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Domenico Cimarosa

 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Domenico Cimarosa
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(born Dec. 17, 1749, Aversa, Kingdom of Naples — died Jan. 11, 1801, Venice) Italian opera composer. Son of a stonemason, he studied at the Naples Conservatory. His first opera was produced in 1772, and by the mid-1780s he was internationally known. A short engagement as kapellmeister at the Viennese court resulted in the famous comic opera Il matrimonio segreto (1792). In 1796 he became organist in the royal chapel of Naples. He wrote some 75 operas, remarkable for their apt characterizations and abundant comic life. He wrote many choral works, including the cantata Il maestro di cappella, a popular satire on contemporary operatic rehearsal methods. Among his instrumental works, which, like his operas, have been successfully revived, are many sparkling harpsichord sonatas and a concerto for two flutes.

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Music Encyclopedia: Domenico Cimarosa
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(b Aversa, 17 Dec 1749; d Venice, 11 Jan 1801). Italian composer. He trained in Naples as a violinist, keyboard player and composer, and wrote mainly sacred works at first. He had comic; operas staged there from 1772; his first serious opera was Cajo Mario (1780, Rome). By the mid-1780s he was established both in Italy and abroad. He became maestro c 1782 at a Venetian conservatory, the Ospedaletto, holding this post with that of second organist at the Naples royal chapel from 1785. In 1787-91 he was maestro di cappella at the St Petersburg court (for which he wrote three operas), and in 1791-3 court Kapellmeister at Vienna, where his most famous opera, Il matrimonio segreto, was given in 1792 and encored in toto at its première. He then returned to Naples and was first organist of the royal chapel from 1796, the year of Gli Orazi ed i Curiazi, his most widely praised serious opera; but he was imprisoned in 1799 for his republican sympathies and later moved to Venice, where he died - poisoned, accorded to rumours, which were officially denied.

Cimarosa's more than 60 operas, mostly comic, made him one of the most popular composers of his day, and some of his works were long in the repertory. Stendhal rated him alongside Haydn and Mozart. His writing in the operas shows a keen sense of drama and caricature, with much vivacity and light, clear textures; the later works show a warmer melodic style, with more colourful modulations and scoring. Among his other works are oratorios, keyboard sonatas, concertos and chamber music.

works:
Operas
  • Cajo Mario (1780), I due baroni (1783), L′impresario in angustie (1786), Il maestro di cappella (intermezzo, c1790), Il matrimonio segreto (1792), Gli Orazi ed i Curiazi (1796)
  • c55 others
Vocal music
  • 5 oratorios
  • Missa pro defunctis, g (1787)
  • 18 masses
  • mass movts
  • sacred pieces
  • secular cantatas, hymns, songs
Instrumental music
  • over 80 kbd sonatas
  • Hpd Conc. , B♭
  • Conc. , 2 fl, G (1793)
  • 4 fl qts
  • other chamber works

Biography: Domenico Cimarosa
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The works of the Italian opera composer Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801) typify the style of Italian opera buffa, or comic opera, in the late 18th century.

Domenico Cimarosa was born in Averso near Naples, the son of a very poor family. At the age of 12 he entered the Conservatory of S. Maria di Loreto; he studied composition, voice, and keyboard and sang major parts in conservatory performances.

Cimarosa's first opera, Le stravaganze del cante, was produced in Naples in 1772, the year he left the conservatory. From then until 1780 he moved between Rome and Naples, composing 15 operas for the two cities. By the 1780s he was the rival of Giovanni Paisiello, until then the acknowledged leader among opera composers in Italy. Italian companies performed Cimarosa's works in London, Paris, Dresden, and Vienna.

In 1787 Cimarosa went to St. Petersburg, Russia, as chamber composer to Catherine II, joining a long line of Italians who had held posts there beginning in the early 18th century. He composed two operas, Cleopatra and La vergine del sole, as well as cantatas and vocal and instrumental works during his stay. His constitution was not strong enough to stand St. Petersburg's weather, so he left in 1791 to become conductor to Leopold II in Vienna. It was here that he composed his masterpiece, Il matrimonio segreto, in 1792. This, his most popular work, is the only one to remain in the repertory. When Leopold II died that year, Cimarosa lost his position and returned to Naples, where he became conductor to the king and music teacher to the royal children in 1793. In 1799 he was imprisoned for publicly expressing his sympathy for Napoleon. After his release he left Naples for St. Petersburg; on the journey he died in Venice in 1801.

