Saverio Mercadante

Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante (baptised 17 September 1795 – 17 December 1870) was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While Mercadante may not have retained the international celebrity of Gaetano Donizetti or Gioachino Rossini beyond his own lifetime, he composed as prolific a number of works as either; and his development of operatic structures, melodic styles and orchestration contributed significantly to the foundations upon which Giuseppe Verdi built his dramatic technique.

Saverio Mercadante, portrait by Andrea Cefaly

Biography

Early years

Mercadante was born illegitimate in Altamura, near Bari in Apulia; his precise date of birth has not been recorded, but he was baptised on 17 September 1795.[1] Mercadante studied flute, violin and composition at the conservatory in Naples, and organized concerts among his compatriots.[2] The opera composer Gioachino Rossini said to the conservatory Director, Niccolo Zingarelli, "My compliments, Maestro – your young pupil Mercadante begins where we finish".[2] In 1817 he was made conductor of the college orchestra, composing a number of symphonies, and concertos for various instruments – including six for flute about 1818–1819, and whose autograph scores are in the Naples conservatory, where they were presumably first performed with him as soloist.[2]

Mercadante's birthplace and house located on the street corso Federico II di Svevia, Altamura (the plaque dates back to Italy's fascist period)

The encouragement of Rossini led him to compose for the opera, where he won considerable success with his second such work (Violenza e Constanza), in 1820. His next three operas are more or less forgotten, but an abridged recording of Maria Stuarda, Regina di Scozia was issued by Opera Rara in 2006. His next opera Elisa e Claudio was a huge success, and had occasional revivals in the 20th century, most recently by Wexford Festival Opera in 1988.

Mercadante

He worked for a time in Vienna, in Madrid, in Cádiz, and in Lisbon, but re-established himself in Italy in 1831. He was invited by Rossini to Paris in 1836, where he composed I Briganti for four of the best-known singers of the time, Giulia Grisi, Giovanni Battista Rubini, Antonio Tamburini and Luigi Lablache, all of whom worked closely with Bellini. While there, he had the opportunity to hear operas by Meyerbeer and Halévy, which imparted a strong influence on him, especially the latter's La Juive. This influence took the form of greater stress on the dramatic side.

Return to Italy, 1831

When Mercadante returned to Italy after living in Spain and Portugal, Donizetti's music reigned supreme in Naples,[3] an ascendancy which did not end until censorship problems with the latter's Poliuto caused a final break. But Mercadante's style began to shift with the presentation of I Normanni a Parigi at the Teatro Regio in Turin in 1832: "It was with this score that Mercadante entered on the process of development in his musical dramaturgy which, in some aspects, actually presaged the arrival of Verdi, when he launched, from 1837 on, into master works of his artistic maturity: the so-called "reform operas".[3]

The beginnings of the so-called "reform movement", of which Mercadante was part, arose from the publication of a manifesto by Giuseppe Mazzini which he wrote in 1836, the Filosofia della musica.[4]

In the period after 1831 he composed some of his most important works. These included Il giuramento which was premiered at La Scala in November 1837. One striking and innovative characteristic of this opera has been noted:

..it marks the first successful attempt in an Italian opera premiered in Italy of depriving the prima donna, or some other star singer, of her until-then inalienable right of having the stage to herself at the end. By doing this, Mercadante sounded what was to be the death knell of the age of bel canto.[5]

Early in following year, while composing Elena da Feltre (which premiered in January 1839), Mercadante wrote to Francesco Florimo, laying out his ideas about how opera should be structured, following the "revolution" begun in his previous opera:

I have continued the revolution I began in Il giuramento: varied forms, cabalettas banished, crescendos out, vocal lines simplified, fewer repeats, more originality in the cadences, proper regard paid to the drama, orchestration rich but not so as to swamp the voices, no long solos in the ensembles (they only force the other parts to stand idle to the detriment of the action), not much bass drum, and a lot less brass band.[5]

Elena da Feltre followed; one critic found much to praise in it:

A work of harmonic daring, subtlety and originally orchestrated, it suddenly makes sense of oft quoted comparisons between Mercadante and Verdi. It has the overall coherence one looks for and finds in middle and late Verdi – a surprising anticipation, for Elena da Feltre dates from 1838, the year before Verdi's first opera[6]

These temporarily put him in the forefront of composers then active in Italy, although he was soon passed by Giovanni Pacini with Saffo and Giuseppe Verdi with several operas, especially Ernani.

