CADERNOS DE QUELUZ
1

DON JUAN ARCHIV WIEN
SPECULA SPECTACULA

Series edited by
MICHAEL HÜTTLER ∙ MATTHIAS J. PERNERSTORFER ∙ HANS ERNST WEIDINGER

5

DIVINO SOSPIRO
CENTRO DE ESTUDOS MUSICAIS SETECENTISTAS DE PORTUGAL
CADERNOS DE QUELUZ

Series edited by
ISKRENA YORDANOVA ∙ MASSIMO MAZZEO

1

SERENATA AND FESTA TEATRALE
IN 18^TH CENTURY EUROPE

Edited by
ISKRENA YORDANOVA ∙ PAOLOGIOVANNI MAIONE

The publication was supported by
PARQUES DE SINTRA – MONTE DA LUA and DON JUAN ARCHIV WIEN FORSCHUNGSVEREIN

Serenata and Festa Teatrale in 18^th Century Europe

Edited by

ISKRENA YORDANOVA and PAOLOGIOVANNI MAIONE

Wien: HOLLITZER Verlag 2018

(= Specula Spectacula 5 / Cadernos de Queluz 1)

Editors of Specula Spectacula

MICHAEL HÜTTLER · MATTHIAS J. PERNERSTORFER · HANS ERNST WEIDINGER

Editors of Cadernos de Queluz

ISKRENA YORDANOVA · MASSIMO MAZZEO

Cover Image

Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon:

Stage design for Deliziosa Reggia di Teti,

drawing by Francesco Galli Bibiena (1659–1739)

Photo copyright DGPC/ADF Luísa Oliveira, 2006

Layout: GABRIEL FISCHER, Vienna

Production Management: MATTHIAS J. PERNERSTORFER, Vienna

© HOLLITZER Verlag, Wien 2018

HOLLITZER Verlag

a division of
HOLLITZER Baustoffwerke Graz GmbH

www.hollitzer.at

All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-3-99012-519-9 (hbk)
ISBN 978-3-99012-520-5 (pdf)
ISBN 978-3-99012-521-2 (epub)

HONORARY PRESIDENT

JORGE SAMPAIO
Former President of the Portuguese Republic

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

JOÃO BOSCO MOTA AMARAL
Former President of the Portuguese Parliament

MANUEL BAPTISTA
President of the board, Parques de Sintra-Monte da Lua S.A.

ANTÓNIO MEGA FERREIRA
President of the board, AMEC, Lisboa

RISTO NIEMINEM
Director of Gulbenkian Musica, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisboa

HANS ERNST WEIDINGER
President of Don Juan Archiv Wien

BRUNO WOLSCHLEGEL
Merck, Wiesbaden

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

MARIA IDA BIGGI
Università Ca’ Foscari, Venezia
Director of Theatre and Opera Institute, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venezia

MANUEL CARLOS DE BRITO
Professor Emeritus, Universidade Nova de Lisboa

PAULO FERREIRA DE CASTRO
CESEM, Universidade Nova de Lisboa

FRANCESCO COTTICELLI
Università degli studi “Federico Secondo”, Napoli

CRISTINA FERNANDES
INET-md, Universidade Nova de Lisboa

PAOLOGIOVANNI MAIONE
Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella / Fondazione Pietà de’ Turchini, Napoli

CARLOS PIMENTA
Universidade Lusófona, Lisboa

BRIAN PRITCHARD
School of Music University of Canterbury, New Zealand

GIUSEPPINA RAGGI
CES, Universidade de Coimbra

ISKRENA YORDANOVA
Director of research DS-CEMSP, Lisboa

CONTENTS

PREFACES

Cadernos de Queluz
MASSIMO MAZZEO – HANS ERNST WEIDINGER

Introduction
ISKRENA YORDANOVA – PAOLOGIOVANNI MAIONE

PART I
THE HOUSES OF PORTUGAL AND AUSTRIA

BARCELONA (1709)

«Numeroso Culto, músico festejo, en aplauso de las felicissimas, y reales bodas»
A Spanish Serenata at Archduke Charles’ Court in Barcelona Celebrating the Marriage of his Sister Marianna of Austria with King João V of Portugal on 5^th February 1709. A Brief Analysis of Court Ceremonial in Barcelona During the War of Spanish Succession Based on Contemporary Descriptions of this Celebration
DANIÈLE LIPP

LISBON (1708–1754)

O espaço teatral na corte de D. João V e o papel da rainha Maria Ana de Áustria na promoção da ópera em Portugal
GIUSEPPINA RAGGI

VIENNA (1705–1740)

Festa teatrale e serenata alla corte imperiale di Vienna nella prima metà del Settecento
ANDREA SOMMER-MATHIS

PART II
ITALIAN COURTS AND CITIES

TUSCANY (1658–1737)

Francesco Baldovini e le serenate “rustico civili” per Calendimaggio
GIULIA GIOVANI

ROME (1681–1740)

Serenate e cantate nel sistema culturale romano del primo Settecento
SILVIA TATTI

Serenate alla corte romana del cardinale Pietro Ottoboni (1667–1740) nell’epoca di Arcangelo Corelli: storia e proteizzazione di un genere
TERESA CHIRICO

NAPLES (1709–1736)

A Survey of Alessandro Scarlatti’s Late Serenatas (1709–1723)
THOMAS GRIFFIN

Nuove fonti per l’Andromeda liberata: Albinoni, Caldara, Porpora
GIOVANNI ANDREA SECHI

VENICE (1716–1782)

A cavallo tra i generi: le serenate di Vivaldi e gli autoimprestiti dalle opere
GIADA VIVIANI

«Onori et accoglimento»: qualche nota su musica per la politica e politica musicale a Venezia nella seconda metà del Settecento
GIOVANNI POLIN

SAVOY (1713–1789)