In addition to 61 operas, many with two versions, Cimarosa composed oratorios, cantatas, miscellaneous vocal works, and instrumental works, including 32 one-movement piano sonatas. His melodic gifts so impressed Goethe that he wrote two texts, Die Spröde and Die Bekehrte, to be sung to Cimarosa's melodies.

Cimarosa's operatic style is similar to that of many of his Italian contemporaries. The speed at which he composed is reflected in his tendency to use conventional procedures. However, he wrote dramatic ensembles very well, both within acts and as finales, to carry forward the dramatic action. Although these ensembles do not show the breadth and depth of a Mozart, they are well above the standard of contemporary practice.

Further Reading

Both Paul Henry Lang, Music in Western Civilization (1941), and Donald J. Grout, A Short History of Opera (1947; 2d ed. 1965), survey the 18th-century Italian tradition and discuss Cimarosa. See also George T. Ferris, The Great Italian and French Composers (1883).

Additional Sources

Iovino, Roberto, Domenico Cimarosa: operista napoletano, Milano: Camunia, 1992.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Domenico Cimarosa
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Cimarosa, Domenico (dōmĕ'nēkō chēmärô'zä), 1749-1801, Italian operatic composer. He wrote almost 80 operas, which were successfully produced in Rome, Naples, Vienna, and St. Petersburg. His works, of which Il matrimonio segreto (1792) is the best known, are good examples of pure opera buffa. He also wrote serious operas and church and instrumental music notable for its clear and Mozartean effect.
Artist: Domenico Cimarosa
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Domenico Cimarosa
  • Period: Classical (1750-1819)
  • Country: Italy
  • Born: December 17, 1749 in Aversa, Italy
  • Died: January 11, 1801 in Venice, Italy
  • Genres: Choral Music, Concerto, Keyboard Music, Miscellaneous Music, Opera

Biography

A composer who was quite familiar to Mozart's operatic audiences, Domenico Cimarosa was the prolific creator of over 60 operas. He was the son of a poor bricklayer, coming from a working-class family. He studied music at the Conservatorio Santa Maria di Loreto from 1761 until 1772. Among his teachers was the famous Piccinni, the rival of Gluck in France. His first opera was Le stravaganza del conte. It premiered in Naples in 1772, and its success was such that it brought Cimarosa immediate recognition. Cimarosa spent the next several years in Rome and Naples, and composed over twenty operas for these two cities. His operas were performed internationally in Paris, Vienna, Dresden, and London. In 1787, Catherine II invited him to St. Petersburg. During his stay in Russia, Cimarosa continued to compose at a prodigious rate. La Cleopatra and La vergine del sole are two works that were staged in 1788. Subsequently, Leopold II of Austria engaged him as court Kapellmeister in Vienna, to fill the position vacated by Salieri. One of Cimarosa's greatest successes was staged in Vienna. Il matrimonio segreto, a delightful comic opera full of invention and wit, immensely pleased the Emperor. He gave the entire cast supper, and had them perform the entire opera again that same evening. Although lacking Mozart's depth, Cimarosa's music does possess some of Mozart's qualities -- in particular, a gift for the comic, buffo style.

After the death of the Emperor, Salieri was reappointed Kapellmeister, and Cimarosa was released. He left Vienna and returned to Naples where he entered the service of the King. He was hailed in Naples as a great operatic hero, and his Il matrimonio segreto was performed 57 times running. However, Cimarosa's last years were marked by misfortune. When the French Republican army marched into Naples, Cimarosa enthusiastically declared his support of the revolution. He was immediately thrown into prison and condemned to death. The King eventually released him, but banished him from Naples. Broken in spirit, Cimarosa attempted to return to Russia, but died in Venice in 1801. Because of rumors that he was poisoned, the government was obliged to perform an autopsy. In addition to operas, Cimarosa left behind oratorios, masses, and cantatas, and some instrumental music.

