Teatro San Samuele
Encyclopedia
Teatro San Samuele was an opera house
and theatre located at the Rio del Duca, between Campo San Samuele and Campo Santo Stefano, in Venice. One of several important theatres built in that city by the Grimani
family, the theatre opened in 1656 and operated continuously until a fire destroyed the theatre in 1747. A new structure was built and opened in 1748, but financial difficulties forced the theatre to close and be sold in 1770. The theatre remained active until 1807 when it was shut down by Napoleonic decree. It reopened in 1815 and was later acquired by impresario Giuseppe Camploy in 1819. In 1853 the theatre was renamed the Teatro Camploy. Upon Camploy's death in 1889, the theatre was bequeathed to the City of Verona. The Venice City Council in turn bought the theatre and demolished it in 1894.
family a year earlier. Initially the theatre was used primarily for plays
but in the 18th century the house became more closely associated with opera
and ballet
. The famous playwright and librettist Carlo Goldoni
notably served as the theatre's director from 1737–1741, and many of his works were premiered at the theatre during his career.
The original Teatro San Samuele was destroyed by fire on the last night of September 1747. A new theatre was built in almost identical design and opened in May 1748 as opulent competition for the Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo
. The new theatre became associated with the opera buffa
repertoire, as the Grimani family preferred to stage opera seria
and other more dramatic works at their other theatre, the Teatro San Benedetto
(built 1755).
At the end of the 18th century the Teatro San Samuele lost much of its former prestige. In 1770 the Grimani family had been forced to sell the theatre due to the economic crisis that hit the Venetian aristocracy. The theatre continued to operate until 6 April 1807 when it was ordered closed by a Napoleonic decree which also shut down the Teatro San Cassiano
, the Teatro San Angelo
, and the Teatro San Luca. The San Samuele and the San Luca were re-opened after a 21 April 1815 Austrian decree.
In 1819 the Teatro San Samuele was acquired by impresario
Giuseppe Camploy. With the exception of the 1840s when performances were sporadic, the theatre remained continuously active until Camploy's death in 1889. In 1853 the theatre was renamed as the Teatro Camploy. In the third edition of Murray's Hand-book for travellers in northern Italy (1847) Sir Francis Palgrave
reported "It is a pretty theatre well adapted for hearing. Opera buffas are performed here" In his will, Camploy bequeathed the theatre to the City of Verona. The Venice City Council bought it and, after demolishing the theatre in the 1894, built the A. Scarsellini elementary school on the former site of the theatre.
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
and theatre located at the Rio del Duca, between Campo San Samuele and Campo Santo Stefano, in Venice. One of several important theatres built in that city by the Grimani
Grimani
The Grimani family were a prominent Venetian patrician family, including three Doges of Venice. They were active in trade, politics and later the ownership of theatres and opera-houses...
family, the theatre opened in 1656 and operated continuously until a fire destroyed the theatre in 1747. A new structure was built and opened in 1748, but financial difficulties forced the theatre to close and be sold in 1770. The theatre remained active until 1807 when it was shut down by Napoleonic decree. It reopened in 1815 and was later acquired by impresario Giuseppe Camploy in 1819. In 1853 the theatre was renamed the Teatro Camploy. Upon Camploy's death in 1889, the theatre was bequeathed to the City of Verona. The Venice City Council in turn bought the theatre and demolished it in 1894.
History
One of the most important Venetian theatres of the 17th and 18th centuries, the Teatro San Samuele was constructed in 1656 through a commission made by the GrimaniGrimani
The Grimani family were a prominent Venetian patrician family, including three Doges of Venice. They were active in trade, politics and later the ownership of theatres and opera-houses...
family a year earlier. Initially the theatre was used primarily for plays
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
but in the 18th century the house became more closely associated with 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...
and 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...
. The famous playwright and librettist Carlo Goldoni
Carlo Goldoni
Carlo 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...
notably served as the theatre's director from 1737–1741, and many of his works were premiered at the theatre during his career.