I festeggiamenti per le incoronazioni a Palermo di Vittorio Amedeo II (1713) e Carlo III (1735): musica, spettacolo e cerimonia
ILARIA GRIPPAUDO

Non nisi grandia canto: feste teatrali e spettacoli d’occasione alla corte sabauda nel secondo Settecento
ANNARITA COLTURATO

PART III
THE HOUSES OF FRANCE AND AUSTRIA

THE BOURBONS IN NAPLES AND PARMA (1745–1782)

La marina risplendente «per le nozze del real delfino colla reale infante di Spagna» (Napoli 1745)
PAOLOGIOVANNI MAIONE

«Inebriati d’un nuovo genere di piaceri».
Alessandro e Timoteo a Parma: metamorfosi della festa teatrale
PAOLO RUSSO

METASTASIO POETA CESAREO (1760–1799)

Un’ «ingegnosa congiunzione». La serenata Tetide di Gluck per una pace asburgica europea (1760)
ARMANDO FABIO IVALDI

L’Isola disabitata di Metastasio ripresa per Maria Carolina (Bologna 1768). Storia di un ripopolamento, fra canto e danza
ANDREA CHEGAI

APPENDIX

INDEX OF PERSONS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

CADERNOS DE QUELUZ

MASSIMO MAZZEO – HANS ERNST WEIDINGER

The present volume Serenata and Festa Teatrale in 18^th Century Europe inaugurates the new series Cadernos de Queluz. It takes its name from the Palácio Nacional de Queluz near Lisbon, built in 1747 and used as summer residence of the Royal House of Braganza. It is a splendid place with an intensive musical history especially under Queen Maria I and Pedro III. The oldest Queluz libretto dates back to 1761, numerous print and manuscript sources prove performances from 1763 up to the first decade of 1800.

Since 2014, Divino Sospiro – Centro de Estudos Musicais Setecentistas de Portugal has staged international conferences at the Palácio Nacional de Queluz. Portugal’s musical development during the 18^th century serves as the starting point for the research, but during the conferences, the research focus has always been widened to the context of European music and theatre history, particularly that of the Mediterranean region. The Queluz summer conferences combine academic discourse and musical practice, and their importance, both nationally and internationally, becomes evident in the range of collaborators, among them the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian (Lisbon) and the Istituto Italiano per la Storia della Musica (Rome). The proceedings of these conferences are published in the series Cadernos de Queluz.

* * *

The creation of Divino Sospiro – Centre of Eighteenth-Century Musical Studies in Portugal (DS-CEMSP) represented the culmination of a project developed gradually over the last decade. Since its foundation in 2004, the early music ensemble Divino Sospiro has devoted itself to research into eighteenth-century Portuguese music and musical activity, a rich and fascinating heritage, which has hitherto not received the recognition it deserves. As a result of this work, Divino Sospiro established a partnership with the enterprise Parques de Sintra – Monte da Lua in 2013, leading to the creation of the Centre of Studies at the Queluz National Palace.

The Centre aims at affirming the interconnection between research and performance by establishing links between musicology and musical practice and by promoting the development of historically well-founded performance practice. Great emphasis is put on research into eighteenth-century Portuguese repertoire, divulging and promoting this music in Portugal and abroad, while also producing scholarly studies, critical editions, and publications such as this one. In addition, the Centre offers workshops and pedagogical projects, as well as concert series at the National Palaces of Queluz, Sintra and Pena, the latter two located in the UNESCO heritage area of Sintra.

To achieve its goals, DS-CEMSP has counted on the support from leading personalities in the fields of music and humanities, with the former President of the Portuguese Republic, Dr. Jorge Sampaio, serving as the Center’s Honorary Chairman. The concert series, an integral part of the effort to explore and promote Portugal’s musical patrimony, are focused on historical interpretation practice and feature performers of the highest international standards. Through careful and inventive programming, the music is placed in the context of other fields, such as history, literature, and architecture, in order to give the public a rich interdisciplinary experience.

During the last few years, DS-CEMSP has embarked on a project involving the restoration of the more than eighty serenatas written for special occasions relating to the Royal Family at the Queluz Palace. The Portuguese Serenata, essentially a secular cantata, occupies a unique position in European music history – a national genre created out of necessity after the destruction of all the Portuguese opera theatres in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. To date, five serenatas have been restored and performed. Other initiatives by the DS-CEMSP include the restoration of the rare and magnificent “Clementi” fortepiano from the Queluz National Palace collection, and the curating of the exhibition “Della Gloria, e dell’Amor”, centered on the composer Niccoló Jommelli (1714–1774), in collaboration with São Carlos National Theatre and the Portuguese National Library.

The DS-CEMSP project is unique in Portugal in that it allows for a wide range of participants. Scholars, professional and amateur musicians, music lovers, institutions, and musical “entrepeneurs” are all able to engage on different levels, with the orchestra Divino Sospiro providing a base for the activities.

* * *

This volume is published in cooperation with Don Juan Archiv Wien as the Cadernos de Queluz is a sub-series of Specula Spectacula, a series edited by this very institution. With the figure of Don Juan as a starting point, Don Juan Archiv Wien focuses, among other things, on opera and theatre history of Central and Mediterranean Europe, from its beginnings until the 19^th century. Since 2007, Don Juan Archiv Wien has conducted research and presented artistic projects on these topics, both independently and in cooperation with academic institutions in Vienna, Brno, Prague, Bayreuth, Ratisbon, Passau, Salzburg, Graz, Venice, Bologna, Florence, Rome, the Vatican, Naples, and Istanbul.

The Queluz summer conferences and the Cadernos de Queluz are, in many ways, connected to the research interests of the Don Juan Archiv Wien. Shared areas of interest include the history of the musical theatre in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, the connection between diplomacy and theatre, and the history of Don Juan, as seen in literary works with links to Portugal from the early 17^th to the late 18^th century. A special emphasis lies on researching the relationship between the dynasties of Portugal and Austria, established in medieval times, newly strengthened in the 18^th century, and explored in various ways also in this first volume of the Cadernos de Queluz.

