Matteo Babini
Encyclopedia
Matteo Antonio Babini also known by the family name of Babbini, was a leading Italian tenor
of the late 18th-century, and a teacher of singing and stage art.
on .
After studying in his town with Arcangelo Cortoni, he made his début at Modena
probably in 1770 or 1771, at the age of 16 or 17, as a second tenor. It is likely he sang in a revival of Paisiello
’s Demetrio.
After performing in several Italian theatres, most notably Venice
’s San Benedetto
, Babini was engaged, between 1777 and 1781, to appear at Berlin’s Court and, later, to perform works by Paisiello in Saint Petersburg
. While there he was popular performing in the Apulia
composer’s operas, even some in the comic genre
with which he was not associated while in Italy.
Babini went on to perform all around Europe, including Lisbon
, Madrid
, Vienna
, and London
. In 1786, in London, he took part in the premiere of Cherubini
’s Giulio Sabino.
His career in Italy continued successfully through the nineties, with highlights including his part in the premiere of Cimarosa
’s Gli Orazi e i Curiazi
, where he played the part of the villainous hero Marcus Horatius.
Babini retired from the stage in 1803, though he was still in demand for premiere performances by such composers as Zingarelli
and Bertoni
.
Having settled again in his native town, after an Italian career based almost wholly around Venice, he then proceeded to teach. In addition to singing, he also taught the stage art by which he had so much distinguished himself. One of his pupils was a teenaged Gioachino Rossini, who would recount, to Ferdinand Hiller
in his old age, the story of his juvenile fancies to become a singer and of his meeting the great tenor.
Babini died in Bologna on .
, Babini felt at ease in only one octave (although, eventually, Orazi’s only virtuoso aria was assigned to him).
Babini's main contributions to the renaissance of operatic art were through his role of actor-singer, and he became known for the exhuberant style of his recitals, the realism of his acting, and his imposing stage presence - he was said to be tall, blond, and slender, and with a very fine countenance.
According to Giovanni Morelli, Babini's repertoire developed following his stays in Paris during the crucial moments of the French Revolution
, in the years 1787-9, and in 1792, and shifted towards the new-fashioned historical drama and the Rousseau
monodrama
cantata
, especially Pimmalione, which he performed around the major Italian theatres with a huge success.
In his interpretations, Babbini endeavoured to portray "peoples' customs and heroes' vicissitudes", and in the Venetian premiere of Cimarosa’s Oriazi he went on the stage wearing historical costume, "which the audience remained so much satisfied with, that thenceforth theatres turned it into an invariable standard".
Babini partnered, amongst others, Crescentini
, Grassini
, Banti
, Pacchiarotti
, and also the tenor Giacomo David
, with whom he often alternated the same parts.
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
of the late 18th-century, and a teacher of singing and stage art.
Life and Career
Matteo Babini was born in BolognaBologna
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,...
on .
After studying in his town with Arcangelo Cortoni, he made his début at Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
probably in 1770 or 1771, at the age of 16 or 17, as a second tenor. It is likely he sang in a revival of Paisiello
Giovanni Paisiello
Giovanni Paisiello was an Italian composer of the Classical era.-Life:Paisiello was born at Taranto and educated by the Jesuits there. He became known for his beautiful singing voice and in 1754 was sent to the Conservatorio di S. Onofrio at Naples, where he studied under Francesco Durante, and...
’s Demetrio.
After performing in several Italian theatres, most notably 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...
’s San Benedetto
Teatro San Benedetto
The Teatro San Benedetto was a theatre in Venice, particularly prominent in the operatic life of the city in the 18th and early 19th centuries. It saw the premieres of over 140 operas, including Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri, and was the theatre of choice for the presentation of opera seria until...
, Babini was engaged, between 1777 and 1781, to appear at Berlin’s Court and, later, to perform works by Paisiello in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. While there he was popular performing in the Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
composer’s operas, even some in the comic genre
Opera buffa
Opera 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...
with which he was not associated while in Italy.
Babini went on to perform all around Europe, including Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, 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 London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In 1786, in London, he took part in the premiere of Cherubini
Luigi Cherubini
Luigi Cherubini was an Italian composer who spent most of his working life in France. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the greatest of his contemporaries....
’s Giulio Sabino.
His career in Italy continued successfully through the nineties, with highlights including his part in the premiere of Cimarosa
Domenico Cimarosa
Domenico Cimarosa was an Italian opera composer of the Neapolitan school...
