Franz von Suppé
Encyclopedia
Franz von Suppé or Francesco Suppé Demelli (April 18, 1819May 21, 1895) was an Austrian composer of light operas who was born in what is now Croatia
during the time his father was working in this outpost of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A composer
and conductor
of the Romantic
period, he is notable for his four dozen operetta
s.
, Austrian Empire
. His Belgian
ancestors may have emigrated there in the 18th century. His father – a man of Italian and Belgian ancestry – was a civil servant in the service of the Austrian Empire, as was his father before him; Suppé's mother was Viennese by birth. He was a distant relative of Gaetano Donizetti
. He simplified and Germanized his name when in Vienna
, and changed "cavaliere" to "von". Outside Germanic circles, his name may appear on programs as Francesco Suppé-Demelli.
He spent his childhood in Zadar
, where he had his first music lessons and began to compose at an early age. As a boy he had no encouragement in music from his father, but was helped by a local bandmaster and by the Spalato cathedral choirmaster. His Missa dalmatica dates from this early period. As a teenager in Cremona
, Suppé studied flute
and harmony. His first extant composition is a Roman Catholic Mass
, which premiered at a Franciscan church in Zadar in 1832. At the age of 16, he moved to Padua
to study law – a field of study not chosen by him – but continued to study music. Suppé was also a singer, making his debut as a basso profundo in the role of Dulcamara in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore
at the Sopron
Theater in 1842.
He was invited to Vienna by Franz Pokorny, the director of the Theater in der Josefstadt
. In Vienna, after studying with Ignaz von Seyfried
and Simon Sechter
, he conducted in the theater, without pay at first, but with the opportunity to present his own operas there. Eventually, Suppé wrote music for over a hundred productions at the Theater in der Josefstadt as well as the Carltheater
in Leopoldstadt
, at the Theater an der Wien
. He also put on some landmark opera productions, such as the 1846 production of Meyerbeer
's Les Huguenots
with Jenny Lind
.
Franz von Suppé died in Vienna
on May 21, 1895, and is buried in the Zentralfriedhof
.
in New York
, but failed to become repertoire works. He composed about 30 operettas and 180 farces, ballets, and other stage works. Although the bulk of Suppé's operas have sunk into relative obscurity, the overture
s – particularly Dichter und Bauer (Poet and Peasant, 1846) and Leichte Kavallerie
(Light Cavalry, 1866) – have survived and some of them have been used in all sorts of soundtracks for movie
s, cartoon
s, advertisements
, and so on, in addition to being frequently played at symphonic "pops
" concerts. Some of Suppé's operas are still regularly performed in Europe; Peter Branscombe, writing in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, characterizes Suppé's song Das ist mein Österreich as "Austria's second national song
".
Suppé retained links with his native Dalmatia, occasionally visiting Split, Zadar, and Šibenik
. Some of his works are linked with Dalmatia, in particular his operetta The Mariner's Return, the action of which takes place in Hvar. After retiring from conducting, Suppé continued to write operas, but shifted his focus to sacred music. He also wrote a Requiem
for theater director Franz Pokorny, three Masses, songs, symphonies, and concert overtures.
Morgen, Mittag, und Abend in Wien (Morning, Noon, and Night in Vienna) was the central subject of the Bugs Bunny
cartoon Baton Bunny
. One small segment of that work, about 6 minutes in, is recognizable as the inspiration for Dudley Do-Right
's theme music. Poet and Peasant appears in the Fleischer Studios
1935 Popeye
cartoon The Spinach Overture; the overture to Light Cavalry is used in Disney's 1942 Mickey Mouse
cartoon Symphony Hour
.
The start of the cello solo (about one minute in) of the Poet and Peasant overture is nearly an exact match to the start of the folk song "I've Been Working on the Railroad
", which may (or may not) have pre-dated the overture.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
during the time his father was working in this outpost of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A 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...
and conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
of the Romantic
Romantic music
Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....
period, he is notable for his four dozen operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
s.
Life and education
Franz von Suppé's parents named him Francesco Ezechiele Ermenegildo Cavaliere Suppé Demelli when he was born on April 18, 1819, in Split, DalmatiaKingdom of Dalmatia
The Kingdom of Dalmatia was an administrative division of the Habsburg Monarchy from 1815 to 1918. Its capital was Zadar.-History:...
, Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
. His Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
ancestors may have emigrated there in the 18th century. His father – a man of Italian and Belgian ancestry – was a civil servant in the service of the Austrian Empire, as was his father before him; Suppé's mother was Viennese by birth. He was a distant relative of Gaetano Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
. He simplified and Germanized his name when in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, and changed "cavaliere" to "von". Outside Germanic circles, his name may appear on programs as Francesco Suppé-Demelli.
He spent his childhood in Zadar
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...
, where he had his first music lessons and began to compose at an early age. As a boy he had no encouragement in music from his father, but was helped by a local bandmaster and by the Spalato cathedral choirmaster. His Missa dalmatica dates from this early period. As a teenager in Cremona
Cremona
Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...