Later works

Some of Mercadante's later works, especially Orazi e Curiazi, were also quite successful. Many performances of his operas were given throughout the 19th century and it has been noted that some of them received far more than those of Verdi's early operas over the same period of time.[7]

Throughout his life he generated more instrumental works than most of his contemporary composers of operas due to his lifelong preoccupation with orchestration, and, from 1840, his position as the Director of the Naples conservatory for the last thirty years of his life.[2] From 1863 he was almost totally blind and dictated all his compositions.[1]

In the decades after his death in Naples in 1870, his output was largely forgotten, but it has been occasionally revived and recorded since World War II, although it has yet to achieve anything like the present-day popularity of the most famous compositions by his slightly younger contemporaries: see Donizetti's compositions and Bellini's compositions.

The French soloist Jean-Pierre Rampal notably recorded several Mercadante concertos for flute and string orchestra*, including the grand and romantic E minor concerto, which has since gained some popularity among concert flautists.

  • Not all the concertos are for string orchestra. Some are for larger ensembles. The Concerto in E minor, is, however, for flute and strings.

Operas
TitleGenreActsLibrettoPremièreCity, theatreNotes
L'apoteosi d'Ercoledramma per musica2 actsGiovanni Schmidt19 August 1819Naples, Teatro San Carlo
Violenza e costanza, ossia I falsi monetaridramma per musica2 actsAndrea Leone Tottola19 January 1820Naples, Teatro NuovoRevised as: Il castello dei spiriti: Lisbon, 14 March 1825
Anacreonte in Samodramma per musica2 actsGiovanni Schmidt1 August 1820Naples, Teatro San CarloBased on Anacréon chez Polycrate by Jean Henri Guy.
Il geloso ravvedutomelodramma buffo2 actsBartolomeo SignoriniOctober 1820Rome, Teatro Valle
Scipione in Cartaginemelodramma serio2 actsJacopo Ferretti26 December 1820Rome, Teatro Argentina
Maria Stuarda, regina di Scoziadramma serio2 actsGaetano Rossi29 May 1821Bologna, Teatro Comunale
Elisa e Claudio, ossia L'amore protetto dall'amiciziamelodramma semiserio2 actsLuigi Romanelli30 October 1821Milan, Teatro alla ScalaBased on Rosella, ossia Amore e crudeltà by Filippo Casari
Andronicomelodramma tragico2 actsGiovanni Kreglianovich26 December 1821Venice, Teatro La Fenice
Il posto abbandonato, ossia Adele ed Emericomelodramma semiserio2 actsFelice Romani21 September 1822Milan, Teatro alla Scala
Amletomelodramma tragico2 actsFelice Romani26 December 1822Milan, Teatro alla ScalaBased on Shakespeare play Hamlet.
Alfonso ed Elisamelodramma serio2 acts26 December 1822Mantua, Teatro NuovoBased on Filippo by Alfieri; Revised as Aminta ed Argira for Reggio Emilia, Teatro Pubblico, 23 April 1823
Didone abbandonatadramma per musica2 actsAndrea Leone Tottola18 January 1823Turin, Teatro RegioBased on Metastasio
Gli scitidramma per musica2 actsAndrea Leone Tottola18 March 1823Naples, Teatro San CarloBased on Les scythes by Voltaire.
Costanzo ed Almeriskadramma per musica2 actsAndrea Leone Tottola22 November 1823Naples, Teatro San Carlo
Gli amici di Siracusamelodramma eroico2 actsJacopo Ferretti7 February 1824Rome, Teatro ArgentinaBased on Plutarc.
Doralicemelodramma2 acts18 September 1824Vienna, Kärntnertortheater
Le nozze di Telemaco ed Antiopeazione lirica7 actsCalisto Bassi5 November 1824Vienna, KärntnertortheaterPastice, with music by other composers.
Il podestà di Burgos, ossia Il signore del villaggiomelodramma giocoso2 actsCalisto Bassi20 November 1824Vienna, KärntnertortheaterUnder the title of Il signore del villaggio given in Naples at Teatro del Fondo on 28 maggio 1825 (in Neapolitan dialect); Titled Eduardo ed Angelica, given in Naples at the Teatro del Fondo in 1828.
Nitocridramma per musica2 actsLodovico Piossasco Feys26 December 1824Turin, Teatro RegioWith recitatives by Apostolo Zeno
Ipermestradramma tragico2 actsLuigi Ricciuti29 December 1825Naples, Teatro San CarloBased on Eschilo
Erode, ossia Mariannadramma tragico2 actsLuigi Ricciuti12 December 1824Venice, Teatro La FeniceBased on Voltaire
Caritea regina di Spagna, ossia La morte di Don Alfonso re di Portogallo