* * *

We are grateful for the support of Parques de Sintra – Monte da Lua and Direção-Geral das Artes, without whom this publication would not have been possible, and for the inspiring collaborations between Divino Sospiro and Don Juan Archiv Wien as well as for the good cooperation with Fondazione Giorgio Cini (Venice), Università Federico II, Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella, and Centro di Musica Antica Pietà dei Turchini (all three Naples), and, last but not least, Hollitzer Verlag (Vienna). Together, we have succeeded in treading a path to link the past with the future in a way unimaginable just a few years ago.

INTRODUCTION

ISKRENA YORDANOVA – PAOLOGIOVANNI MAIONE

Reading this volume constitutes a systematic journey through the insidious world of a specific musical genre. The serenata and the festa teatrale, since their institution, had proven to be a genre that has defied definition: one realizes how impervious a field is when trying to explain a structure that can hardly be contained, being a host of different art forms in a very specific context.

Investigating the distinctive character and context of genre such as the serenata or the festa teatrale and their respective development at a time when musical theatre was an integral part of the ceremonial of the court (a privileged ritual of repraesentatio maiestatis), implies an interdisciplinary modus operandi. These works, full of metaphors and symbolic allusions, need an approach that considers the variety of aspects involving the specific context of celebration and the choice of themes, textual and musical structures, multiple dramaturgical forms and the various options with regard to the stage apparatus and performance practices.

No univocal definition can be applied to festive dramaturgy, which encompasses every kind of meaning and is suitable for private or public entertainment. A map of all the places where the serenatas flourished (and the word itself refers to multiple performing events) would be extremely dense, comprising royal palaces and aristocratic houses, as well as “public” venues and enchanting settings en plein air.

In an examination of its rich history, a telling geographical dissemination emerges. Certainly, main capitals play a major role, although apparently peripheral locations were equally important to the creation of an ordinary and extraordinary festive calendar. Whereas private performances, featuring accomplished amateurs and prominent practitioners are offered to an élite, most official events present a sophisticated staging process for which numerous performers and technicians were hired: the splendour inspired so much awe among spectators that detailed reports of such events were popular and widely distributed and appreciated.

The choice to start our series Cadernos de Queluz with this specific topic did not come by chance. Since this field seems to be quite neglected by the existing literature, our Centre of Studies Divino Sospiro – Centro de Estudos Musicais Setecentistas de Portugal (DS-CEMSP) aims to encourage a dialogue concerning the production and circulation of the serenata and the festa teatrale, and to focus some attention on the Portuguese contribution to the European musical circuit of the time.

This first volume of the series is a result of one of our first conferences which explored this field of study, organized by the DS-CEMPS and held at the National Palace of Queluz, the emblematic eighteenth-century venue for musical festivities at the Portuguese court. The book collects multifaceted contributions by scholars of different cultural areas and countries, capable of offering complex and accurate perspectives on this truly European theme. The direct links between Lisbon, Vienna, Rome and Naples are particularly interesting and deserve to be mentioned.

The massive cross-continental popularity of the serenata performances was only made possible by the myriad of professionals who were involved in producing them: musicians, poets, architects, costume designers and dancers, to name just a few. These artists were very aware of the exalted task they must carry out, since as the performances communicated explicit or implicit messages to numerous spectators, eager to decipher the meaning of the event to which they are invited.

The essays contained in this first volume of Cadernos de Queluz present a wide spectrum of the occurrences of the genre, and proposes analyses and interpretations which offers orientation in this vast and difficult world. Through this study we aim to promote further investigations into a musical repertoire which should be set in its appropriate context and accorded dignity and prestige. The single score or the single libretto has no value unless it is placed within that most industrious and spectacular work, where all the arts, the “major” and the “minor” ones (although this definition sounds inappropriate), concur to express the intentions of the sophisticated patrons who commissioned them.

PART I

THE HOUSES OF
PORTUGAL AND AUSTRIA

BARCELONA
(1709)

«NUMEROSO CULTO, MÚSICO FESTEJO, EN APLAUSO DE LAS FELICISSIMAS, Y REALES BODAS»

A Spanish Serenata at Archduke Charles’ Court in Barcelona Celebrating the Marriage of his Sister Marianna of Austria with King João V of Portugal on 5th February 1709. A Brief Analysis of Court Ceremonial in Barcelona During the War of Spanish Succession Based on Contemporary Descriptions of this Celebration

DANIÈLE LIPP

From 1705 to 1713, during the War of Spanish Succession, Archduke Charles of Austria, the son of Emperor Leopold I, resided in Barcelona with his court as the Habsburg candidate to the Spanish throne. His regency as King Charles III completely changed the cultural life of the Catalan capital because he introduced regular performances of operas, drammi per musica and serenatas, at his court.¹ On the occasion of the wedding of his sister Marianna of Austria with King João V of Portugal, the Portuguese ambassador in Barcelona Count Assumar organized the production and performance of a Spanish serenata with the title Numeroso Culto, Musico festejo, en Aplauso de las felicissimas, y reales bodas, of which merely the text has survived. I will focus in this article first on the importance of the ceremonial in the Catalan court society analysing the three descriptions of this serenata and the festivity and end with a short comparison of the strong cultural relations between the Catalan and the Viennese court.