’s Gli Orazi e i Curiazi
Gli Orazi e i Curiazi
Gli Orazi e i Curiazi is an opera in three acts composed by Domenico Cimarosa to a libretto by Antonio Simeone Sografi, based on Pierre Corneille's tragedy, Horace.-History:...
, where he played the part of the villainous hero Marcus Horatius.
Babini retired from the stage in 1803, though he was still in demand for premiere performances by such composers as Zingarelli
Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli
Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli was an Italian composer, chiefly of opera.-Early career:Zingarelli was born in Naples, where he studied at the Santa Maria di Loreto Conservatory under Fenaroli and Speranza....
and Bertoni
Ferdinando Bertoni
Ferdinando Bertoni was an Italian composer and organist.He was born in Salò, and began his music studies in Brescia, not far from his birthplace. Around 1740 he went to Bologna, where he studied till 1745 with the famous music theorist Giovanni Battista Martini...
.
Having settled again in his native town, after an Italian career based almost wholly around Venice, he then proceeded to teach. In addition to singing, he also taught the stage art by which he had so much distinguished himself. One of his pupils was a teenaged Gioachino Rossini, who would recount, to Ferdinand Hiller
Ferdinand Hiller
Ferdinand Hiller was a German composer, conductor, writer and music-director.-Biography:Ferdinand Hiller was born to a wealthy Jewish family in Frankfurt am Main, where his father Justus was a merchant in English textiles – a business eventually continued by Ferdinand’s brother Joseph...
in his old age, the story of his juvenile fancies to become a singer and of his meeting the great tenor.
Babini died in Bologna on .
Artistic contributions
Matteo Babini played a key part in the recovery, towards the end of the 18th century, of the expressive character of operatic singing which, had been losing favour to the vocal acrobatics of the castrati and the higher notes of the sopranos. Being a baritonal tenor with a very narrow range, and not being particularly versed in coloraturaColoratura
Coloratura has several meanings. The word is originally from Italian, literally meaning "coloring", and derives from the Latin word colorare . When used in English, the term specifically refers to elaborate melody, particularly in vocal music and especially in operatic singing of the 18th and...
, Babini felt at ease in only one octave (although, eventually, Orazi’s only virtuoso aria was assigned to him).
Babini's main contributions to the renaissance of operatic art were through his role of actor-singer, and he became known for the exhuberant style of his recitals, the realism of his acting, and his imposing stage presence - he was said to be tall, blond, and slender, and with a very fine countenance.
According to Giovanni Morelli, Babini's repertoire developed following his stays in Paris during the crucial moments of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, in the years 1787-9, and in 1792, and shifted towards the new-fashioned historical drama and the Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
monodrama
Monodrama
A monodrama is a theatrical or operatic piece played by a single actor or singer, usually portraying one character.- Monodrama in opera :...
cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
, especially Pimmalione, which he performed around the major Italian theatres with a huge success.
In his interpretations, Babbini endeavoured to portray "peoples' customs and heroes' vicissitudes", and in the Venetian premiere of Cimarosa’s Oriazi he went on the stage wearing historical costume, "which the audience remained so much satisfied with, that thenceforth theatres turned it into an invariable standard".
Babini partnered, amongst others, Crescentini
Girolamo Crescentini
Girolamo Crescentini was a noted Italian singer castrato , a singing teacher and a composer.-Biography:He studied in Bologna with the noted teacher Lorenzo Gibelli and made his debut in 1783, quite advanced in years as a castrato...
, Grassini
Giuseppina Grassini
Giuseppina Maria Camilla Grassini was a noted Italian contralto, and a singing teacher...
, Banti
Brigida Banti
Brigida Giorgi, better known by her husband's surname and her stage-name, as Brigida Banti was an Italian soprano.- Obscure beginnings :...
, Pacchiarotti
Gaspare Pacchierotti
Gaspare Pacchierotti was a great mezzo-soprano castrato, and one of the most famous singers of his time.-Training and first appearances:...
, and also the tenor Giacomo David
Giacomo David
Giacomo David , was a leading Italian tenor of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.-Biography:...
, with whom he often alternated the same parts.