, Suppé studied flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
and harmony. His first extant composition is a Roman Catholic Mass
Mass (music)
The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
, which premiered at a Franciscan church in Zadar in 1832. At the age of 16, he moved to Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
to study law – a field of study not chosen by him – but continued to study music. Suppé was also a singer, making his debut as a basso profundo in the role of Dulcamara in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore is an opera by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. It is a melodramma giocoso in two acts...
at the Sopron
Sopron
In 1910 Sopron had 33,932 inhabitants . Religions: 64.1% Roman Catholic, 27.8% Lutheran, 6.6% Jewish, 1.2% Calvinist, 0.3% other. In 2001 the city had 56,125 inhabitants...
Theater in 1842.
He was invited to Vienna by Franz Pokorny, the director of the Theater in der Josefstadt
Theater in der Josefstadt
The Theater in der Josefstadt is a theater in Vienna in the eighth district of Josefstadt. It was founded in 1788 and is the oldest still performing theater in Vienna...
. In Vienna, after studying with Ignaz von Seyfried
Ignaz von Seyfried
Ignaz Xaver Ritter von Seyfried was an Austrian musician, conductor and composer.Seyfried was born in Vienna. According to a statement in his handwritten memoirs he was a pupil of both Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Albrechtsberger. He published Albrechtsberger's complete written works after...
and Simon Sechter
Simon Sechter
Simon Sechter was an Austrian music theorist, teacher, organist, conductor and composer.Sechter was born in Friedberg , Bohemia, then part of the Austrian Empire, and moved to Vienna in 1804, succeeding Jan Václav Voříšek as court organist there in 1824. In 1810 he began teaching piano and voice...
, he conducted in the theater, without pay at first, but with the opportunity to present his own operas there. Eventually, Suppé wrote music for over a hundred productions at the Theater in der Josefstadt as well as the Carltheater
Carltheater
The Carltheater was a theatre in Vienna. It was in the suburbs in Leopoldstadt at Praterstraße 31 .It was the successor to the Leopoldstädter Theater. After a series of financial difficulties, that theater had been sold in 1838 to the director, Carl Carl, who continued to run it in parallel to his...
in Leopoldstadt
Leopoldstadt
Leopoldstadt is the 2nd municipal District of Vienna . There are inhabitants over . It is situated in the heart of the city and, together with Brigittenau , forms a large island surrounded by the Danube Canal and, to the north, the Danube. It is named after Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor...
, at the Theater an der Wien
Theater an der Wien
The Theater an der Wien is a historic theatre on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district of Vienna. Completed in 1801, it has seen the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music...
. He also put on some landmark opera productions, such as the 1846 production of Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer was a noted German opera composer, and the first great exponent of "grand opera." At his peak in the 1830s and 1840s, he was the most famous and successful composer of opera in Europe, yet he is rarely performed today.-Early years:He was born to a Jewish family in Tasdorf , near...
's Les Huguenots
Les Huguenots
Les Huguenots is a French opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer, one of the most popular and spectacular examples of the style of grand opera. The opera is in five acts and premiered in Paris in 1836. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps....
with Jenny Lind
Jenny Lind
Johanna Maria Lind , better known as Jenny Lind, was a Swedish opera singer, often known as the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she is known for her performances in soprano roles in opera in Sweden and across Europe, and for an extraordinarily...
.
Franz von Suppé died in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
on May 21, 1895, and is buried in the Zentralfriedhof
Zentralfriedhof
The Zentralfriedhof is one of the largest cemeteries in the world, largest by number of interred in Europe and most famous cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries.-Name and location:...
.
Works
Two of Suppé's comic operas – Boccaccio and Donna Juanita – have been performed at the Metropolitan OperaMetropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, but failed to become repertoire works. He composed about 30 operettas and 180 farces, ballets, and other stage works. Although the bulk of Suppé's operas have sunk into relative obscurity, the overture
Overture
Overture in music is the term originally applied to the instrumental introduction to an opera...
s – particularly Dichter und Bauer (Poet and Peasant, 1846) and Leichte Kavallerie
Leichte Kavallerie
Leichte Kavallerie is an operetta in three acts by Franz von Suppé, with a libretto by Karl Costa. It was first performed in the Carltheater, Vienna on 21 March 1866....
(Light Cavalry, 1866) – have survived and some of them have been used in all sorts of soundtracks for movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s, cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
s, advertisements
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
, and so on, in addition to being frequently played at symphonic "pops
Pops orchestra
A pops orchestra is an orchestra that plays popular music and show tunes as well as well-known classical works. Pops orchestras are generally organised in large cities and are distinct from the more "highbrow" symphony or philharmonic orchestras which also may exist in the same city...
" concerts. Some of Suppé's operas are still regularly performed in Europe; Peter Branscombe, writing in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, characterizes Suppé's song Das ist mein Österreich as "Austria's second national song
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
".
Suppé retained links with his native Dalmatia, occasionally visiting Split, Zadar, and Šibenik
Šibenik
Šibenik is a historic town in Croatia, with population of 51,553 . It is located in central Dalmatia where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea...
. Some of his works are linked with Dalmatia, in particular his operetta The Mariner's Return, the action of which takes place in Hvar. After retiring from conducting, Suppé continued to write operas, but shifted his focus to sacred music. He also wrote a Requiem
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
for theater director Franz Pokorny, three Masses, songs, symphonies, and concert overtures.