On 5^th February 1709, we can find in the Official Diary of the Generalitat, the government of Catalonia, the following entry:²

The detailed entry of the Official Diary documented further that the Spanish serenata was a «very admirable thing» («cosa molt admirable») meaning the music as well as the «stage design» («las perspectivas»). Besides this, the document’s author noted that the royal couple entered the hall only after the performance, but then participated in the dances. In addition, the author criticized that the government had been asked to provide the hall but, at the same time, the representatives of the government had not been invited to the celebration. It is not surprising that this event was important enough to be mentioned in the Diary. The spectacular performances of music dramas had started only recently in Barcelona and this serenata was something completely new for the members of the Catalan government. During several years, there were many performances of operas composed mainly by Antonio Caldara, Francesco Gasparini, Andrea Fiorè, and Tomaso Albinoni. These events were possible because Charles organized a professional royal music chapel, employing more than 60 musicians. They came not only from Vienna but also from Naples, Milan and Rome.⁴ However, why did the event take place in Barcelona and not in Madrid, the Spanish capital and city of the former royal court of the Habsburgs? Due to the War of Spanish Succession Archduke Charles from the house of Habsburg – later known as Charles VI – chose Barcelona as his royal seat in November 1705. Once the war would have ended, his intention was to take over the court in Madrid where his Bourbon opponent Felipe V, the grandson of Louis XIV, resided. Still, as long as the question concerning the succession had not been solved, Charles had to stay in Barcelona. His German bride Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel arrived in Barcelona in the summer of 1708. The couple married on 1st August at the church Santa Maria del Mar and from this day on opera performances took place regularly at the Catalan court. It was common at the Viennese Court that spectacular musical performances were held at important royal or political events, like weddings, name days or birthdays, but also during the carnival. Charles continued with these traditions in Barcelona, which he had become acquainted with during the regency of his father Leopold I. On the one hand, their purpose was to entertain the court: and as it is well known, Emperor Leopold I, his son Joseph I, as well as Charles, enjoyed musical entertainment very much. Yet, on the other hand – and this was the main reason – the performances and the ceremonial were supposed to demonstrate the political power of the Emperor, and in this particular case the political power of King Charles. The Official Diary is not the only source describing the festivity. Two other contemporary sources deal with this evening: the memoirs of Francisco de Castellví⁵ and the notes of the Italian traveller Gemelli Careri.

The Catalan aristocrat Castellví described, although very briefly, the celebration in his Narraciones históricas – the handwritten original can be found in the Austrian State Archives in Vienna.⁶ Castellví noted that:

Although Castellví wrote so little about the festivity, he has given another important information: the court musicians played the serenata that was performed at the beginning. The third description of the festivity – written by the Italian traveller Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri – is far more detailed. He arrived in Barcelona in 1708 together with Elisabeth Christine, and stayed at the court for almost one and a half years.⁸ His description of three pages can be summarized as follows: The royal musicians played the serenata for six voices. The ambassador had ordered to set up a stage with two stairways. The dances started after the serenata. The hall was illuminated with 240 candles. The royal couple arrived at 10 pm, and then the Queen and the King danced together. After these dances the King danced amongst others. Gemelli mentioned even with whom Charles danced, and it is not surprising that it was with Caroline von Liechtenstein, the daughter of Obersthofmeister Anton Florian von Liechtenstein, the most important noble man of the court. The King also danced with Marianna Pignatelli, member of the high Spanish nobility and fiancée of his friend count Johann Michael Althann.⁹ Every time the Queen rose, more than 200 ladies of the nobility were also required to get up. They all danced until after midnight.¹⁰ It was the ambassador of Portugal João de Almeida, Count of Assumar, who had organized this celebration on the occasion of the wedding between the King’s sister and the Portuguese King João V. In 1705, the Portuguese Count had travelled as ambassador from Lisbon to Barcelona with Charles and lived there during the whole stay of the Habsburgs. The reason for the festivity seems to be obvious: the wedding of the Portuguese royal couple in autumn 1708. Two European dynasties were united through this marriage: the House of Braganza and the House of Habsburg – two of the most powerful members of the baroque nobility. However, when analysing the text it becomes obvious that the serenata is as much a homage to Charles of Habsburg and his political alliance with João V and his brother Joseph as is a celebration of a royal wedding. The whole festivity reflects the ceremonial of the court, in this case especially the Habsburg court society. What function did the performance of this serenata have in the ceremonial of baroque court society? The baroque society was based upon a strict ranking and social order and the ceremonial was the expression of the rigid rules and regulative systems, which had to secure this order. In 2006, the Austrian researcher Andrea Sommer-Mathis remarked in her contribution ‹Opera and Ceremonial at the Imperial Court of Vienna›¹¹ that:

Although Sommer-Mathis referred to Vienna and not to Barcelona, her remarks are also valid for the Catalan court because Charles III considered himself a Habsburg and the legitimate King of Spain, and his wife Elisabeth Christine, his brother Emperor Joseph I and the newly-wed Portuguese royal couple as the most important and powerful members of the European court society. The ceremonial frame strictly regulated everything: the organization of the court household as well as representative forms at court, such as music and theatre. At the beginning of the 18^th century opera in all its variety (Dramma per musica, componimento da camera per musica, festa pastorale, serenata, etc.) had become a normal musical practice in many European courts, especially in Vienna. At first, the performances only took place for dynastic and political festivities such as royal marriages, but turned later into more regular performances in order to celebrate birthdays and name days of the whole royal family. As Norbert Dubowy¹³ stated in the introduction to the publication Italian Opera in Central Europe:

All members of this society – the monarch, the nobility and the servants – acted in accordance to the ceremonial. As the ceremonial frame regulated everything, it established also the rules regarding, for example, who was allowed to participate at the festivity, who was seated where, what the seats looked like, including how the royal couple was supposed to behave. The ceremonial is therefore not only followed on the external level of the court society; it also exerts an essential influence on the artistic work itself. The representation of political power is therefore not only visible within the level of the court society, but also within the artistic level of the serenata as evident in the information given by the three contemporary sources and in the libretto of the serenata. First example: the music was important for the entertainment, but not enough to be in the centre of attention. None of the three documents mentioned the quality of the music or the lyrics as they did not consider that the serenata itself had an artistic value. All three documents were far more detailed when describing other aspects of the celebration than when describing the serenata. Gemelli Careri described it in only a few lines and he focused far more on the court festivity. The Official Diary mentioned that although the hall in which the serenata was performed belonged to the autonomous government, its members had not been invited. This is not very surprising: it was customary to exclude people and institutions of a lower position in the hierarchy from such court festivities as strict rules existed regarding who was allowed to participate. In this case, the members of the autonomous Catalan government were considered as not being high enough in the hierarchy and therefore not worthy enough to participate. As a result they had not been invited. Gemelli as well as the Official Diary described where the royal couple was seated and what their seats looked like. The Diary noted that these seats were covered in velvet and on both sides the ladies of the court «were sitting on covered benches.»¹⁵ Gemelli added that the royal seats were located at the end of the hall – «a piedi della Sala». Castellví – as well as the authors of the other two sources – noted that the royal couple had danced various dances with the members of the court. The Italian traveller mentioned the Queen’s great beauty considering her an extraordinarily beautiful and graceful woman, and praised the King for dancing with the court ladies 14 minuets and Catalan dances. As it was customary in these times, the King is presented as a modest monarch who admits in this particular case not knowing how to dance the Catalan dances. Nonetheless, he did not refuse to dance with some of the women, especially with those above in the hierarchical order. Another interesting detail: the celebration had been organized in order to honour the Portuguese royal couple, Charles’ sister and brother in law. Nevertheless, all three sources point out that Charles and his wife entered the hall only after the performance. Perhaps the reason for their late arrival was also a sign of this strict hierarchical order. The relations to Portugal were of great significance to the Habsburgs in terms of the political balance on the Iberian Peninsula, but as the King had not ordered this serenata, it seems that this did not stipulate the royal couple’s presence from the beginning. Nevertheless, the serenata was performed at court by the court musicians. This could hint at Count Assumar’s important position at the court because between 1705 and 1713 it was the King who had commissioned every opera – with exception of this serenata. The serenata was not the only court representation in order to celebrate this marriage: there was a repetition of Zenobia in Palmira by Andrea Fiorè¹⁶ on 9^th February, a dramma per musica that had been brought from Milan in autumn 1708.¹⁷ There is little background information known about the serenata – we do not know who wrote or composed it –, only the libretto published in Barcelona in 1709 is still preserved.¹⁸ Among all the music dramas performed in Barcelona this Spanish serenata is considered unique for one special characteristic. According to the current state of research, it is the only dramatic musical genre performed in Spanish. Thus the author might have been Spanish or Catalan, maybe even a member of the court, as the lyrics are not of the same quality as other works carried out for the court. These had been written mainly by the Italian poets Pietro Pariati and Apostolo Zeno. Apart from being in Spanish, this work meets almost all the criteria of a serenata: it has a simple plot and no division into acts. It is a celebratory cantata for six singers, almost all allegorical characters. The performance took place in an improvised theatre, in the Saló de Sant Jordi, one of the representative halls of the Catalan Government.¹⁹ The summary of the plot is simple: the six singers – El Dia, Marte, Amor, Hymeneo, La Fama and La Fortuna – perform in order to celebrate the marriage of the Portuguese royal couple. The stage design refers to this event as well: the union between a Habsburg Princess and the Portuguese King. We can find the first symbols for the union on the stage curtain: it shows the imperial double-headed eagle – the symbol of the Habsburg dynasty – holding a wedding torch in one beak and a red veil in the other. The eagle has the Portuguese coat of arms on its chest and two globes in its claws.²⁰ Because of the libretto we know that two stage settings were made for the performance. The first one shows a magnificent temple. In the centre El Dia is standing in the middle of a brightly shining sun. Marte, Amor, Fama and Fortuna stand on pedestals and have their respective insignia as adornment. In the centre of the second one Hymeneo, the god of marriage, is sitting on a throne. He is holding a torch in his right hand and a transparent cloth of the colour of straw in his left.²¹ In this case the chorus consists of all six actors who sing that two lives are forged into one, and Hymeneo is the only accepted god in Fortuna’s temple. El Dia honours the fortunate union between the Portuguese monarch João V and the beautiful Marianna de Austria. Fama sings that the whole world will benefit from this union. In his aria, Amor asks everyone to come and celebrate this event. Just before the serenata is over all the dancers appear, perform one dance to the melody of the aria and another between each verse. The serenata ends after repeating the chorus of its beginning. As mentioned before, it is as much a homage to the Habsburgs, represented by Charles, Joseph and their sister Marianna and their alliance with the house of Braganza as is a celebration to the wedding itself. It symbolizes not only the union of the new couple but also the political union of these two dynasties.

It is El Dia who sings:

The monarchs are on top of the hierarchy, on the throne. While the kings are compared to heroes, the Portuguese Queen Marianna is described as an overwhelming beautiful woman.²³ It is Fama who sings first:

Then Fama continues later with these words:

The monarchs Charles and João do not only appear with their real names, but are also symbolized by characters of the Greek and Roman mythology and history. Portuguese monarch João is compared to Jove or Jupiter – the fifth planet of the solar system – as he is the fifth monarch of this name. All six singers intone:

The allusions become even more obvious as Marte sings about the triumphs of young Alcide – also known as Ercole, referring to Charles, which everyone within the court could understand, as it was widely known and used in at least two other works performed at the Catalan court.²⁶ Marte sings:

Two works, both componimenti da Camera, that were performed at the Catalan court are referring in the same way to Charles and Elisabeth Christine. The first is called Ercole in Cielo²⁸ and was performed in Barcelona at the occasion of the King’s birthday. The title of the second work is Il più bel nome²⁹ performed at the Queen’s name day. Several goals are being pursued by equating the King with Alcide or Ercole. On the one hand, it established a connection to a deity. On the other hand, it shows the Habsburgs’ claims of sovereignty over Spain as the Pillars of Hercules are located in Gibraltar – and therefore on Spanish territory. The plot of Ercole in Cielo exalts Charles even more. The gods praise Alcide in this componimento for being one of the great heroes, but Giunone dissents, saying that there will come another hero who will be even greater than Alcide, in this case Charles. As Charles will be the greatest of all heroes, Alcide can ascent finally as immortal to heaven as Charles will reign over his fortunate Spain. On the other hand, the plot of Il più bel nome exalts the beauty and virtue of the Queen. Juno, Venus, Ercole, Paris, Fato – the devotees of beauty and the followers of virtue – debate about the advantages of beauty and virtue. They arrive to the conclusion that the Queen’s name, Elisa, combines these two properties best. Charles is not only compared to Ercole, but also to Scipione Africano and sometimes to Apolo in the performances of operas in Barcelona, and these comparisons are not a specific peculiarity of the Catalan court. We find these same allusions not only in works that were ordered especially for the Catalan court but also at the Viennese court. The Viennese traditions were here perpetuated and the nobility understood the allusions. The court in Barcelona mainly consisted of Spanish nobility – some of them exiled form the former royal court in Madrid – who had cultural ties to the last Habsburg King Charles II, and a great number of members of Austrian nobles who had arrived with Charles in 1705. If we take a look at the performances at the Viennese Court, we will find several works performed there during the years of the Spanish War of Succession in which Charles was also equated with Ercole. Andrea Sommer-Mathis published in her contribution about music and theatre during the dynastic conflict of the Bourbons and the Habsburgs a large list of works which are almost all related to the events during the War of Spanish Succession.³⁰ I will take only one as example, a poemetto dramatico called Ercole Vincitore di Gerione³¹ that was ordered by Joseph I in 1708 on occasion of Charles’ name day. These allusions to Greek and Roman heroes and gods did not end in Barcelona: After Charles’ return to the Viennese Court in 1712 we can observe that the Emperor conserved the musical preferences that he had adopted during his stay in Barcelona until his death in 1740.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PRINTED SOURCES

Ercole vincitore di Gerione. Poemetto dramatico Nel Giorno del Gloriosissimo Nome della Maestà Cattolica di Carlo Terzo, Monarca della Spagna. L’anno 1708. Poesia di Pietro Antonio Bernardoni. Musica di Carlo Agostino Badia.

NUMEROSO CULTO, | MÚSICO FESTEJO, | EN APLAUSO DE LAS FELICISSIMAS, Y REALES | BODAS | DEL AUGUSTISSIMO, Y SERENISSIMO SEÑOr | Rey de Portugal | Don Juan Quinto, | COn la SERENissima Señora Archiduquesa | Doña MARIANA | DE AUStria. | Mandado celebrar en el Grande Salon | DE SAN JORGE | DE LA DIPUTACION DE BARCELONA. | POR | EL EXCELENTISSIMO SEÑOr | CONDE DE ASSUMAR, | EMBAXADOR EXTRAORDINARIO DE PORTUGAL | A LA MAGESTAD DE EL REY CATOLICO | CARLOS TERCERO. | Barcelona: Por RAFAEL FIGUERÒ, Impressor del Rey nuestro | Señor, Año 1709.

ZENOBIA IN PALMIRA | DRAMA PER MUSICA | Da rappresentarsi nel Regio Teatro | di Barcellona. | ALLA PRESENZA | DELLE | SACRE R.R. CATTOLICHE M.M. | DI | CARLO TERZO | E D’ | ELISABETTTA | CRISTINA | MONARCHI DELLE SPAGNE. | IN BARCELLONA: | Per Rafaele Figuerò, Stampatore del Rè N. S.

GEMELLI CARERI, GIOVANNI FRANCESCO: Aggiunta a’ Viaggi di Europa di Europa di D. Gio: Francesco Gemelli Careri Giudice della G.C. della Vicaria, e Regio Uditore per S.M. delle Sqaudre di galee, e vascelli di Napoli. Ove si contiene spezialmente il viaggio della Maestà di CARLO III. Da Vienna a Barcellona, e quanto è accaduto di più notabile in guerra dalla morte del Serenissimo Carlo II. Fino al presente. Napoli: Felice Mosca, 1711.

RESEARCH LITERATURE

DUBOWY, NORBERT: ‹Introduction›, Italian Opera in Central Europe, vol. 1, Institutions and Ceremonies, ed. MELANIA BUCCIARELLI, NORBERT DUBOWY, and REINHARD STROHM. Berlin: BWV, 2006, pp. 1-7.

LIPP, DANIÈLE: ‹Músicos italianos entre las cortes de Carlos III/VI en Barcelona y Viena›, La pérdida de Europa. La guerra de Sucesión por la Monarquía de España, ed. ANTONIO ÁLVAREZ-OSSORIO, BERNARDO J. GARCÍA GARCÍA, and VIRGINIA LEÓN. Madrid: Fundación Carlos de Amberes, 2007, pp. 159-179.

LIPP, DANIÈLE: Musik am Hofe Karls III. in Barcelona (1705–1713). Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag, 2010.

POLLEROSS, FRIEDRICH: ‹HISPANIARUM ET INDIARUM REX Zur Repräsentation Kaiser Karls VI. als König von Spanien›, Denkmodelle. Akten des Achten Spanisch-Österreichischen Symposions 13.–18. Dezember 1999 in Tarragona, ed. JORDI JANÉ. Tarragona: Univ. Rovira i Virgili, Dpt. de Filologia Anglogermànica, 2000 (= Universitas Tarrconensis, Sonderheft 1), pp. 121-175.

SOMMER-MATHIS, ANDREA: ‹Entre Nápoles, Barcelona y Viena: Nuevos documentos sobre la circulación de músicos a principios del siglo XVIII› (Apéndice de Danièle Lipp), Artigrama. Revista del Departamento de Historia del Arte de la Universidad de Zaragoza 12 (1996–1997), pp. 45-77.

