Carlo Evasio Soliva
Encyclopedia
Carlo Evasio Soliva was a Swiss
-Italian
composer of opera, chamber music, and sacred choral works. Soliva was born in Casale Monferrato
, Piedmont
to a family of Swiss chocolatiers who had emigrated from the canton of Ticino
. He studied pianoforte and composition at the Milan Conservatory
.
A contemporary of Gioacchino Rossini
, he is best known for his 1816 opera La testa di bronzo ("The head of bronze"), which prompted Stendhal
’s immediate enthusiasm: “Ce petit Soliva a la figure chétive d'un homme de génie.” (“That little Soliva has the scanty figure of a man of genius.”) After a life spent composing, teaching and conducting in Italy, Poland, Russia, Switzerland and France he died in Paris at the age of 62.
The "Carlo Evasio Soliva Competition for Piano and Chamber Music", organized by the Istituto Musicale Soliva, is held annually in the town of his birth.
he came top of his class. He quickly became a conductor at La Scala
and "drew inspiration for his music from Mozart, whose music was then fashionable in Milan" with performances of those composer's operas being given frequently from 1807 onwards. When La Scala organised a competition for new librettists in April 1816, the jury gave the top proze to Felice Romani
but chose the novice Carlo Soliva to compose the music. His work was in Mozart's style, and it was well received by local audiences. The following year, his first opera, La testa di bronzo o sia La capanna solitaria, was an immediate and resounding success, but it marked the apex of his popularity. The opera received a record 47 performances in the 1816-1817 season. In 1817 his second opera, Berenice d'Armenia received its premiere in Turin and his third, La zingara delle Asturie played at La Scala. Neither were received with great warmth, but in 1818 Giulia e Sesto Pompeo was quite a fiasco at La Scala.
But, as has been noted:
In 1821 he moved to Poland and became director of singing at the conservatory in Warsaw. There he married one of his students, Maria Kralewska, and became friendly with Frédéric Chopin
. He was the conductor in November 1830 for the first performance of Chopin’s piano concerto in E minor. In the turmoil which followed the defeat of the November Uprising
, Soliva moved to St Petersburg where he took up posts as conductor of the Royal Chapel and director of the Imperial Singing School and had contact with Mikhail Glinka
.
From 1841 he lived in the Ticinese village of Semione in the Val di Blenio, where his father had been born.
Subsequently he moved to Paris
where he met Chopin again along with George Sand
and probably moved in the circle of Cristina Trivulzio Belgiojoso
. He dedicated a Salve Regina to her husband.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
-Italian
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 of opera, chamber music, and sacred choral works. Soliva was born in Casale Monferrato
Casale Monferrato
Casale Monferrato, population 36,058, is a town and comune in the Piedmont region of north-west Italy, part of the province of Alessandria. It is situated about 60 km east of Turin on the right bank of the Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montferrato hills. Beyond the river lies the...
, Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
to a family of Swiss chocolatiers who had emigrated from the canton of Ticino
Ticino
Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...
. He studied pianoforte and composition at the Milan Conservatory
Milan Conservatory
The Milan Conservatory is a college of music which was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It opened the following year with premises in the cloisters of the Baroque church of Santa Maria della Passione. There were initially 18 boarders,...
.
A contemporary of Gioacchino Rossini
Gioacchino Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini was an Italian composer who wrote 39 operas as well as sacred music, chamber music, songs, and some instrumental and piano pieces...
, he is best known for his 1816 opera La testa di bronzo ("The head of bronze"), which prompted Stendhal
Stendhal
Marie-Henri Beyle , better known by his pen name Stendhal, was a 19th-century French writer. Known for his acute analysis of his characters' psychology, he is considered one of the earliest and foremost practitioners of realism in his two novels Le Rouge et le Noir and La Chartreuse de Parme...
’s immediate enthusiasm: “Ce petit Soliva a la figure chétive d'un homme de génie.” (“That little Soliva has the scanty figure of a man of genius.”) After a life spent composing, teaching and conducting in Italy, Poland, Russia, Switzerland and France he died in Paris at the age of 62.
The "Carlo Evasio Soliva Competition for Piano and Chamber Music", organized by the Istituto Musicale Soliva, is held annually in the town of his birth.