Roles
The following list is not complete:| Role | Opera | Genre | Composer | Theatre | Premiere |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giocondo | L'astratto | Dramma giocoso Dramma giocoso Dramma giocoso is the name of a genre of opera common in the mid-18th century. The term is a contraction of "dramma giocoso per musica" and is essentially a description of the text rather than the opera as a whole... |
Niccolò Piccinni Niccolò Piccinni Niccolò Piccinni was an Italian composer of symphonies, sacred music, chamber music, and opera. Although he is somewhat obscure, even to music lovers today, Piccinni was one of the most popular composers of opera—particularly the Neapolitan opera buffa—of his day... |
Bologna, Teatro Formagliari | autumn 1772 |
| Anassandro | Merope | Dramma per musica Dramma per musica Dramma per musica is a term which was used by dramatists in Italy and elsewhere between the late-17th and mid-19th centuries... (opera seria) |
Giacomo Insanguine Giacomo Insanguine Giacomo Antonio Francesco Paolo Michele Insanguine was an Italian composer, organist, and music educator.... |
Venice, Teatro (Grimani) San Benedetto Teatro San Benedetto The Teatro San Benedetto was a theatre in Venice, particularly prominent in the operatic life of the city in the 18th and early 19th centuries. It saw the premieres of over 140 operas, including Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri, and was the theatre of choice for the presentation of opera seria until... |
|
| Osmino | Solimano | Dramma per musica | Johann Gottlieb Naumann Johann Gottlieb Naumann Johann Gottlieb Naumann was a German composer, conductor, and Kapellmeister.- Life :... |
Venice, Teatro (Grimani) San Benedetto | |
| Clearco | Antigono | Dramma per musica (opera seria) | Pasquale Anfossi Pasquale Anfossi Bonifacio Domenico Pasquale Anfossi was an Italian opera composer. Born in Taggia, Liguria, he studied with Niccolò Piccinni and Antonio Sacchini, and worked mainly in London, Venice and Rome.... |
Venice, Teatro (Gallo) San Benedetto Teatro San Benedetto The Teatro San Benedetto was a theatre in Venice, particularly prominent in the operatic life of the city in the 18th and early 19th centuries. It saw the premieres of over 140 operas, including Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri, and was the theatre of choice for the presentation of opera seria until... |
|
| Amenofi (or Amasi) | La Nitteti | Dramma per musica | Giovanni Paisiello Giovanni Paisiello Giovanni Paisiello was an Italian composer of the Classical era.-Life:Paisiello was born at Taranto and educated by the Jesuits there. He became known for his beautiful singing voice and in 1754 was sent to the Conservatorio di S. Onofrio at Naples, where he studied under Francesco Durante, and... |
Saint Petersburg , Hoftheater of the Imperial Oranienbaum Palace Oranienbaum, Russia Oranienbaum is a Russian royal residence, located on the Gulf of Finland west of St. Petersburg. The Palace ensemble and the city centre are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.-History:... |
|
| Tempo | Achille in Sciro | Dramma per musica | Giovanni Paisiello | Saint Petersburg, Hoftheater of the Imperial Oranienbaum Palace | |
| - | Lo sposo burlato | Dramma giocoso-pasticcio Pasticcio In music, a pasticcio or pastiche is an opera or other musical work composed of works by different composers who may or may not have been working together, or an adaptation or localization of an existing work that is loose, unauthorized, or inauthentic.-Etymology:The term is first attested in the... |
Giovanni Paisiello | Saint Petersburg , Hoftheater of the Imperial Peterhof Palace Peterhof Palace The Peterhof Palace in Russian, so German is transliterated as "Петергoф" Petergof into Russian) for "Peter's Court") is actually a series of palaces and gardens located in Saint Petersburg, Russia, laid out on the orders of Peter the Great. These Palaces and gardens are sometimes referred as the... |
|
| - | La finta amante | Opera buffa Opera buffa Opera 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... |
Giovanni Paisiello | Mogilëv, Theatre (name unknown) | |
| Fronimo | Alcide al bivio | Festa teatrale Festa teatrale The term festa teatrale refers to a genre of drama, and of opera in particular. The genre cannot be rigidly defined, and in any case feste teatrali tend to be split into two different sets: feste teatrali divided by acts are operas, while works in this genre performed without division, or merely... |
Giovanni Paisiello | Saint Petersburg , Hermitage Theatre Hermitage Theatre The Hermitage Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia is one of five Hermitage buildings lining the Palace Embankment of the Neva River.The palatial theatre was built between 1783 and 1787 at the behest of Catherine the Great to a Palladian design by Giacomo Quarenghi... in 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... |
