his use of the orchestra
. The result was a combination of Italian, French and German elements, which even anticipate the Sturm und Drang
movement that was to flourish a few years later, further North.
The first fruit of this francophilia was the opera Traetta wrote in 1759. Ippolito ed Aricia
owes a lot to Rameau's great tragédie lyrique of 1733, Hippolyte et Aricie
. But Traetta's is no mere translation of Rameau. Frugoni, Traetta's librettist in Parma completely reworked the original French version by abbé Pellegrin, which itself had been based on Racine
, in its turn stemming ultimately from ancient Greek roots - the Hippolytus
of Euripides
. Frugoni retained certain key French elements: the five-act structure as against the customary three; the occasional opportunities for French-style spectacle and effects and in particular the dances and divertissements that end each of those five acts
; and a more elaborate use of the chorus
than for instance in Hasse
and Graun
and Jommelli.
Through the following decade, the 1760s, Tommaso Traetta composed music unceasingly—not just opera seria
, either. There was a clutch of comedies as well, to say nothing of sacred music composed to imperial order. But opera seria was the generally what her imperial majesty commanded. Traetta's first operas for Catherine the Great seem to have been largely revivals and revisions of his earlier works. But then in 1772 came Antigona—and for whatever reason, whether it was Traetta's own inclination or the promptings of his librettist Marco Coltellini
or the availability of the soprano
Caterina Gabrielli
, the new opera reached areas of feeling and intensity he had never explored before, even in Parma.
The Court Opera of Catherine the Great performed in a theatre inside the Winter Palace
itself, created by the architect Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli—another Italian—who was the architect
of many buildings in St. Petersburg, including the Hermitage
. The theatre was quite close to the Empress' own apartments. Too close, in fact, because in 1783, that is to say some time after Traetta's departure, she ordered it to be closed and a new one built. Some years before that she had already booted out Rastrelli, who had been the favourite architect of her predecessor. Traetta too was to depart, though possibly it was the harsh climate of Peter the Great's still relatively new and very damp capital, rather than the Empress' boot, that led him to leave St Petersburg in 1775, and resume the opera composer's peripatetic life, even writing two works for London
: Germondo in 1776 and Telemaco the year after.
Traetta died two years later, in April 1779, in Venice
, and by then, opera seria was for a variety of reasons, artistic and financial, a threatened species. It was to take a genius to prolong its active life, above all in a masterpiece from 1781 called Idomeneo
, and then again one final time 10 years after that, using an old warhorse of a Metastasio
text for a libretto: La clemenza di Tito
. The composer of this final flash of opera seria glory to outshine them all, was no stranger to Naples and to Neapolitan opera—Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Biography
Traetta was born in BitontoBitonto
Bitonto is a city and comune in the province of Bari , Italy. It is nicknamed the "City of Olives" due to the numerous olive groves surrounding the city.-Geography:...
, a town near Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
, near the top of the heel of the boot of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. He eventually became a pupil of the composer, singer and teacher Nicola 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...
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...
, and scored a first success with his opera Il Farnace, in Naples, in 1751. Around this time he seems too have come into contact with 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...
. From here on in, Traetta seems to have had regular commissions from all around the country, running the gamut of the usual classical subjects. Then in 1759, something untoward happened that was to trigger Traetta's first operatic re-think. He accepted a post as court composer at 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....
.
Parma, it has to be said, was hardly an important place in the grand scheme of things: a minor dukedom
Duchy
A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess.Some duchies were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms only during the Modern era . In contrast, others were subordinate districts of those kingdoms that unified either partially or completely during the Medieval era...
, but a dukedom with a difference, because the incumbent was Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and his wife was French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Parma had regularly changed owners between Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
ns and Spaniards and the current Duke was the Infante Felipe. And in one of those inter-dynastic marriages which so complicate the history of Europe, he had married the eldest daughter of Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
. With the result that there was currently in Parma a craze for all things French, and in particular a fixation with the splendour of Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
. Which is where the influence of the composer Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau was one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the Baroque era. He replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera and is also considered the leading French composer for the harpsichord of his time, alongside François...
comes in. It was in Parma that Traetta's operas first began to move in new directions.
And as a result there is no doubt that Antigona
Antigona
Antigona is an opera in three acts in Italian by the composer Tommaso Traetta. The libretto, by Marco Coltellini, is based on the tragedy Antigone by Sophocles.-Performance history:...
, his 1772 opera for St. Petersburg, was amongst his most forward-looking, the closest he approached the famous reform ideals usually associated with Gluck, but in fact a current that was felt by several other composers of the time.
It was in Parma, at the court of the Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
Duke there, that Traetta ran unexpectedly headlong into some fresh air from France. In Parma in 1759, he found a number of significant collaborators, and he was fortunate in finding that the man in charge of opera there was a highly-cultivated Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
-trained Frenchman, Guillaume du Tillot
Guillaume du Tillot
Léon Guillaume Tillot was a French politician infused with liberal ideals of the Enlightenment, who from 1759 was the minister of the Duchy of Parma under Philip, Duke of Parma and his wife Princess Louise-Élisabeth of France...