Professional life
At the Milan ConservatoryMilan Conservatory
The Milan Conservatory is a college of music which was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It opened the following year with premises in the cloisters of the Baroque church of Santa Maria della Passione. There were initially 18 boarders,...
he came top of his class. He quickly became a conductor 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...
and "drew inspiration for his music from Mozart, whose music was then fashionable in Milan" with performances of those composer's operas being given frequently from 1807 onwards. When La Scala organised a competition for new librettists in April 1816, the jury gave the top proze to Felice Romani
Felice Romani
Felice Romani was an Italian poet and scholar of literature and mythology who wrote many librettos for the opera composers Donizetti and Bellini. Romani was considered the finest Italian librettist between Metastasio and Boito.-Biography:Born Giuseppe Felice Romani to a bourgeois family in Genoa,...
but chose the novice Carlo Soliva to compose the music. His work was in Mozart's style, and it was well received by local audiences. The following year, his first opera, La testa di bronzo o sia La capanna solitaria, was an immediate and resounding success, but it marked the apex of his popularity. The opera received a record 47 performances in the 1816-1817 season. In 1817 his second opera, Berenice d'Armenia received its premiere in Turin and his third, La zingara delle Asturie played at La Scala. Neither were received with great warmth, but in 1818 Giulia e Sesto Pompeo was quite a fiasco at La Scala.
But, as has been noted:
- "the very reason for Soliva's initial success eventually doomed his career as an operatic composer. Rossini's new style of music was taking all the European stages by storm, and it ended the Milanese Mozart renaissance. After performances of La clemenza di Tito in 1819, Mozart disappeared from the programs of the La Scala Theater for more than 50 years. Soliva saw no future for his musical style and focused on a career as a conductor and teacher. He continued composing sacred vocal works, however, as well as orchestral, chamber and piano music."
In 1821 he moved to Poland and became director of singing at the conservatory in Warsaw. There he married one of his students, Maria Kralewska, and became friendly with Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
. He was the conductor in November 1830 for the first performance of Chopin’s piano concerto in E minor. In the turmoil which followed the defeat of the November Uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
, Soliva moved to St Petersburg where he took up posts as conductor of the Royal Chapel and director of the Imperial Singing School and had contact with Mikhail Glinka
Mikhail Glinka
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka , was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition within his own country, and is often regarded as the father of Russian classical music...
.
From 1841 he lived in the Ticinese village of Semione in the Val di Blenio, where his father had been born.
Subsequently he moved to 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...
where he met Chopin again along with George Sand
George Sand
Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, later Baroness Dudevant , best known by her pseudonym George Sand , was a French novelist and memoirist.-Life:...
and probably moved in the circle of Cristina Trivulzio Belgiojoso
Cristina Trivulzio Belgiojoso
Cristina Trivulzio di Belgiojoso was an Italian noblewoman who played a prominent part in Italy's struggle for independence. She is also notable as a writer and journalist.-Life:...
. He dedicated a Salve Regina to her husband.
Operas
- La testa di bronzo o sia La capanna solitaria, libretto by Felice RomaniFelice RomaniFelice Romani was an Italian poet and scholar of literature and mythology who wrote many librettos for the opera composers Donizetti and Bellini. Romani was considered the finest Italian librettist between Metastasio and Boito.-Biography:Born Giuseppe Felice Romani to a bourgeois family in Genoa,...
. 3 March 1816, Teatro alla Scala, Milan - Berenice d'Armenia , libretto by Jacopo FerrettiJacopo FerrettiJacopo Ferretti was an Italian writer, poet and opera librettist.He is most famous for having supplied the libretti for two operas by Rossiniand for five operas by Donizetti....
. March 1817, Teatro Regio, Turin - La zingara delle Asturie, libretto by Felice Romani. 5 August 1817, Teatro alla Scala, Milan
- Giulia e Sesto Pompeo , libretto by B. Perotti. 24 February 1818, Teatro alla Scala, Milan
- Elena e Malvina, libretto by Felice Romani. 22 May 1824, Teatro alla Scala, Milan
- Kitaijskaja djewaschka. 1833[?], St Petersburg