Francesco Araja
Encyclopedia
Francesco Domenico Araja (or Araia, Russian
: Арайя) (Born: June 25, 1709, Naples
, Kingdom of Sicily
, died between 1762 and 1770, Bologna
, States of the Church) was an Italian
composer
who spent 25 years in Russia
and wrote at least 14 operas for the Russian Imperial Court
including Tsefal i Prokris
, the first opera
written in the Russian language.
, Florence
, Rome
, Milan
and Venice
. In 1735 he was invited to St. Petersburg together with a big Italian opera troupe, and became the maestro di cappella (Kapellmeister) to Empress Anne Ioanovna and later Empress Elizaveta Petrovna.
In the winter operas were usually given in a wing of Zimniy Dvorets (The Winter Palace
), and in the summer time in the Theatre of Letniy Sad in the (The Summer Garden
).
His La forza dell'amore e dell'odio was the first Italian opera performed in Russia. It was staged in 1736 as Сила любви и ненависти (Sila lyubvi i nenavisti - The Power of Love and Hatred) with a supplement of the Russian translation by Vasily Trediakovsky printed as a booklet. This was the first opera libretto printed in Russian. This was followed by Semiramide (Il finto Nino, overo La Semiramide riconosciuta) in 1737, Artaserse in 1738, Seleuco with Russian translation by Sumarokov, premiered in Moscow 1744, Scipione with Russian translation by Adam Olsufiev, in St. Petersburg 1745, Mitridate in 1747, and others.
The majority of the operas he wrote in Russia were to Italian libretti. However, in 1755 Araja composed Цефал и Прокрис (Tsefal i Prokris
– Cephalus
and Prokris), an opera in three acts to the Russian libretto by Alexander Sumarokov
after the Metamorphoses by Ovid
. It was staged at St. Petersburg on March 7, OS February 27, 1755 with effective sets by Giuseppe Valeriani. This was the first opera with Russian singers. This opera had a great success, and Araja received 100 half-imperials and a luxurious sable coat valued at 500 rubles as a gift from Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. The opera was re-staged at the Mariinsky Theatre
in St. Petersburg on June 14, 2001.
His next two operas were premiered in different Russian towns: Amor prigioniero in Oranienbaum
1755, and Iphigenia in Tauride in Moscow
1758. In 1759 Araia returned to Italy
, but was recalled for the coronation of Tsar
Peter III
in 1762. He left soon after in the wake of Peter's overthrow by Catherine the Great. His last compositions were the oratory La Nativita di Gesu and opera La Cimotea. He died in Bologna
sometime between 1762 and 1770.
Also: Sinfonia in D Major for strings, Sonatas, etc.
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
: Арайя) (Born: June 25, 1709, Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Kingdom of Sicily
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy...
, died between 1762 and 1770, Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, States of the Church) was an Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
who spent 25 years in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and wrote at least 14 operas for the Russian Imperial Court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
including Tsefal i Prokris
Tsefal i Prokris
Tsefal i Prokris , is an opera seria in three acts by the Italian composer Francesco Araja. Dating to 1755, it was the first opera written in the Russian language....
, the first 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...
written in the Russian language.
Biography
He was born and received his musical education in Naples and began to compose operas at the age of 20. His early operas were produced in the theatres of NaplesNaples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. In 1735 he was invited to St. Petersburg together with a big Italian opera troupe, and became the maestro di cappella (Kapellmeister) to Empress Anne Ioanovna and later Empress Elizaveta Petrovna.
In the winter operas were usually given in a wing of Zimniy Dvorets (The Winter Palace
Winter Palace
The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian monarchs. Situated between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and...
), and in the summer time in the Theatre of Letniy Sad in the (The Summer Garden
Summer Garden
The Summer Garden occupies an island between the Fontanka, Moika, and the Swan Canal in Saint Petersburg and shares its name with the adjacent Summer Palace of Peter the Great.-Original:...
).