~ Rita Laurance, All Music Guide
Wikipedia: Domenico Cimarosa
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Domenico Cimarosa

Domenico Cimarosa (17 December 1749 – 11 January 1801) was an Italian opera composer of the Neapolitan school. He wrote more than eighty operas during his lifetime, including his masterpiece, Il matrimonio segreto (1792).

Contents

Early life and education

Cimarosa was born in Aversa, near Naples.

His parents were poor, but, anxious to give their son a good education, they sent him to a free school connected with one of the monasteries in Naples after moving to that city. The organist of the monastery, Padre Polcano, was struck by the boy's intellect, and voluntarily instructed him in the elements of music and also in the ancient and modern literature of his country. Because of his influence, Cimarosa obtained a scholarship at the musical institute of Santa Maria di Loreto in Naples, where he remained for eleven years, chiefly studying the great masters of the old Italian school; Niccoló Piccinni, Antonio Maria Gaspare Sacchini, and other musicians of repute are mentioned among his teachers.

Early career

At the age of twenty-three, Cimarosa began his career as a composer with an opera buffa called Le stravaganze del conte, first performed at the Teatro del Fiorentini at Naples in 1772. The work met with approval, and was followed in the same year by Le pazzie di Stelladaura e di Zoroastro, a farce full of humour and eccentricity. This work was also successful, and the fame of the young composer began to spread all over Italy. In 1774, he was invited to Rome to write an opera for the stagione of that year; and there he produced another comic opera called L'italiana in Londra.

Midlife

Domenico Cimarosa

Over the next thirteen years, Cimarosa wrote a number of operas for the various theatres of Italy, living temporarily in Rome, in Naples, or wherever else his vocation as conductor of his works happened to take him. From 1784 to 1787, he lived in Florence, writing exclusively for the theatre of that city. The productions of this period of his life are very numerous, consisting of operas (both comic and serious), cantatas, and various sacred compositions. The following works may be mentioned, among many others: Cajo Mario; the three Biblical operas, Assalone, La giuditta, and Il sacrificio d'Abramo; Il convito di pietra; and La ballerina amante, a comic opera first performed at Venice with enormous success.

Around 1788, Cimarosa went to St. Petersburg by invitation of Empress Catherine II. He remained at her court for four years and wrote an enormous number of compositions, mostly of the nature of pièces d'occasion; of most of these, not even the names are on record. In 1792, Cimarosa left St. Petersburg and went to Vienna at the invitation of Emperor Leopold II. Here, he produced his masterpiece, Il matrimonio segreto, which ranks among the highest achievements of light operatic music. In 1793, Cimarosa returned to Naples, where Il matrimonio segreto and other works were received with great acclaim. Among the works belonging to his last stay in Naples that may be mentioned is the charming opera, Le astuzie femminili.

This period of his life is said to have been embittered by the intrigues of envious and hostile persons, among whom figured his old rival, Giovanni Paisiello. During the occupation of Naples by the troops of the French Republic, Cimarosa joined the liberal party, and on the return of the Bourbons, was, like many of his political friends, condemned to death. By the intercession of influential admirers, his sentence was commuted to banishment, and he left Naples with the intention of returning to St. Petersburg—but his health was broken, and after much suffering, he died in Venice on 11 January 1801 of inflammation of the intestines. The nature of his disease led to the rumor of his having been poisoned by his enemies; however, a formal inquest proved this to be unfounded. He worked till the last moment of his life, and one of his operas, Artemizia, remained unfinished at his death. The place of his death is marked by a memorial in Campo San Angelo near the calle de Caffetier.