(Donna Caritea)		melodramma serio2 actsPaolo Pola21 February 1826Venice, Teatro La Fenice
Eziodramma per musica2 actsPietro Metastasio2 February 1827Turin, Teatro Regio
Il montanaromelodramma comico2 actsFelice Romani16 April 1827Milan, Teatro alla ScalaBased on August Lafontaine
La testa di bronzo, ossia La capanna solitariamelodramma eroicomico2 actsFelice Romani3 December 1827Lisbon, Teatro privato dei Baroni Quintella a Laranjeiras
Adriano in Siriadramma eroico2 actsPietro Metastasio24 February 1828Lisbon, Teatro de São Carlos
Gabriella di Vergydramma tragico2 actsAntonio Profumo8 August 1828Lisbon, Teatro de São CarlosBased on Gabrielle de Vergy by Dormont de Belloy; Revised with a text by Emanuele Bidera for Genoa, Teatro Carlo Felice, 16 June 1832
La rappresagliamelodramma buffo2 actsCesare Sterbini21 February 1829Cadiz, Teatro Principal
Don Chisciotte alle nozze di Gamacciomelodramma giocoso1 attoStefano Ferrero10 February 1830Cadiz, Teatro PrincipalBased on Miguel de Cervantes
Francesca da Riminimelodramma2 actsFelice Romani1831Composed for Madrid but probably not performed there.
Zairamelodramma tragico2 actsFelice Romani31 August 1831Naples, Teatro San CarloBased on Voltaire
I normanni a Parigitragedia lirica4 actsFelice Romani7 February 1832Turin, Teatro Regio
Ismalia, ossia Amore e mortemelodramma3 actsFelice Romani27 October 1832Milan, Teatro alla Scala
Il conte di Essexmelodramma3 actsFelice Romani10 March 1833Milan, Teatro alla Scala
Emma d'Antiochiatragedia lirica3 actsFelice Romani8 March 1834Venice, Teatro La Fenice
Uggero il danesemelodramma4 actsFelice Romani11 August 1834Bergamo, Teatro Riccardi
La gioventù di Enrico Vmelodramma4 actsFelice Romani25 November 1834Milan, Teatro alla ScalaIn part based on Shakespeare
I due Figaromelodramma buffo2 actsFelice Romani26 January 1835Madrid, Teatro PrincipeBased on Les deux Figaro by Honoré-Antoine Richaud Martelly; Composed in 1826.
Francesca Donato, ossia Corinto distruttamelodramma3 actsFelice Romani14 February 1835Turin, Teatro RegioBased on Byron; Revised by Salvatore Cammarano for the Teatro San Carlo, Naples, 5 January 1845.
I brigantimelodramma3 actsJacopo Crescini22 March 1836Paris, Théâtre-ItalienBased on Die Räuber by Schiller; Revised for Milan's Teatro alla Scala, 6 November 1837.
Il giuramentomelodramma3 actsGaetano Rossi11 March 1837Milan, Teatro alla ScalaUner the title of Amore e dovere given in Rome in 1839.
Le due illustri rivalimelodramma3 actsGaetano Rossi10 March 1838Venice, Teatro La FeniceRevised for the Teatro alla Scala, 26 December 1839.
Elena da Feltredramma tragico3 actsSalvatore Cammarano1 January 1839Naples, Teatro San CarloCompleted in the autumn of 1837.
Il bravo, ossia La venezianamelodramma3 actsGaetano Rossi9 March 1839Milan, Teatro alla ScalaBased on La vénitienne by Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and The Bravo, a tale by James Fenimore Cooper.
La vestaletragedia lirica3 actsSalvatore Cammarano10 March 1840Naples, Teatro San CarloGiven under the title of Emilia in Rome in the autumn of 1842; As San Camillo given in Rome in 1851.
La solitaria delle Asturie, ossia La Spagna ricuperatamelodramma5 actsFelice Romani12 March 1840Venice, Teatro La Fenice
Il proscrittomelodramma tragico3 actsSalvatore Cammarano4 January 1842Naples, Teatro San CarloBased on Le proscrit by F. Soulié.
Il reggentedramma lirico3 actsSalvatore Cammarano2 February 1843Turin, Teatro RegioBased on Gustave III ou Le bal masqué by Eugène Scribe; Revised with changes for Trieste, 11 November 1843.
Leonoramelodramma4 actsMarco D'Arienzo5 December 1844Naples, Teatro NuovoBased on Lenore by Gottfried August Bürger; Arranged as I cacciatori delle Alpi for Mantua in 1859.
Il Vascello de Gamamelodramma romantico1 prologo e 3 actsSalvatore Cammarano6 March 1845Naples, Teatro San CarloBased on Le naufrage de la Meduse by Desnoyers de Biéville.
Orazi e Curiazitragedia lirica3 actsSalvatore Cammarano10 November 1846Naples, Teatro San CarloBased on Horace by Pierre Corneille.
La schiava saracena, ovvero Il campo dei crociatimelodramma tragico4 actsFrancesco Maria Piave26 December 1848Milan, Teatro alla ScalaRevised for Teatro San Carlo, Naples, 29 October 1850.
Medeatragedia lirica3 actsSalvatore Cammarano