His La forza dell'amore e dell'odio was the first Italian opera performed in Russia. It was staged in 1736 as Сила любви и ненависти (Sila lyubvi i nenavisti - The Power of Love and Hatred) with a supplement of the Russian translation by Vasily Trediakovsky printed as a booklet. This was the first opera libretto printed in Russian. This was followed by Semiramide (Il finto Nino, overo La Semiramide riconosciuta) in 1737, Artaserse in 1738, Seleuco with Russian translation by Sumarokov, premiered in Moscow 1744, Scipione with Russian translation by Adam Olsufiev, in St. Petersburg 1745, Mitridate in 1747, and others.
The majority of the operas he wrote in Russia were to Italian libretti. However, in 1755 Araja composed Цефал и Прокрис (Tsefal i Prokris
Tsefal i Prokris
Tsefal i Prokris , is an opera seria in three acts by the Italian composer Francesco Araja. Dating to 1755, it was the first opera written in the Russian language....
– Cephalus
Cephalus
Cephalus is an Ancient Greek name, used both for the hero-figure in Greek mythology and carried as a theophoric name by historical persons. The word kephalos is Greek for "head", perhaps used here because Cephalus was the founding "head" of a great family that includes Odysseus...
and Prokris), an opera in three acts to the Russian libretto by Alexander Sumarokov
Alexander Sumarokov
Alexander Petrovich Sumarokov was a Russian poet and playwright who single-handedly created classical theatre in Russia, thus assisting Mikhail Lomonosov to inaugurate the reign of classicism in Russian literature....
after the Metamorphoses by Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
. It was staged at St. Petersburg on March 7, OS February 27, 1755 with effective sets by Giuseppe Valeriani. This was the first opera with Russian singers. This opera had a great success, and Araja received 100 half-imperials and a luxurious sable coat valued at 500 rubles as a gift from Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. The opera was re-staged at the Mariinsky Theatre
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. The...
in St. Petersburg on June 14, 2001.
His next two operas were premiered in different Russian towns: Amor prigioniero in Oranienbaum
Oranienbaum
Oranienbaum may refer to:Germany:* Oranienbaum, Germany, a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany* Oranienbaum-WörlitzRussia:* Oranienbaum, Russia , a Russian royal residence* Lomonosov , the former name of the adjacent town...
1755, and Iphigenia in Tauride in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
1758. In 1759 Araia returned to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, but was recalled for the coronation of Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Peter III
Peter III of Russia
Peter III was Emperor of Russia for six months in 1762. He was very pro-Prussian, which made him an unpopular leader. He was supposedly assassinated as a result of a conspiracy led by his wife, who succeeded him to the throne as Catherine II.-Early life and character:Peter was born in Kiel, in...
in 1762. He left soon after in the wake of Peter's overthrow by Catherine the Great. His last compositions were the oratory La Nativita di Gesu and opera La Cimotea. He died in Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
sometime between 1762 and 1770.
Operas
- Lo matremmonejo pe' mennetta, 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...
, text by Tommaso Mariani (Autumn 1729, Teatro de' Fiorentini, NaplesNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
) - Berenice, 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...
, text by Antonio SalviAntonio SalviAntonio Salvi was an Italian physician, court poet and librettist. He was in the service of the ducal court in Florence and the favourite librettist of Prince Ferdinando de' Medici. Salvi was one of the developers of the opera seria.- Life :Salvi was a court physician in Florence for the De'...
(1730, Teatro Pratolino, FlorenceFlorenceFlorence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
) - Ciro riconosciuto, opera seria, text by Antonio Salvi (Carnival 1731, Teatro Dame, RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
) - Il Cleomene, opera seria, text by Vicenzo Cassani (Spring 1731, Teatro Dame, RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
) - L'amor regnante, text by Pietro Metastasio (1731, RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
) - Semiramide riconosciuta, opera seria, text by Pietro Metastasio (1731, NaplesNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
) - La forza dell'amore e dell'odio, opera seria, text by Francesco Prata (January 1734, Teatro Ducale, MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
; 1736, as Сила любви и ненависти (Sila lyubvi i nenavisti - The Power of Love and Hatred) St. Petersburg) - Lucio Vero, opera seria, text 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...
