Gennaro Astarita
Encyclopedia
Gennaro Astarita (c.1745–49 – 18 December 1805) was an Italian
composer, mainly of opera
s. 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
. He first visited the country in 1781 and by 1784 he had become the director of Moscow
's Petrovsky Theatre (the predecessor of the Bolshoi Theatre
). In 1794, Prince Nicolai Yusupov, who at the time was the director of the Imperial Theatres in St Petersburg, asked him to bring an Italian opera troupe to the city, which he did in 1796. Astarita ran the troupe until 1799. Amongst the singers he recruited was Teresa Saporiti
, who had created the role of Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni
.
He wrote over 35 operas, most of them in the opera buffa
genre. Although forgotten now, in their day were they were well regarded and were performed all over Italy, as well as in Germany, Austria, Spain, Portugal, and Russia. He also wrote ballet
and sacred
music. He died at Rovereto
.
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
composer, mainly of opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s. The place of his birth is unknown, although he was active 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...
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
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. He first visited the country in 1781 and by 1784 he had become the director of 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...
's Petrovsky Theatre (the predecessor of the Bolshoi Theatre
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
). In 1794, Prince Nicolai Yusupov, who at the time was the director of the Imperial Theatres in St Petersburg, asked him to bring an Italian opera troupe to the city, which he did in 1796. Astarita ran the troupe until 1799. Amongst the singers he recruited was Teresa Saporiti
Teresa Saporiti
Teresa Saporiti was an Italian soprano, most remembered today for creating the role of Donna Anna in Mozart's opera Don Giovanni....
, who had created the role of Donna Anna in Mozart's 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...
.
He wrote over 35 operas, most of them in the opera buffa
Opera buffa
Opera buffa is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ‘commedia in musica’, ‘commedia per musica’, ‘dramma bernesco’, ‘dramma comico’, ‘divertimento giocoso' etc...
genre. Although forgotten now, in their day were they were well regarded and were performed all over Italy, as well as in Germany, Austria, Spain, Portugal, and Russia. He also wrote ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
and sacred
Religious music
Religious music is music performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence.A lot of music has been composed to complement religion, and many composers have derived inspiration from their own religion. Many forms of traditional music have been adapted to fit religions'...
music. He died at Rovereto
Rovereto
Rovereto is a city and comune in Trentino in northern Italy, located in the Vallagarina valley of the Adige River.-History:Rovereto was an ancient fortress town standing at the frontier between the bishopric of Trento - an independent state until 1797 - and the republic of Venice, and later...
.
Operas
- Il corsaro algerino (opera buffa, librettoLibrettoA 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...
by Giuseppe Palomba, 1765, NaplesNaplesNaples 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...
) - L'astuta cameriera (dramma giocoso, 1770, TurinTurinTurin 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...
) - Gli amanti perseguitati (opera semi-seria, 1770, Turin)
- Il re alla caccia (1770, Torino)
- La critica teatrale (opera buffa, libretto by Ranieri de' CalzabigiRanieri de' CalzabigiRanieri de' Calzabigi was an Italian poet and librettist, most famous for his collaboration with the composer Christoph Willibald Gluck on his "reform" operas....
, 1771, Turin) - La contessa di Bimbimpoli (Il divertimento in campagna) (dramma giocoso, libretto by Giovanni BertatiGiovanni BertatiGiovanni Bertati is an Italian librettist.In 1763, Bertati wrote his first libretto, La morte di Dimone , set to music by Antonio Tozzi. Two years later, L'isola della fortuna , based on Bertati's libretto and Andrea Luchesi's music, was performed in Vienna...
, 1772, VeniceVeniceVenice 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...
(reprised as Il divertimento in campagna in DresdenDresdenDresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, 1783) - L'avaro in campagna (dramma giocoso, libretto by Giovanni BertatiGiovanni BertatiGiovanni Bertati is an Italian librettist.In 1763, Bertati wrote his first libretto, La morte di Dimone , set to music by Antonio Tozzi. Two years later, L'isola della fortuna , based on Bertati's libretto and Andrea Luchesi's music, was performed in Vienna...
, 1772, Turin) - La tomba di Merlino (opera buffa, libretto by Giovanni Bertati, 1772, Turin)
- La contessina (dramma giocoso, libretto by Marco ColtelliniMarco ColtelliniMarco 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...
, after Carlo GoldoniCarlo GoldoniCarlo Osvaldo Goldoni was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays of Goldoni for their ingenious mix of wit and honesty...
, 1772, LivornoLivornoLivorno , 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 :...
) - L'isola disabitata and Le cinesi (drammi per musica, libretto by Pietro Metastasio, 1773, FlorenceFlorenceFlorence 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....
) - Le finezze d'amore, o sia La farsa non si fa, ma si prova (farsa, libretto by Giovanni BertatiGiovanni BertatiGiovanni Bertati is an Italian librettist.In 1763, Bertati wrote his first libretto, La morte di Dimone , set to music by Antonio Tozzi. Two years later, L'isola della fortuna , based on Bertati's libretto and Andrea Luchesi's music, was performed in Vienna...