The original Teatro San Samuele was destroyed by fire on the last night of September 1747. A new theatre was built in almost identical design and opened in May 1748 as opulent competition for the Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo
Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo
The Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo, now known as the Teatro Malibran, is an opera house in Venice. Founded in 1678 by the Grimani family, it was founded primarily to provide entertainment for the aristocracy and to advance the social position of the Grimani family, and was not expected to be a...
. The new theatre became associated with 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...
repertoire, as the Grimani family preferred to stage 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...
and other more dramatic works at their other theatre, the Teatro San Benedetto
Teatro San Benedetto
The Teatro San Benedetto was a theatre in Venice, particularly prominent in the operatic life of the city in the 18th and early 19th centuries. It saw the premieres of over 140 operas, including Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri, and was the theatre of choice for the presentation of opera seria until...
(built 1755).
At the end of the 18th century the Teatro San Samuele lost much of its former prestige. In 1770 the Grimani family had been forced to sell the theatre due to the economic crisis that hit the Venetian aristocracy. The theatre continued to operate until 6 April 1807 when it was ordered closed by a Napoleonic decree which also shut down the Teatro San Cassiano
Teatro San Cassiano
The Teatro San Cassiano or Teatro di San Cassiano in Venice was the first public opera house when it opened in 1637. The theatre takes its name from the neighbourhood where it was located, the parish of San Cassiano near the Rialto. It was a stone building owned by the Venetian Tron family...
, the Teatro San Angelo
Teatro San Angelo
The Teatro San Angelo or Teatro Sant' Angelo was one a theatre in Venice which ran from 1677-1803.It was the last of the major Venetian theatres to be built in the 1650s-60s opera craze following Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo in 1654, Teatro San Samuele 1655, Teatro San Salvatore 1661, Teatro San...
, and the Teatro San Luca. The San Samuele and the San Luca were re-opened after a 21 April 1815 Austrian decree.
In 1819 the Teatro San Samuele was acquired by impresario
Impresario
An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...
Giuseppe Camploy. With the exception of the 1840s when performances were sporadic, the theatre remained continuously active until Camploy's death in 1889. In 1853 the theatre was renamed as the Teatro Camploy. In the third edition of Murray's Hand-book for travellers in northern Italy (1847) Sir Francis Palgrave
Francis Palgrave
Sir Francis Palgrave FRS, born Francis Ephraim Cohen, was an English historian.- Early life :He was born in London, the son of Meyer Cohen, a Jewish stockbroker by his wife Rachel Levien Cohen . He was initially articled as a clerk to a London solicitor's firm, and remained there as chief clerk...
reported "It is a pretty theatre well adapted for hearing. Opera buffas are performed here" In his will, Camploy bequeathed the theatre to the City of Verona. The Venice City Council bought it and, after demolishing the theatre in the 1894, built the A. Scarsellini elementary school on the former site of the theatre.
Selected premieres
- Mutio ScevolaMutio ScevolaMutio Scevola or Muzio Scevola is an opera in three acts and a prologue by the Italian composer Francesco Cavalli, with a libretto by Giovanni Faustini. It was based on the story of the Roman hero, Gaius Mucius Scaevola...
, opera in 3 Acts, music by Francesco CavalliFrancesco CavalliFrancesco Cavalli was an Italian composer of the early Baroque period. His real name was Pietro Francesco Caletti-Bruni, but he is better known by that of Cavalli, the name of his patron Federico Cavalli, a Venetian nobleman.-Life:Cavalli was born at Crema, Lombardy...
, 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 Giovanni FaustiniGiovanni FaustiniGiovanni Faustini was an Italian librettist and opera impresario of the 17th century. He is best remembered for his collaborations with the composer Francesco Cavalli.Faustini was born in Venice...
and Nicolò MinatoNicolò MinatoCount Nicolò Minato was an Italian poet, librettist and impresario. His career can be divided into two parts: the years he spent at Venice, from 1650 to 1669, and the years at Vienna, from 1669 until his death....