, (Carnival 1735, Teatro San Angelo, VeniceVeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
) - Il finto Nino, overo La Semiramide riconosciuta, opera seria, text by Francesco Silvani (February 9, 1737 [OS January 28], St. Petersburg)
- Artaserse, opera seria, (February 9, 1738 [OS January 28], St. Petersburg)
- Seleuco, opera seria, text by Giuseppe BonecchiGiuseppe BonecchiGiuseppe Bonecchi - was an Italian poet and opera librettist.He was brought to Russia in 1740 by Francesco Araja, an Italian composer working in Russia....
(May 7, 1744 [OS April 26], MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) - Scipione, opera seria, text by Giuseppe Bonecchi (September 4 or 5, 1745 [OS August 23 or 24], St. Petersburg)
- Mitridate, opera seria, text by Giuseppe Bonecchi (May 7, 1747 [OS April 26], St. Petersburg)
- L'asilo della pace, opera seria, text by Giuseppe Bonecchi (May 7, 1748 [OS April 26], St. Petersburg)
- Bellerofonte, opera seria, text by Giuseppe Bonecchi (December 9, 1750 [OS November 28], St. Petersburg)
- Eudossa incoronata, o sia Teodosio II, text by Giuseppe Bonecchi (May 9, 1751 [OS April 28] St. Petersburg)
- Tsefal i ProkrisTsefal i ProkrisTsefal i Prokris , is an opera seria in three acts by the Italian composer Francesco Araja. Dating to 1755, it was the first opera written in the Russian language....
, opera seria, text by Alexander SumarokovAlexander SumarokovAlexander Petrovich Sumarokov was a Russian poet and playwright who single-handedly created classical theatre in Russia, thus assisting Mikhail Lomonosov to inaugurate the reign of classicism in Russian literature....
(March 10, 1755 [OS February 27], St. Petersburg) - Amor prigioniero, dialogo per musica, text by Pietro Metastasio (June 27, 1755 [OS June 16], OranienbaumOranienbaumOranienbaum may refer to:Germany:* Oranienbaum, Germany, a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany* Oranienbaum-WörlitzRussia:* Oranienbaum, Russia , a Russian royal residence* Lomonosov , the former name of the adjacent town...
) - Alessandro nell'Indie, text by Pietro Metastasio (December 29, 1755 [OS December 18], St. Petersburg; 1759, OranienbaumOranienbaumOranienbaum may refer to:Germany:* Oranienbaum, Germany, a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany* Oranienbaum-WörlitzRussia:* Oranienbaum, Russia , a Russian royal residence* Lomonosov , the former name of the adjacent town...
) - Iphigenia in Tauride opera seria, (1758, MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) - La Cimotea
Cantatas
- La gara, dell'amore e dello zelo, St. Petersburg, 1736
- L’asilo della pace (Libretto Giuseppe BonecchiGiuseppe BonecchiGiuseppe Bonecchi - was an Italian poet and opera librettist.He was brought to Russia in 1740 by Francesco Araja, an Italian composer working in Russia....
), St. Petersburg, 1748 - La corona d'Allesandro Magno (Giuseppe BonecchiGiuseppe BonecchiGiuseppe Bonecchi - was an Italian poet and opera librettist.He was brought to Russia in 1740 by Francesco Araja, an Italian composer working in Russia....
), St. Petersburg, 1750 - Amor prigionero (Pietro Metastasio), OranienbaumOranienbaumOranienbaum may refer to:Germany:* Oranienbaum, Germany, a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany* Oranienbaum-WörlitzRussia:* Oranienbaum, Russia , a Russian royal residence* Lomonosov , the former name of the adjacent town...
, 1755 (see also in the list of the operas) - Junon secourable lucine (Antonio Denzi), St. Petersburg, 1757
- Urania vaticitante (Antonio Denzi), St. Petersburg, 1757
Also: Sinfonia in D Major for strings, Sonatas, etc.