Varesco

Varesco

Father "Varesco" (1735-1805) was a chaplain, musician, poet and (most famously) librettist to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.His given name variously appears as Giambattista, Gianbattista, Giovanni Battistaand Girolamo Giovanni Battista. He is sometimes referred to with the Italian title"Abate" or the French "Abbé", both used for priests:he was chaplain at the Salzburg court chapel from 1766.

Varesco's only familiar work with Mozart is the libretto to "Idomeneo";the abortive "L'oca del Cairo" is little-known.Varesco also edited Metastasio's libretto for "Il re pastore",one of Mozart's lesser operas.

Mozart's commission for "Idomeneo" came in 1780 from Karl Theodor, Elector of Bavaria;his court in Munich paid Varesco 90 gulden. Leopold Mozartacted as a local intermediary for his son [ [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-15614 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart :: Salzburg and Munich - Britannica Online Encyclopedia ] ] ; their correspondenceleft many details on the collaboration, and showed the composer's dissatisfaction,primarily with the excessive length of the text.In a letter in December 1780 Mozart wrote:

"Ask the Abbate Varesco if we could not break off at the chorus in the second act, "Placido e il mare" after Elettra's first verse, when the chorus is repeated,--at all events after the second, for it is really far too long." (V.1. - 43/46)

Varesco resented the many cuts and changes that Mozart demanded,and insisted that his original text be published in full, which Mozart used as an excuse for cuts he made without the librettist's approval. [Edward J. Dent, also David Cairns, "Mozart and his operas", 2006, p.50]

In a letter from Mozart to his father, who acted as a go-between for him in Salzburg,Mozart notes Varesco's admission that he had "not the slightest knowledge or experience of the theatre." [L853, 21 June 1783]

By contrast with the extensive documentation of this uneasy collaboration, we have no written record of the collaboration between Mozart and his greatest librettist, Lorenzo da Ponte, whose office was a short walk from Mozart's lodgings in Vienna.

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Giambattista Varesco — (parfois nommé Gianbattista, Giovanni Battista ou Girolamo Giovanni Battista) (1735 1805) était un abbé italien du XVIIIe siècle, musicien, poète et librettiste de Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Parfois on le désigne sous le titre d… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Idomeneo, rey de Creta — Para otros usos de este término, véase Idomeneo (desambiguación). Idomeneo, rey de Creta Idomeneo, rè di Creta Anton Raaff en el rol titular de Idomeneo. Forma Dramma per musica …   Wikipedia Español

  • Idomeneo — Werkdaten Titel: Idomeneo Originaltitel: Idomeneo, Rè di Creta Form: Tragédie lyrique Originalsprache: Italienisch Musik …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Idomeneo, re di Creta — Werkdaten Titel: Idomeneo Originaltitel: Idomeneo, Rè di Creta Form: Opera seria Originalsprache: Italienisch Musik: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Libr …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Idomeneo — Idomeneo, re di Creta ossia Ilia e Idamante (Italian: Idomeneo, King of Crete, or, Ilia and Idamante ; usually referred to simply as Idomeneo , K. 366) is an Italian opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista… …   Wikipedia

  • List of operas by Mozart — Playbill for the opening performance of Die Zauberflöte, 30 September 1791 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart s operas comprise 22 musical dramas in a variety of genres. They range from the small scale, derivative works of his youth to the full fledged… …   Wikipedia

  • Idomeneo (ópera) — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Para otros usos de este término, véase Idomeneo (desambiguación). Idomeneo, re di Creta ossia Ilia e Idamante (úsase normalmente el nombre Idomeneo) (KV 366) es una ópera seria en tres actos compuesta por Wolfgang… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Óperas de Mozart — Anexo:Óperas de Mozart Saltar a navegación, búsqueda …   Wikipedia Español

  • Anexo:Óperas de Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Cartel del estreno de La flauta mágica el 30 de septiembre de 1791 en Viena …   Wikipedia Español

  • The Labours of Hercules — Infobox Book | name = The Labours of Hercules title orig = translator = image caption = Dust jacket illustration of the US (true first) edition. See Publication history (below) for UK first edition jacket image. author = Agatha Christie… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”