, 26 January 1665. - L'Artaxerse, dramma per musicaDramma per musicaDramma per musica is a term which was used by dramatists in Italy and elsewhere between the late-17th and mid-19th centuries...
in 3 acts, music by Carlo GrossiCarlo GrossiCarlo Grossi was an Italian composer.-Life:He is believed to have been the first composer to use the term "divertimento", in his 1681 composition "Il divertimento de' grandi musiche da camera, ò per servizio di tavola". He was the organist at the church of SS...
, 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 Aurelio Aureli, 28 December 1668. - Scipione nelle Spagne, dramma per musica in 3 acts, music by 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...
, libretto by Apostolo ZenoApostolo ZenoApostolo Zeno was a Venetian poet, librettist, journalist, and man of letters.-Early life:Apostolo Zeno was born of Cretan Greek descent in Venice in 1669...
, 25 May 1724. - Dalisa, opera seriaOpera seriaOpera 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...
, music by Johann Adolf Hasse, libretto by Domenico Lalli after Nicolò Minato, 17 May 1730. - GriseldaGriselda (Vivaldi)Griselda is a dramma per musica in three acts that was composed by Antonio Vivaldi. The opera uses a revised version of the 1701 Italian libretto by Apostolo Zeno that was based on Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron . The celebrated Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni was hired to adapt the libretto...
, dramma per musica in 3 acts, music by 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...
, libretto by Apostolo ZenoApostolo ZenoApostolo Zeno was a Venetian poet, librettist, journalist, and man of letters.-Early life:Apostolo Zeno was born of Cretan Greek descent in Venice in 1669...
after Giovanni BoccaccioGiovanni BoccaccioGiovanni Boccaccio was an Italian author and poet, a friend, student, and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist and the author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular...
, 18 May 1735. - La contessina, pasticcioPasticcioIn music, a pasticcio or pastiche is an opera or other musical work composed of works by different composers who may or may not have been working together, or an adaptation or localization of an existing work that is loose, unauthorized, or inauthentic.-Etymology:The term is first attested in the...
, music by 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...
, 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 Goldoni, 1743. - La ritornata di Londra, dramma giocosoDramma giocosoDramma giocoso is the name of a genre of opera common in the mid-18th century. The term is a contraction of "dramma giocoso per musica" and is essentially a description of the text rather than the opera as a whole...
in 3 Acts, music by Domenico FischiettiDomenico FischiettiDomenico Fischietti was an Italian composer.He was born in Naples and studied at the Conservatory of Sant'Onofrio Porta Capuana under the leadership of Leonardo Leo and Francesco Durante....
, libretto by Goldoni, 7 February 1756. - Catone in Utica, opera seria in 3 Acts, music by Florian Leopold GassmannFlorian Leopold GassmannFlorian Leopold Gassmann was a German-speaking Bohemian opera composer of the transitional period between the baroque and classical eras. He was one of the principal composers of dramma giocoso immediately before Mozart....
, libretto by MetastasioMetastasioPietro 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:...
, 29 April 1761. - L'idolo cinese, dramma giocoso in 3 acts, music by Giacomo RustGiacomo RustGiacomo Rust or Rusti was an Italian opera composer, probably of German ancestry.Not a great deal is known about Rust. Between 1763 and 1777, Rust was active in Venice, where his first opera, a dramma giocoso, La contadina in corte, to a libretto by Niccolò Tassi, was performed in 1763...
, libretto by Giovanni Battista LorenziGiovanni Battista LorenziGiovanni Battista Lorenzi was an Italian librettist. He was born and died in Giovanni Battista Lorenzi (1721–1807) was an Italian librettist. He was born and died in Giovanni Battista Lorenzi (1721–1807) was an Italian librettist. He was born and died in (Naples, and was a friend of...
