Antonio Salvi
Encyclopedia
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...
.
Life
Salvi was a court physician in Florence for the De' Medici family. From 1694 (?) he wrote librettiLibretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
for the theatre in Livorno
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
and Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
and adapted works by Jean 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...
and Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
.; Salvi took many of his plots from French tragedy. Between 1701 and 1710 seven of his works were performed in the Villa di Pratolino
Villa di Pratolino
The Villa di Pratolino was a Renaissance patrician villa in Vaglia, Tuscany, Italy. It was mostly demolished in 1820: its remains are now part of Villa Demidoff, 12 km north of Florence, reached from the main road to Bologna.-History:...
. After the death of Ferdinando (III) de' Medici in 1713 he decided to work outside the Grand Duchy of Tuscany
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was a central Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Duchy of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence...
: in Rome, Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia
Reggio 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....
, Turin
Turin
Turin 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...
, 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 Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. His libretti were set to music by several famous composers including Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti was an Italian Baroque composer especially famous for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. He was the father of two other composers, Domenico Scarlatti and Pietro Filippo Scarlatti.-Life:Scarlatti was born in...
, Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe...
and Handel.
Vivaldi wrote three operas for Florence to texts by Antonio Salvi. All were produced at the Teatro della Pergola.
Works
- Astianatte (1701) , based on AndromaqueAndromaqueAndromaque is a tragedy in five acts by the French playwright Jean Racine written in alexandrine verse. It was first performed on 17 November 1667 before the court of Louis XIV in the Louvre in the private chambers of the Queen, Marie Thérèse, by the royal company of actors, called "les Grands...
by Jean RacineJean RacineJean 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...
, set to music by Giacomo Antonio PertiGiacomo Antonio PertiGiacomo Antonio Perti was an Italian composer of the Baroque era. He was mainly active at Bologna, where he was Maestro di Cappella for sixty years...
, Antonio Maria BononciniAntonio Maria BononciniAntonio Maria Bononcini was an Italian cellist and composer, the younger brother of the better-known Giovanni Battista Bononcini....
, Francesco GaspariniFrancesco GaspariniFrancesco Gasparini was an Italian Baroque composer and teacher whose works were performed throughout Italy, and also on occasion in Germany and England....
, VinciLeonardo VinciLeonardo Vinci was an Italian composer, best known for his operas.He was born at Strongoli and educated at Naples under Gaetano Greco in the Conservatorio dei Poveri di Gesù Cristo. He first became known for his opere buffe in Neapolitan dialect in 1719; he also composed many opere serie...
, Giovanni Battista BononciniGiovanni Battista BononciniGiovanni Battista Bononcini was an Italian Baroque composer and cellist, one of a family of string players and composers. His father, Giovanni Maria Bononcini , was a violinist and a composer.-Biography:...
and Niccolò JommelliNiccolò JommelliNiccolò 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... - ArminioArminioArminio is an opera composed by George Frideric Handel.- Performance History :Together with Giustino and Berenice, Arminio is one of three operas Handel wrote within a period of half a year in 1736. He began with the composition of Giustino on 14 August 1736, followed by that of Arminio on 15...
(1703) , set to music by Alessandro ScarlattiAlessandro ScarlattiAlessandro Scarlatti was an Italian Baroque composer especially famous for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. He was the father of two other composers, Domenico Scarlatti and Pietro Filippo Scarlatti.-Life:Scarlatti was born in...
, Antonio CaldaraAntonio CaldaraAntonio Caldara was an Italian Baroque composer.Caldara was born in Venice , the son of a violinist. He became a chorister at St Mark's in Venice, where he learned several instruments, probably under the instruction of Giovanni Legrenzi...
, Carlo Francesco PollaroloCarlo Francesco PollaroloCarlo Francesco Pollarolo was an Italian composer, chiefly of operas. Born into a musical family, he became the cathedral organist of his home town of Brescia. In the 1680s he began composing operas for performance in nearby Venice. He wrote a total of 85 of them as well as 13 oratorios...
, Johann Adolph HasseJohann Adolph HasseJohann 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...
, Georg Friedrich Handel and Baldassare Galuppi - Ginerva principessa di Scozia (1708), set to music by Giacomo Antonio Perti and Antonio VivaldiAntonio VivaldiAntonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe...
; as AriodanteAriodanteAriodante is an opera seria in three acts by Handel. The anonymous Italian libretto was based on a work by Antonio Salvi, which in turn was adapted from Canti 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso...
set to music by Carlo Francesco PollaroloCarlo Francesco PollaroloCarlo Francesco Pollarolo was an Italian composer, chiefly of operas. Born into a musical family, he became the cathedral organist of his home town of Brescia. In the 1680s he began composing operas for performance in nearby Venice. He wrote a total of 85 of them as well as 13 oratorios...
, Georg Friedrich Händel and Georg Christoph WagenseilGeorg Christoph WagenseilGeorg 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... - Rodelinda regina de Longobardi (1710), set to music by Giacomo Antonio Perti, Georg Friedrich Händel and Carl Heinrich GraunCarl Heinrich GraunCarl 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:...
- Lucio Papirio (1714), set to music by Francesco GaspariniFrancesco GaspariniFrancesco Gasparini was an Italian Baroque composer and teacher whose works were performed throughout Italy, and also on occasion in Germany and England....
, Luca Antonio PredieriLuca Antonio PredieriLuca Antonio Predieri was an Italian composer and violinist. A member of a prominent family of musicians, Predieri was born in Bologna and was active there from 1704. In 1737 he moved to Vienna, eventually becoming Kapellmeister to the imperial Habsburg court in 1741, a post he held for ten years...
, Leonardo LeoLeonardo LeoLeonardo Leo , more correctly Lionardo Oronzo Salvatore de Leo, was an Italian Baroque composer.-Biography:...
and Nicola Antonio Porpora - Il pazzo per politica (1717), set to music by Luca Antonio PredieriLuca Antonio PredieriLuca Antonio Predieri was an Italian composer and violinist. A member of a prominent family of musicians, Predieri was born in Bologna and was active there from 1704. In 1737 he moved to Vienna, eventually becoming Kapellmeister to the imperial Habsburg court in 1741, a post he held for ten years...
und Tomaso AlbinoniTomaso AlbinoniTomaso Giovanni Albinoni was an Italian Baroque composer. While famous in his day as an opera composer, he is mainly remembered today for his instrumental music, such as the concertos, some of which are regularly recorded.-Biography:Born in Venice, Republic of Venice, to Antonio Albinoni, a...
(as Eumene) - Scanderbeg (1718), set to music by Antonio Vivaldi
- Adelaide (1722), set to music by Pietro Torri, Nicola Antonio Porpora, Georg Friedrich Händel (as LotarioLotarioLotario is an opera seria in three acts written for the Royal Academy of Music by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Antonio Salvi's Adelaide.-Performance history:...
) and Antonio Vivaldi. - SosarmeSosarmeSosarme, re di Media is an opera by George Frideric Handel written for the Royal Academy of Music . The text was based on an earlier libretto by Antonio Salvi, Dionisio, Re di Portogallo , and adapted by an unknown writer. Composed in 1732, the original setting of Portugal was changed to Sardis in...
- BereniceBereniceBerenice or Berenike is the Ancient Macedonian form for Attic Greek Φερενίκη , meaning "bearer of victory", from φέρω "to bear" + νίκη "victory". Berenika priestess of Demeter in Lete ca. 350 BC is the oldest epigraphical evidence. The name also has the form Bernice...