, who had the complete cultural portfolio among all his other responsibilities as Don Felipe's First Minister. To judge from the general stylistic influence in terms of grand scenic effects, and from some specific musical borrowings, Traetta had access in Parma to copies and reports of Rameau's operas. To their influence, Traetta added some ingredients of his own, especially a feeling for dramatic colour, in the shape of his melodies and his use of the orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
. The result was a combination of Italian, French and German elements, which even anticipate the Sturm und Drang
Sturm und Drang
Sturm und Drang is a proto-Romantic movement in German literature and music taking place from the late 1760s through the early 1780s, in which individual subjectivity and, in particular, extremes of emotion were given free expression in reaction to the perceived constraints of rationalism...
movement that was to flourish a few years later, further North.
The first fruit of this francophilia was the opera Traetta wrote in 1759. Ippolito ed Aricia
Ippolito ed Aricia
Ippolito ed Aricia is a "reform opera" in five acts by Tommaso Traetta with an Italian libretto by Carlo Innocenzo Frugoni. The opera is based upon abbé Simon-Joseph Pellegrin's libretto for Rameau's earlier opera Hippolyte et Aricie, which was in turn based on Racine's tragedy Phèdre...
owes a lot to Rameau's great tragédie lyrique of 1733, Hippolyte et Aricie
Hippolyte et Aricie
Hippolyte et Aricie was the first opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau, which opened to great controversy at the Académie Royale de Musique, Paris on October 1, 1733. The libretto, by Abbé Simon-Joseph Pellegrin, is based on Racine's tragedy Phèdre. The opera takes the traditional form of a tragédie en...
. But Traetta's is no mere translation of Rameau. Frugoni, Traetta's librettist in Parma completely reworked the original French version by abbé Pellegrin, which itself had been based on Racine
Jean Racine
Jean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...
, in its turn stemming ultimately from ancient Greek roots - the Hippolytus
Hippolytus (play)
Hippolytus is an Ancient Greek tragedy by Euripides, based on the myth of Hippolytus, son of Theseus. The play was first produced for the City Dionysia of Athens in 428 BC and won first prize as part of a trilogy....
of Euripides
Euripides
Euripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
. Frugoni retained certain key French elements: the five-act structure as against the customary three; the occasional opportunities for French-style spectacle and effects and in particular the dances and divertissements that end each of those five acts
Act (theater)
An act is a division or unit of a drama. The number of acts in a production can range from one to five or more, depending on how a writer structures the outline of the story...
; and a more elaborate use of the chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
than for instance in Hasse
Johann Adolph Hasse
Johann Adolph Hasse was an 18th-century German composer, singer and teacher of music. Immensely popular in his time, Hasse was best known for his prolific operatic output, though he also composed a considerable quantity of sacred music...
and Graun
Carl Heinrich Graun
Carl Heinrich Graun was a German composer and tenor singer. Along with Johann Adolf Hasse, he is considered to be the most important German composer of Italian opera of his time.-Biography:...
and Jommelli.
Through the following decade, the 1760s, Tommaso Traetta composed music unceasingly—not just opera seria
Opera seria
Opera seria is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to c. 1770...
, either. There was a clutch of comedies as well, to say nothing of sacred music composed to imperial order. But opera seria was the generally what her imperial majesty commanded. Traetta's first operas for Catherine the Great seem to have been largely revivals and revisions of his earlier works. But then in 1772 came Antigona—and for whatever reason, whether it was Traetta's own inclination or the promptings of his librettist Marco Coltellini
Marco Coltellini
Marco Coltellini was an Italian opera librettist and printer.He was probably born in Livorno and embarked on a career in the Church, but had to leave after fathering four daughters. He set up a printing shop in Livorno to publish the works of Enlightenment figures such as Francesco Algarotti and...
or the availability of the soprano
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...
Caterina Gabrielli
Caterina Gabrielli
Caterina Gabrielli was an Italian soprano.-Biography:Caterina Gabrielli was the daughter of a cook in the service of prince Gabrielli, in Rome...
, the new opera reached areas of feeling and intensity he had never explored before, even in Parma.
The Court Opera of Catherine the Great performed in a theatre inside the Winter Palace
Winter Palace
The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian monarchs. Situated between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and...
itself, created by the architect Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli—another Italian—who was the architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
of many buildings in St. Petersburg, including the Hermitage
Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...
. The theatre was quite close to the Empress' own apartments. Too close, in fact, because in 1783, that is to say some time after Traetta's departure, she ordered it to be closed and a new one built. Some years before that she had already booted out Rastrelli, who had been the favourite architect of her predecessor. Traetta too was to depart, though possibly it was the harsh climate of Peter the Great's still relatively new and very damp capital, rather than the Empress' boot, that led him to leave St Petersburg in 1775, and resume the opera composer's peripatetic life, even writing two works for London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
: Germondo in 1776 and Telemaco the year after.
Traetta died two years later, in April 1779, 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 by then, opera seria was for a variety of reasons, artistic and financial, a threatened species. It was to take a genius to prolong its active life, above all in a masterpiece from 1781 called Idomeneo
Idomeneo
Idomeneo, re di Creta ossia Ilia e Idamante is an Italian language opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a French text by Antoine Danchet, which had been set to music by André Campra as Idoménée in 1712...
, and then again one final time 10 years after that, using an old warhorse of a Metastasio
Metastasio
Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi, better known by his pseudonym of Metastasio, was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of opera seria libretti.-Early life:...
text for a libretto: La clemenza di Tito
La clemenza di Tito
La clemenza di Tito , K. 621, is an opera seria in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Metastasio...
. The composer of this final flash of opera seria glory to outshine them all, was no stranger to Naples and to Neapolitan opera—Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
.