Search results for "Giovanni Paisiello"
showing 9 items of 9 documents
La stagione operistica 1781-1782 al Teatro dei Fiorentini di Napoli: meccanismi gestionali e occasioni creative
2017
The finding of a rich series of documents in the Archivio Storico of the Istituto Banco di Napoli – Fondazione (Naples) allows to offer a detailed reconstruction of the 1781-1782 season at the Neapolitan Teatro dei Fiorentini, devoted to "commedia per musica". The payments, transcribed in the appendix, show the specific financial structure of the theatre, as well as the distribution of roles and responsibilities among the different figures involved in the operatic business. Archival evidence and information taken from other sources (such as newspapers and letters of contemporary observers) make possible to highlight the Neapolitan debut of the famous Tuscan soprano Celeste Coltellini, desti…
Tears for Nina. Emotion and compassion, from the stage to the audience
2019
A recurrent feature of the reception of Giovanni Paisiello’s "Nina o sia La pazza per amore" (first version, in one act, 1789; second version, in two acts, 1790) is the deep empathic involvement of the audience. The masterpiece of the Italian composer appears to have had the power to move male and (mainly) female listeners and to produce strong effects like tears, outbursts, etc. The article offers a preliminary discussion of the French origins of the libretto (a translation of Marsollier des Vivetières’ "Nina ou la Folle par amour", set to music by Nicolas-Marie Dalayrac in 1786), as well as a reconstruction of the genesis of the work as an occasional piece for a specific event within Neap…
Il terzo atto al San Carlo di Napoli nell’ultimo trentennio del Settecento: declino, atrofizzazione, scomparsa
2023
In the last decades of the eighteenth century, the third act of opera seria was gradually reduced in importance and dimensions until it disappeared altogether. The article studies this process in relation to the repertoire of the San Carlo theatre in Naples from 1771 on, with special attention to the intertwining of dramaturgical choices and audience’s behavior. The examination of a large number of librettos and scores makes it possible to fix reliable chronological terms. After an isolated episode in 1780, the adfirmation of the two-act model can be traced back to the 1786-1787 season. The new formula quickly took hold, but three-act operas continued to be performed - with ever decreasing …
Opera, ball and spoken theatre at the royal palace of Caserta
2021
The royal palace of Caserta was built at the behest of Charles of Bourbon but completed under his son, Ferdinand IV. During the second half of the Eigheteenth Century, it hosted many different musical activities; succesfull serious and comic operas already performed in the theatres of Naples as well as vocal and instrumental concerts were offered there to a selected audience. Tragedies, “all’immprovviso” comedies and balls were also frequently enjoyed by the members of the royal family. In the small center of San Leucio, 4 kilometres far from Caserta, Paisiello’s “Nina o sia La pazza per amore” was premiered in 1789.
Da «Nina» a «Belisa»: contagi veneziani (1788-1794)
2008
Giovanni Paisiello's "Nina o sia La pazza per amore" was one of the greates operatic successes of the late Eighteenth Century. The article studies its circulation in the Venetian area, as well as the reactions it produced as documented in theorical writings and newspapers. Moreover, the model of mixed dramaturgy exemplified by "Nina", characterized by the alternation of spoken dialogues and musical numbers, influenced some Italian authors. "Belisa ossia La fedeltà riconosciuta" by Alessandro Pepoli and the German composer Peter von Winter is one of the most interesting results of this experimentation, and can be considered as a sort of new "Nina" for the Venetian stage.
Alterità ed esotismo nella commedia per musica napoletana del Settecento: la «Dardanè» di Cerlone e Paisiello e le sue fonti
2019
Francesco Cerlone and Giovanni Paisiello's comic opera "Dardanè" was performed for the first time in Naples in 1772. Its plot revolves around a peculiar theme from Middle Eastern religious and cultural tradition: the 'triple talak', i.e. the Muslim practice of instant divorce. The article investigates the fortune of this topic in European litterature and theatre. The intertextual itinerary starts from the collection of pseudo-Persian tales "Les milles et un jours" by Pétis de la Croix (Paris 1710-1712); other important steps are two pièces with the same title, "Arlequin hulla", the first one by Lesage and d'Orneval (Paris 1716), and the second one by Biancolelli and Romagnesi (Paris 1728). …
Mozart e Paisiello: a proposito dell’aria «Mentre ti lascio, o figlia» K. 513
2018
The text of Mozart's scena e aria K. 513 comes from Giovanni Paisiello's "La disfatta di Dario" performed for the first time in Rome in 1776. The article reconstructs the whole tradition of the libretto, written by Carlo Diodati Morbili in Naples in 1756 and set to music by various authors till the end of the century. There is a large body of evidence that Paisiello's "Mentre ti lascio, o cara" reached large popularity thanks to the most famous tenors of the time. The dramaturgical context of the aria is examined in detail, and four different versions are compared (Paisiello, Traetta, Mozart, and Frigel). Mozart's setting is demonstrated to be directly inspired by Paisiello's model.
"Largo al factotum!": genesi e fortuna del "Barbiere" di Rossini
2011
Il saggio ripercorre la genesi del "Barbiere di Siviglia" di Gioachino Rossini, soffermandosi sui problemi connessi alla determinazione dei ruoli vocali e della compagnia di canto, nonché alla genesi e alla prima rappresentazione dell'opera (Roma, Teatro Argentina, 20 febbraio 1816).
Felicità (e infelicità) sulle scene musicali tardosettecentesche: «La clemenza di Tito» di Mozart e «Nina o sia La pazza per amore» di Paisiello
2012
Nelle pagine che seguono rinuncerò a seguire le sorti della felicità-parola, che si prolungano senza soluzione di continuità fino alla moderna musica di consumo, e mi limiterò a qualche osservazione sulla felicità-concetto attraverso l’esame – necessariamente sommario – di una coppia di opere della fine del XVIII secolo, selezionate tra le tante meritevoli d’attenzione: La clemenza di Tito di Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1791) e Nina o sia La pazza per amore di Giovanni Paisiello (1789-1790).