Posthumous use
The descriptive nature of von Suppé's overtures have earned them frequent use in numerous animated cartoons:Morgen, Mittag, und Abend in Wien (Morning, Noon, and Night in Vienna) was the central subject of the Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
cartoon Baton Bunny
Baton Bunny
Baton Bunny is a Bugs Bunny cartoon of the Looney Tunes series, produced in 1958 and released in January 1959. It shows Bugs conducting an orchestra - with a fly bothering him. Bugs conducts, and in part, plays the overture to "Ein Morgen, ein Mittag und ein Abend in Wien" ", a composition by Franz...
. One small segment of that work, about 6 minutes in, is recognizable as the inspiration for Dudley Do-Right
Dudley Do-Right
Dudley Do-Right, created by Alex Anderson, is the eponymous hero of a segment on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show which parodied early 20th century melodrama and silent film in the form of the Northern genre....
's theme music. Poet and Peasant appears in the Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios, Inc., was an American corporation which originated as an Animation studio located at 1600 Broadway, New York City, New York...
1935 Popeye
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
cartoon The Spinach Overture; the overture to Light Cavalry is used in Disney's 1942 Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
cartoon Symphony Hour
Symphony Hour
Symphony Hour is a 1942 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released to theaters by RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon depicts Mickey Mouse conducting a symphony orchestra sponsored by Pete. The film was directed by Riley Thomson and features music adapted from the...
.
The start of the cello solo (about one minute in) of the Poet and Peasant overture is nearly an exact match to the start of the folk song "I've Been Working on the Railroad
I've Been Working on the Railroad
"I've Been Working on the Railroad" is an American folk song. The first published version appeared as "Levee Song" in Carmina Princetonia, a book of Princeton University songs published in 1894...
", which may (or may not) have pre-dated the overture.
List of works
Some of Suppé's more well-known works are listed here, listed with date of first performance. All are operettas unless indicated:- Dichter und Bauer (Poet and Peasant) – August 24, 1846, Theater an der WienTheater an der WienThe Theater an der Wien is a historic theatre on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district of Vienna. Completed in 1801, it has seen the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music...
, Vienna - Die Irrfahrt um's Glück – April 24, 1853. Theater an der Wien, Vienna
- Das Pensionat – November 24, 1860, Theater an der Wien, Vienna
- Die Kartenschlägerin – April 26, 1862, Kai-Theatre Vienna
- Zehn Mädchen und kein Mann – October 25, 1862, Kai-Theatre Vienna
- Flotte Burschen – April 18, 1863, Kai-Theater Vienna
- Pique Dame – Opera – June 22, 1864, Graz (revision of Die Kartenschlägerin; based on the same storyThe Queen of Spades (story)"The Queen of Spades" is a short story by Alexander Pushkin about human avarice. Pushkin wrote the story in autumn 1833 in Boldino and it was first published in the literary magazine Biblioteka dlya chteniya in March 1834...
by Pushkin as was TchaikovskyPyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
's opera The Queen of SpadesThe Queen of Spades (opera)The Queen of Spades, Op. 68 is an opera in 3 acts by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to a Russian libretto by the composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky, based on a short story of the same name by Alexander Pushkin. The premiere took place in 1890 in St...
) - Die schöne GalatheeDie schöne GalatheeDie schöne Galathee is an operetta in two acts by Franz von Suppé to a German libretto by the composer and 'Poly Henrion' ....
(The Beautiful Galatea) – September 9, 1865, CarltheaterCarltheaterThe Carltheater was a theatre in Vienna. It was in the suburbs in Leopoldstadt at Praterstraße 31 .It was the successor to the Leopoldstädter Theater. After a series of financial difficulties, that theater had been sold in 1838 to the director, Carl Carl, who continued to run it in parallel to his...
Vienna - Leichte KavallerieLeichte KavallerieLeichte Kavallerie is an operetta in three acts by Franz von Suppé, with a libretto by Karl Costa. It was first performed in the Carltheater, Vienna on 21 March 1866....
(Light Cavalry) (MIDI) – March 21, 1866, Carltheater Vienna - Banditenstreiche – April 27, 1867, Carltheater Vienna
- Die Frau Meisterin – January 20, 1868, Carltheater Vienna
- Fatinitza – January 5, 1876, Carltheater Vienna http://www.oldandsold.com/opera/opera-37.shtml
- Boccaccio – February 1, 1879, Carltheater Vienna
- Donna Juanita – February 21, 1880, Carltheater Vienna
- Der Gascogner – March 22, 1881, Carltheater Vienna
- Bellmann – February 26, 1887, Theater an der WienTheater an der WienThe Theater an der Wien is a historic theatre on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district of Vienna. Completed in 1801, it has seen the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music...
, Vienna - Die Jagd nach dem Glück – October 27, 1888, Carltheater Vienna
- March Oh Du mein Österreich
- Overture Ein Morgen, ein Mittag und ein Abend in Wien (Morning, Noon, and Night in Vienna) - 1844
- Overture Tantalusqualen