, 28 December 1773. - Le gelosie villaneLe gelosie villaneLe gelosie villane is a dramma giocoso in three acts by Giuseppe Sarti. The libretto was by Tommaso Grandi. It was also known as Il feudatorio, Il feudatorio burlato and I contadini bizzari. It was also set by Pasquale Anfossi.-Performance history:It was first performed at the Teatro San Samuele...
, dramma giocoso in 3 Acts, music by Giuseppe SartiGiuseppe SartiGiuseppe Sarti was an Italian opera composer.-Biography:He was born at Faenza. His date of birth is not known, but he was baptised on 1 December 1729. Some earlier sources say he was born on 28 December, but his baptism certificate proves the later date impossible...
, libretto by Tommaso Grandi, November 1776. - Giannina e BernardoneGiannina e BernardoneGiannina e Bernardone is a dramma giocoso in two acts by composer Domenico Cimarosa with an Italian libretto by Filippo Livigni. The opera premiered in the autumn of 1781 at the Teatro San Samuele in Venice, Italy...
, dramma giocoso in 2 Acts, music by Domenico CimarosaDomenico CimarosaDomenico Cimarosa was an Italian opera composer of the Neapolitan school...
, libretto by Filippo Livigni, Autumn of 1781. - La morte di CesareLa morte di CesareLa morte di Cesare is an opera seria in three acts by Francesco Bianchi. The libretto was by Gaetano Sertor, after Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar....
, opera seria in 3 Acts, music by Francesco Bianchi, libretto by Gaetano Sertor, 27 December 1788. - Il servo padrone, opera buffaOpera buffaOpera 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...
in 2 Acts, music by Niccolò PiccinniNiccolò PiccinniNiccolò Piccinni was an Italian composer of symphonies, sacred music, chamber music, and opera. Although he is somewhat obscure, even to music lovers today, Piccinni was one of the most popular composers of opera—particularly the Neapolitan opera buffa—of his day...
, libretto by Caternio Mazzolà, 17 January 1794. - L'accademia di musica, farsa per music in 1 Act, music by Simon MayrSimon MayrJohann Simon Mayr , also known in Italian as Giovanni Simone Mayr or Simone Mayr was a German composer.- Life :...
, libretto by Gaetano RossiGaetano RossiGaetano Rossi was an Italian writer who wrote opera libretti for several composers including Mayr, Rossini, Donizetti, Mercadante, Pacini, and Meyerbeer.-Biography:...
after F. Albergati Capacelli, 24 November 1799. - Le metamorfosi di Pasquale, farsa giocosa per musica in 1 Act, music by Gaspare SpontiniGaspare SpontiniGaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini was an Italian opera composer and conductor, extremely celebrated in his time, though largely forgotten after his death.-Biography:...
, libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa, 26 December 1801. - Pietro il grandePietro il grandePietro il Grande zar di tutte le Russie or Il falegname di Livonia also known as Pietro, il grande, tsar delle Russie is a comic melodrama in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a libretto by Gherardo Bevilacqua-Aldobrandini.Pietro il Grande or Il falegname di Livonia was...
, opera buffaOpera buffaOpera 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...
in 2 Acts, music by Gaetano DonizettiGaetano DonizettiDomenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
, libretto by Gherardo Bevilacqua-Aldobrandini, 26 December 1819. - Marco Visconti, opera seria in 2 Acts, music by Antonio Pedrocco, libretto by Nicolò Foramiti after Tommaso GrossiTommaso GrossiTommaso Grossi , Lombard poet and novelist, was born in Bellano, beside the Lake of Como.He took his degree in law at Pavia in 1810, and proceeded thence to Milan to exercise his profession; but the Austrian government, suspecting his loyalty, interfered with his prospects, and in consequence...
, 16 April 1853.