Main works

Domenico Cimarosa
  • Le stravaganze del conte (carnival 1772 Naples Teatro San Giovanni dei Fiorentini) [Le magie di Merlina e Zoroastro; Le pazzie di Stelladaura e Zoroastro]
  • La finta parigina (carnival 1773 Naples Teatro Nuovo)
  • I sdegni per amore (1.1776 Naples Teatro Nuovo)
  • I matrimoni in ballo (carnival 1776 Naples Teatro Nuovo)
  • La frascatana nobile (winter 1776 Naples Teatro Nuovo) [La finta frascatana]
  • I tre amanti (carnival 1777 Rome Teatro Della alla Valle) [Le gare degl'amanti]
  • Il fanatico per gli antiche Romani (spring 1777 Naples Teatro San Giovanni dei Fiorentini)
  • L'Armida immaginaria (summer 1777 Naples Teatro (San Giovanni) dei Fiorentini)
  • Gli amanti comici, o sia La famiglia in scompiglio (1778? ?Naples Teatro (San Giovanni) dei Fiorentini; carnival 1796 Crema) [Il matrimonio in commedia; La famiglia stravagante, ovvero Gli amanti comici]
  • Il ritorno di Don Calandrino (carnival 1778 Rome Teatro Della alla Valle) [Armidoro e Laurina]
  • Le stravaganze d'amore (1778 Naples Teatro San Giovanni dei Fiorentini)
  • Il matrimonio per industria (1778? Naples?) [?]
  • La contessina (summer 1778 Bologna) [?] [+ G. Astaritta, F.L. Gassmann]
  • Il matrimonio per raggiro (1778/9? Rome?; carnival 1802 Rome Teatro Della alla Valle) [La donna bizzarra]
  • L'italiana in Londra (carnival 1779 Rome Teatro Della alla Valle) [La virtù premiata]
  • L'infedeltà fedele (summer 1779 Naples Teatro del Fondo)
  • Le donne rivali (carnival 1780 Rome Teatro Della alla Valle) [et al.]
  • Cajo Mario (carnival 1780 Teatro delle Dame)
  • I finti nobili (carnival 1780 Naples Teatro San Giovanni dei Fiorentini)
  • Il falegname (1780 Naples F) [L'artista]
  • L'avviso ai maritati (1780? ?Naples Teatro San Giovann) dei Fiorentini) [?]
  • Il capriccio drammatico (1781? Turin?; 1794 London)
  • Il pittor parigino (carnival 1781 Rome Teatro Della alla Valle) [Le brame deluse]
  • Alessandro nell'Indie (carnival 1781 Rome A)
  • L'amante combattuto dalle donne di Punto (1781 Naples Teatro San Giovanni dei Fiorentini) [La biondolina; La giardiniera fortunata]
  • Giunio Bruto (aut.1781 Verona)
  • Giannina e Bernardone (aut.1781 Venice SS) [Il villano geloso]
  • Il convito (carnival 1782 Venice SS) [Der Schmaus]
  • L'amor costante (carnival 1782 Rome Teatro Della alla Valle) [Giulietta ed Armidoro]
  • L'eroe cinese (13.8.1782 Naples SC)
  • La ballerina amante (1782 Naples Teatro San Giovanni dei Fiorentini) [L'amante ridicolo]
  • La Circe (carnival 1783 Milan S)
  • I due baroni di Rocca Azzurra (carnival 1783 Rome Teatro Della alla Valle) [Dve nevesty; I due baroni; La sposa in contrasto; Il barone deluso]
  • La villana riconosciuta (1783 Naples Teatro del Fondo) [La villanella rapita]
  • Oreste (13.8.1783 Naples SC)
  • Chi dell'altrui si veste presto si spoglia (1783 Naples F) [Nina e Martuffo]
  • Il vecchio burlato (1783 Venice) [?]
  • I matrimoni impensati (carnival 1784 Rome Teatro Della alla Valle) [La bella greca]
  • L'apparenza inganna, o sia La villeggiatura (spring 1784 Naples F)
  • La vanità delusa (spring 1784 Florence P) [Il mercato di Malmantile]
  • L'Olimpiade (10.7.1784 Vicenza)
  • I due supposti conti, ossia Lo sposo senza moglie (aut.1784 Milan S) [Lo sposo ridicolo]