SOMMER-MATHIS, ANDREA: ‹Von Barcelona nach Wien. Die Einrichtung des Musik- und Theaterbetriebes am Wiener Hof durch Kaiser Karl VI.›, Musica Conservata. Günter Brosche zum 60. Geburtstag, ed. JOSEF GMEINER, ZSIGMOND KOKITS, THOMAS LEIBNITZ, and INGE PECHOTSCH-FEICHTINGER. Tutzing: Hans Schneider, 1999, pp. 355-381.

SOMMER-MATHIS, ANDREA: ‹Opera and Ceremonial at the Imperial Court of Vienna›, Italian Opera in Central Europe, vol. 1, Institutions and Ceremonies, ed. ELANIA BUCCIARELLI, NORBERT DUBOWY, and REINHARD STROHM. Berlin: BWV, 2006, pp. 179-191.

SOMMER-MATHIS, ANDREA: ‹Musica y teatro en las cortes de Madrid, Barcelona y Viena durante el conflicto dinástico Habsburgo-Borbón. Pretensiones políticas y teatro cortesano›, La pérdida de Europa. La guerra de Sucesión por la Monarquía de España, ed. ANTONIO ÁLVAREZ-OSSORIO, BERNARDO J. GARCÍA GARCÍA, and VIRGINIA LEÓN. Madrid: Fundación Carlos de Amberes, 2007, pp. 181-198.

NOTES

1 Charles arrived in November 1705 in Barcelona and stayed there until September 1711. His wife Elisabeth Christina arrived in summer 1708 and left the Catalan capital, together with the remaining part of the members of the court, in March 1713.

2 All English translations are made by the author.

3 E-Bac: Arxiu de la Corona d’Aragó: Dietari de la Generalitat del trieni de 1707 á 1710 p. 227 r: [5th February 1709]: «En aquest mateix dia lo E.^m S.^r Compte de Assumar Embaxador del S.^r Rey de Portugal ha fet en lo Salo gran de S.^t Jordi de la pnt casa un gran festin en demostracio de alegria per lo arribo de la S.^ma S.^ra Reyna de Portugal en Lisboa germana del Rey nre. S.^r (que Deu g.^de) ha consistit la festa en una serenata representada ab idioma Espanyol, la qual es estada cosa molt admirable, tant respecte a la Musica com respecte a las perspectivas y tot lo demes que se executat ab gran perfeccio, despres de la Serenata se ha seguit lo Sarau en que han acistit [sic] (com tambe al la serenata] las damas axi naturals com forasteras, havent estat convidadas per la Ex.^ma S.^ra Condesa de Oropesa, en lo qual han dansat differents ballets catalans, y minoets; las Mag.^ts del Rey y Reyna n^res S.^rs se han dignat venir a honrar la festa cerca las nou horas de la nit que ja hera [sic] finida la Serenata y son entrats per la Casa del Verguer que dona en fronta de Casa Ninot y han pujat per la escala de dita casa que dona als Claustros y jan entrat per la porteta petita del Salo y se son posats en publich ab dos cadiras de Vellut enfront de la Plassa de S.^t Jaume estant las S.^ras ab banchs cuberts en cada costat, y se ha dignat sa Mag.^t ballar molts minoets axi ab la Reyna n^ra. S.^ra com tambe ab altras damas, no negantse a ninguna de las que lo han anat a traurer. Tambe han acistit [sic] y ballat las damas de la Reyna y ha durat la festa des de las sinch horas de la tarda fins a la una de la nit, y lo Ex.^m y fid.^m Consistori no a assistit en ella ni ha tingut altre intervencio que prestar per la festa lo salo al dit S.^r Embaxador junt ab los hornaments de Tapisaria salamons y altres que se han trobat en la Casa […].»

4 About musical life in Barcelona during the War of Spanish Succession see:
ANDREA SOMMER-MATHIS: ‹Entre Nápoles, Barcelona y Viena: Nuevos documentos sobre la circulación de músicos a principios del siglo XVIII› (Apéndice de Danièle Lipp), Artigrama. Revista del Departamento de Historia del Arte de la Universidad de Zaragoza 12 (1996–1997), pp. 45-77. EAD.: ‹Von Barcelona nach Wien. Die Einrichtung des Musik- und Theaterbetriebes am Wiener Hof durch Kaiser Karl VI.›, Musica Conservata. Günter Brosche zum 60. Geburtstag, ed. JOSEF GMEINER, ZSIGMOND KOKITS, THOMAS LEIBNITZ,and INGE PECHOTSCH-FEICHTINGER. Tutzing: Hans Schneider, 1999, pp. 355-381.
DANIÈLE LIPP: ‹Músicos italianos entre las cortes de Carlos III/VI en Barcelona y Viena›, La pérdida de Europa. La guerra de Sucesión por la Monarquía de España, ed. ANTONIO ÁLVAREZ-OSSORIO, BERNARDO J. GARCÍA GARCÍA, and VIRGINIA LEÓN. Madrid: Fundación Carlos de Amberes, 2007, pp. 159-179. EAD.: Musik am Hofe Karls III. in Barcelona (1705–1713). Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag, 2010.

5 Francisco de Castellví was a Catalan aristocrat who joined the Habsburg side during the war. He wrote after 1725 his Narraciones históricas in Vienna, where he died.

6 A-Whh: Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv: FRANCISCO DE CASTELLVÍ: Narraciones históricas desde el año 1700 hasta el año 1725. Hs W 344, Hs W 345.

7 CASTELLVÍ: Narraciones, fol. 16 v: «El dia 5 de la tarde la musica de la corte con armoniosa asonancia de instrumentos cantó a 6 vozes (sic!) una ingeniosa poesia en idioma Español en loor del Real Desposorio. El baile empezó con minuetos o baile a la francesa, después se bailo a la Catalana, cerca de las 10 se bailaron danzas a la Española pero poco; en este tiempo llegaron los Reyes.»