Felice Romani		1 March 1851Naples, Teatro San Carlo
Statiratragedia lirica3 actsDomenico Bolognese8 January 1853Naples, Teatro San CarloBased on Olympie by Voltaire
Violettamelodramma4 actsMarco D'Arienzo10 January 1853Naples, Teatro Nuovo
Pelagiotragedia lirica4 actsMarco D'Arienzo12 February 1857Naples, Teatro San Carlo
Virginiatragedia lirica3 actsSalvatore Cammarano7 April 1866Naples, Teatro San CarloBased on Alfieri; Composed in December 1849 to March 1850.
L'orfano di Brono, ossia Caterina dei Medici
(Caterina di Brono)		melodramma3 actsSalvatore CammaranoIncomplete; only the first act exists.
Composed in 1869/1870
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References

Notes

  1. Zucker, Stefan. "Saverio Mercadante: Liszt thought him Italy's best composer". stefanzucker.com. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  2. Michael Rose, "Mercadante: Flute Concertos", booklet accompanying the 2004 RCA CD recording with James Galway and I Solisti Veneti under Claudio Scimone.
  3. Couling (trans.) 1997, p. 6
  4. Blaha, Peter 2006, (trans. Stewart Spencer), "A gratifying experience", Booklet accompanying the 1979 live Orfeo recording of Il giuramento
  5. Kaufman, Tom, "The Neglected Bel Canto Composers", The Meyerbeer Fan Club, online at meyerbeer.com
  6. Schmid, Patric April 1975, "Rediscovering Mercadante", Opera, vol. 26, No.4, p.332
  7. Kaufman, Thomas 1995, "Mercadante and Verdi", Opera Quarterly, date unk.: For example, Il giuramento received 400 performances and La vestale 150 compared to Giovanna d'Arco, Don Carlo (in all its versions), and Aroldo 's approx. 90 each.

Sources

  • Bryan, Karen M. (1988), "Mercadante's Experiment in Form: The cabalettas of Elena da Feltre", Donizetti Society Journal Number 6, London.
  • Couling, Della (trans.) (1997), "Saverio Mercadante (1795–1870)" Elena da Feltre ", in the booklet accompanying the 1997 recording of that opera at the Wexford Festival released on the Marco Polo label
  • De Napoli, Giuseppe, (1952) La triade melodrammatica altamurana: Giacomo Tritto, Vincenzo Lavigna, Saverio Mercadante, Milan.
  • Kaufman, Thomas G. (1993), "Mercadante", in the International Dictionary of Opera, vol. 2 pp. 858–861
  • Kaufman, Thomas G. (1996), "Catalogue of the Operas of Mercadante-Chronology of Performances with Casts", Bollettino dell Associazione Civica "Saverio Mercadante" N. 1; Altamura
  • Kaufman, Thomas G. (June 1997), "Mercadante and Verdi", The Opera Quarterly, vol. 13, No. 3
  • Gianturco, Elio, Review of Saverio Mercadante; nella gloria e nella luce, in Notes, Music Library Association, Second Series, Vol. 7, No. 4 (September 1950), pp. 564–565. (Accessible by subscription)
  • Notarnicola, Biagio (1948–49), Saverio Mercadante; nella gloria e nella luce, Rome: Diplomatica, 1948–49
  • Notarnicola, Biagio (1955), Verdi non ha vinto Mercadante, Rome
  • Palermo, Santo (1985), Saverio Mercadante: biografia, epistolario, Fasano
  • Petrucci, Gianluca and Giacinto Moramarco (1992), Saggi su Saverio Mercadante, Cassano Murge
  • Petrucci, Gianluca (1995), Saverio Mercadante l'ultimo dei cinque re, Rome
  • Rose, Michael (1998), "Mercadante, Saverio", in Stanley Sadie, (Ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Vol. Three, pp. 334 – 339. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-333-73432-7 ISBN 1-56159-228-5
  • Summa, Matteo (1985), Bravo Mercadante, Fasano
  • Walker, Frank, "Mercadante and Verdi", Music & Letters, Vol. 33, No. 4 (October 1952), pp. 311–321 (Accessible by subscription)
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