  • Artaserse (26.12.1784 Turin TR)
  • Il barone burlato (1784 Naples Teatro Nuovo) [rev. Il pittor parigino] [+ F. Cipolla]
  • Li finti conti (spring 1785 Turin, Gallo-Ughetti) [?]
  • I fratelli papamosche (spring 1785 Turin, Gallo-Ughetti) [?]
  • Le statue parlante (1785 Correggio) [?]
  • Il marito disperato (1785 Naples F) [Il marito geloso; Die bestrafte Eifersucht]
  • La donna sempre al suo peggior s'appiglia (1785 Naples Teatro Nuovo)
  • Il credulo (carnival 1786 Naples Teatro Nuovo) [La baronessa stramba; Il credulo deluso]
  • Le trame deluse (1786 Naples Teatro Nuovo) [L'amor contrastato; Li raggiri scoperti]
  • L'impresario in angustie (1786 Naples Teatro Nuovo) [Die theatralischen Abenteuer]
  • La baronessa stramba (1786 Naples Teatro Nuovo) [rev. I matrimoni in ballo] [Il credulo]
  • Gli amanti alla prova (1786 Naples) [?]
  • L'impostore punito (1786/7 Turin C) [?]
  • Volodimiro (carnival 1787 Turin TR)
  • Il fanatico burlato (1787 Naples Teatro del Fondo) [La burla felice; Der adelsüchtige Bürger]
  • La felicità inaspettata (3.1788 St Petersburg E)
  • La vergine del sole (1788? ?St Petersburg E; 6.11.1789 St Petersburg BK)
  • La scuffiara (1788) [?]
  • La Cleopatra (27.9.1789 St Petersburg E) [Cleopatra e Marc'Antonio]
  • Il matrimonio segreto (7.2.1792 Vienna B), score
  • Sophie et Dorval () [rev. Il matrimonio segreto]
  • Il matrimonio per susurro () [?]
  • La calamità dei cuori (1792/3 Vienna B) [?]
  • Contrattempi (1793 Bonn) [?]
  • Amor rende sagace (1.4.1793 Vienna B)
  • I traci amanti (19.6.1793 Naples Teatro Nuovo) [Il padre alla moda, ossia Lo Sbarco di Mustanzir Bassà; Gli turchi amanti; Les amants turcs]
  • Il maestro di capella (2.7.1793 Berlin, Germany)
  • Le astuzie femminili (26.8.1794 Naples Teatro (San Giovanni) dei Fiorentini)
  • La pupilla astuta (1794 Naples Teatro del Fondo) [?]
  • La serva innamorata (1794 Naples F) [?]
  • Penelope (carnival 1795 Naples Teatro del Fondo)
  • Le nozze in garbuglio (1795 Messina)
  • L'impegno superato (1795 Naples Teatro del Fondo)
  • La finta ammalata (1796 Lisbon)
  • I nemici generosi (carnival 1796 Rome Teatro Della alla Valle) [Il duello per complimento]
  • Gli Orazi ed i Curiazi (carnival 1797 Venice F)
  • La morte di Assalonne (? Florence, Oratorio) [rev. Gli Orazi ed i Curiazi]
  • Achille all'assedio di Troja (carnival 1797 Rome A)
  • L'imprudente fortunato (carnival 1797 Rome Teatro Della alla Valle)
  • Artemisia regina di Caria (summer 1797 Naples SC)
  • Attilio Regolo (carnival 1797 Reggio) [?]
  • Le nozze di Lauretta (1797? Turin) [?]
  • L'apprensivo raggirato (1798 Naples Teatro San Giovanni dei Fiorentini)
  • Il secreto (aut.1798 Turin C)
  • Semiramide (1799 Naples F) [?]
  • Il conte di bell'amore () [?]
  • L'arte contro l'arte (carnival 1800 Alexandria) [?]
  • Artemisia (carnival 1801 Venice F)
  • Il nuovo podestà (spring 1802 Bologna) [?]
  • Tiro Vespasiano (1821 Lisbon) [?]
  • La discordia fortunata () [?]
  • L'ajo nell'imbarazzo () [?]
  • Le donne vendicate () [?]
  • Il cavalier del dente () [?]
  • La Molinara (inc) [?]

References

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
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