8 GIOVANNI FRANCESCO GEMELLI CARERI: Aggiunta a’ Viaggi di Europa di Europa di D. Gio: Francesco Gemelli Careri Giudice della G.C. della Vicaria, e Regio Uditore per S.M. delle Sqaudre di galee, e vascelli di Napoli. Ove si contiene spezialmente il viaggio della Maestà di CARLO III. Da Vienna a Barcellona, e quanto è accaduto di più notabile in guerra dalla morte del Serenissimo Carlo II. Fino al presente. Napoli: Felice Mosca, 1711.

9 Marianna Pignatelli and count Althann married just a few days later.

10 GEMELLI CARERI: Aggiunta, p. 74 ff: «[…] e la sera delli 5. nella Casa della Deputazione, e sua Sala di S. Giorgio fece erigere detto Ambasciatore un vago palco con gradinate in giro, facendovi ivi cantare da’ Musici della Real Cappella di Sua Maestà una serenata a 6. voci in lingua Spagnola, per applaudire alle Reali Nozze già dette, la quale terminata, si cominciò un ballo nell’ istessa Sala, illuminata da circa 240. candele, accomodate in più torcieri. Principiò il ballo alla Francesce, e terminò alla Catalana, per dar gusto alle Dame di questa Nazione, che godono degli loro balli, che per lo più sono di due Cavalieri, e due Dame; una volta con passo grave, battendo le mani, e piedi, doppo aver girato la vita, ed altro, sollecito correndo i Cavalieri per pigliare le mani delle Dame a vicenda. Verso le 10. alla Spagnola, vennero il Re, e la Reina, a’ quali si prepararono due sedie a piedi della Sala, però il Re volle tutte le tre ore stare in piedi a lato della Reina: ambidue patientemente stiedero a vedere il ballo Catalano, fin tanto col ritorno delle Dame di Corte, ch’erano andate a Palaggio a cenare, lo fecero cessare, e si ricominciò il ballo alla Francese, al quale diede principio la Strasoldi, Dama Alemana, la più bella, che tiene la Reina, la quale dopo cavò il Re a ballare, che prese poi la Reina, ballando unitamente, A dire la verità il Re balla assai bene, però la Reina non ha uguale, mentre balla con perfezione, grazia e leggiadria, accompagnando nell’ istesso tempo un portamento Maestoso. Finito il ballo, ordinò il Re al Sig. Co: di Galves, che lo continuasse, il quale prese la Figlia del Sig. Principe Antonio di Lieteinstein [sic] nominata la Principessa Carlina, la quale cavò fuori il Re, e questo la Sig. D. Maria Anna Pignatelli. In appresso una Dama Catalana di Casa Fluvias prese il Re, e questo la Strasoldi, e venendo a ballare in appresso la Sig. Contessa Stella, questa cavò di nuovo il Re a ballare; e finito il ballo, seguitarono gl’ altri, ed in appresso una Dama di Corte, chiamata la Sig. Contessa Stodel, cavò di nuovo al ballo il Re, como fece, poi di vel nuovo la detta Sig. D. Maria Anna, anche Dama di Corte; cavandolo per la settima volta la Signora Contessa Maladain; in modo che il Re ballò quattordeci Minuette, e con tuttò ciò due Dame Catalane lo convitarono di ballare di nuovo alla Catalana, obligandolo colle preghiere ad uscire, benche si scusasse di non saperne; continuando poi detto ballo con due altre Dame. Il Re sempre fu in piedi col cappello in mano, fino ad un’ ora doppo mezza notte. Quando s’alzava la Reina, si ponevano in piedi le Dame: essendovene state da 200. perche ogni Madre condusse le figlie: le lore vesti non erano molto pompose, ma con una coda ben lunga, ed il capello sciolto per la parte di dietro detto Cairil.»

11 ANDREA SOMMER-MATHIS: ‹Opera and Ceremonial at the Imperial Court of Vienna›, Italian Opera in Central Europe, vol. 1, Institutions and Ceremonies, ed. MELANIA BUCCIARELLI, NORBERT DUBOWY, and REINHARD STROHM. Berlin: BWV, 2006, pp. 179-191.

12 Ibidem, p. 183.

13 NORBERT DUBOWY: ‹Introduction›, Italian Opera in Central Europe, vol. 1, Institutions and Ceremonies, ed. MELANIA BUCCIARELLI, NORBERT DUBOWY, and REINHARD STROHM. Berlin: BWV, 2006, pp. 1-7.

14 DUBOWY: ‹Introduction›, p. 6.

15 Dietari de la Generalitat, fol. 227: «[…] ab dos cadiras de Vellut enfront de la Plassa de S.t Jaume estant las S.ras ab banchs cuberts en cada costat.»

16 A-Wn: Mus Hs. 17234 La Zenobia.
E-Bbc: M-8-66. Libretto: ZENOBIA IN PALMIRA | DRAMA PER MUSICA | Da rappresentarsi nel Regio Teatro | di Barcellona. | ALLA PRESENZA | DELLE | SACRE R.R. CATTOLICHE M.M. | DI | CARLO TERZO | E D’ | ELISABETTTA | CRISTINA | MONARCHI DELLE SPAGNE. | IN BARCELLONA: | Per Rafaele Figuerò, Stampatore del Rè N. S.

17 LIPP: Musik am Hofe Karls III., p. 90 ff and p. 109.
The Italian composer Andrea Fiorè set Apostolo Zeno’s and Pietro Pariati’s lyrics in music. It was Andrea Sommer-Mathis who first related the score that is conserved in the Department of Music of the Austrian National Library to the Catalan Court. The first performance took place on 28^th November, 1708. The next one, now with new decoration from Galli Bibiena, was played on 9^thASTELLVÍNarraciones