, 1773, Venice) - Li astrologi immaginari (dramma giocoso, 1774, Lugo)
- Il marito che non ha moglie (dramma giocoso, libretto by Giovanni BertatiGiovanni BertatiGiovanni Bertati is an Italian librettist.In 1763, Bertati wrote his first libretto, La morte di Dimone , set to music by Antonio Tozzi. Two years later, L'isola della fortuna , based on Bertati's libretto and Andrea Luchesi's music, was performed in Vienna...
, 1774, Venice) - Il principe ipocondriaco (dramma giocoso, libretto by Giovanni BertatiGiovanni BertatiGiovanni Bertati is an Italian librettist.In 1763, Bertati wrote his first libretto, La morte di Dimone , set to music by Antonio Tozzi. Two years later, L'isola della fortuna , based on Bertati's libretto and Andrea Luchesi's music, was performed in Vienna...
, 1774, Venice) - La villanella incostante (dramma giocoso, CortonaCortonaCortona is a town and comune in the province of Arezzo, in Tuscany, Italy. It is the main cultural and artistic center of the Val di Chiana after Arezzo.-History:...
, 1774) - Il mondo della luna (dramma giocoso, libretto by Carlo GoldoniCarlo GoldoniCarlo Osvaldo Goldoni was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays of Goldoni for their ingenious mix of wit and honesty...
, 1775, Venice) - Li sapienti ridicoli, ovvero Un pazzo ne fa cento (dramma giocoso, libretto di Giovanni BertatiGiovanni BertatiGiovanni Bertati is an Italian librettist.In 1763, Bertati wrote his first libretto, La morte di Dimone , set to music by Antonio Tozzi. Two years later, L'isola della fortuna , based on Bertati's libretto and Andrea Luchesi's music, was performed in Vienna...
, 1775, PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
) - L'avaro (dramma giocoso, libretto by Giovanni BertatiGiovanni BertatiGiovanni Bertati is an Italian librettist.In 1763, Bertati wrote his first libretto, La morte di Dimone , set to music by Antonio Tozzi. Two years later, L'isola della fortuna , based on Bertati's libretto and Andrea Luchesi's music, was performed in Vienna...
, 1776, FerraraFerraraFerrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
) - Armida (opera seria, libretto by Giovanni Ambrogio Migliavacca and Giacomo Durazzo, 1777, Venice)
- La dama immaginaria (dramma giocoso, libretto by Pier Antonio Bagliacca, 1777, Venice)
- L'isola del Bengodi (dramma giocoso, libretto by Carlo GoldoniCarlo GoldoniCarlo Osvaldo Goldoni was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays of Goldoni for their ingenious mix of wit and honesty...
, 1777, Venice) - Il marito indolente (dramma giocoso, 1778, BolognaBolognaBologna 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,...
) - Le discordie teatrali (dramma giocoso, 1779, Florence)
- Il francese bizzarro (dramma giocoso, 1779, MilanMilanMilan 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 ,...
) - Nicoletto bellavita (opera buffa, 1779, TrevisoTrevisoTreviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...
) - La Didone abbandonata (opera seria, libretto by Pietro Metastasio, 1780, BratislavaBratislavaBratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
) - Il diavolo a quattro (farsa, 1785, Naples)
- I capricci in amore (dramma giocoso, 1787, St. Petersburg)
- Il curioso accidente (dramma giocoso, libretto by Giovanni BertatiGiovanni BertatiGiovanni Bertati is an Italian librettist.In 1763, Bertati wrote his first libretto, La morte di Dimone , set to music by Antonio Tozzi. Two years later, L'isola della fortuna , based on Bertati's libretto and Andrea Luchesi's music, was performed in Vienna...
, 1789, Venice) - Ipermestra (opera seria, libretto by Pietro Metastasio, 1789, Venice)
- L'inganno del ritratto (dramma giocoso, 1791, Florence)
- La nobiltà immaginaria (intermezzo, 1791, Florence)
- Il medico parigino o sia L'ammalato per amore (dramma giocoso, libretto by Giuseppe Palomba, 1792, Venice)
- Le fallaci apparenze (dramma giocoso, libretto by Giovanni Battista Lorenzi, 1793, Venice)
- Rinaldo d'Asti (opera buffa, libretto by Giuseppe Carpani, 1796, St. Petersburg)
- Gl'intrighi per amore (opera buffa, 1796, St. Petersburg
Sources
- Casaglia, Gherardo, "Astarita", Almanacco Amadeus. Accessed 25 May 2009.
- Randel, Don Michael (ed.), The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music, Harvard University Press, 1996 p. 785. ISBN 0674372999
- Warrack, John and West, Ewan (eds.) "Astarita, Gennaro", The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera, Oxford University Press, 1996. Accessed via subscription 27 May 2009.