|
| Artaserse (not verified) | Artaserse | Dramma per musica (opera seria) | Giacomo Rust Giacomo Rust Giacomo Rust or Rusti was an Italian opera composer, probably of German ancestry.Not a great deal is known about Rust. Between 1763 and 1777, Rust was active in Venice, where his first opera, a dramma giocoso, La contadina in corte, to a libretto by Niccolò Tassi, was performed in 1763... |
Perugia, Teatro Civico (inauguration) | 1781 |
| Sarabes | Zemira | Dramma per musica | Pasquale Anfossi | Venice, Teatro (Gallo) San Benedetto | |
| Scitalce-Sardanapalo | Arbace | Dramma per musica (opera seria) | Giovanni Battista Borghi | Venice, Teatro (Gallo) San Benedetto | |
| Ormondo | Il disertore francese | Dramma per musica (opera seria) | Francesco Bianchi Francesco Bianchi (musician) Giuseppe Francesco Bianchi was an Italian opera composer. Born at Cremona, Lombardy, he studied with Pasquale Cafaro and Niccolò Jommelli, and worked mainly in London, Paris and in all the major Italian operatic scenes, Venice, Naples, Rome, Milan, Turin, Florence.He wrote at least 78 operas of... |
Venice, Teatro (Gallo) San Benedetto | |
| Alessandro Magno | Alessandro nell'Indie | Dramma per musica (opera seria) | Francesco Bianchi | Venice, Teatro (Gallo) San Benedetto | |
| - | Giulio Sabino | Dramma per musica (opera seria) | Luigi Cherubini Luigi Cherubini Luigi Cherubini was an Italian composer who spent most of his working life in France. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the greatest of his contemporaries.... |
London, King's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre... |
|
| Porsenna | Il trionfo di Clelia | Dramma per musica | Angelo Tarchi Angelo Tarchi Angelo Tarchi was an Italian composer of numerous operas as well as sacred music. Between 1778 and 1787, he worked primarily in Italy, producing five or six new operas each year.... |
Turin, Nuovo Teatro Regio | |
| Volodimiro | Volodimiro | Dramma per musica | Domenico Cimarosa Domenico Cimarosa Domenico Cimarosa was an Italian opera composer of the Neapolitan school... |
Turin, Nuovo Teatro Regio | |
| Artabano (not verified) | Artaserse | Dramma per musica (opera seria) | Francesco Bianchi | 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... , Teatro Nuovo e della Nobiltà |
|
| Bruto | La morte di Cesare La morte di Cesare La morte di Cesare is an opera seria in three acts by Francesco Bianchi. The libretto was by Gaetano Sertor, after Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar.... |
Dramma serio per musica | Francesco Bianchi | Venice, Teatro (Grimani) San Samuele Teatro San Samuele Teatro San Samuele was an opera house and theatre located at the Rio del Duca, between Campo San Samuele and Campo Santo Stefano, in Venice. One of several important theatres built in that city by the Grimani family, the theatre opened in 1656 and operated continuously until a fire destroyed the... |
|
| Amenofi (or Amasi) | Nitteti | Dramma per musica (opera seria) | Ferdinando Bertoni Ferdinando Bertoni Ferdinando Bertoni was an Italian composer and organist.He was born in Salò, and began his music studies in Brescia, not far from his birthplace. Around 1740 he went to Bologna, where he studied till 1745 with the famous music theorist Giovanni Battista Martini... |
Venice, Teatro (Grimani) San Samuele di Venezia | |
| Giasone | Gli Argonauti in Colco ossia La conquista del vello d'oro | Dramma per musica | Giuseppe Gazzaniga Giuseppe Gazzaniga Giuseppe Gazzaniga was a member of the Neapolitan school of opera composers. He composed fifty-one operas and is considered to be one of the last Italian opera buffa composers.-Biography:... |
Venice, Teatro (Grimani) San Samuele | |
| Pimmalione | Pimmalione | Scena drammatica in musica | Giovanni Battista Cimador | Venice, Teatro (Grimani) San Samuele | |
| Alessandro | Apelle | Dramma serio per musica (1st version) | Nicola Antonio Zingarelli | Venice, Teatro alla Fenice La Fenice Teatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of the most famous theatres in Europe, the site of many famous operatic premieres. Its name reflects its role in permitting an opera company to "rise from the ashes" despite losing the use of two theatres... |
|
| Virginio | Virginia | Tragedia per musica (opera seria) | Felice Alessandri Felice Alessandri Felice Alessandri was an Italian keyboardist and composer who was internationally active; working in Berlin, London, Paris, St. Petersburg, and Turin. He is best known for his stage works, and he produced a total of 32 operas between 1764 and 1794... |
Venice, Teatro alla Fenice | |
| Alcéo | Saffo o sia I riti d'Apollo Leucadio | Dramma per musica | Giovanni Simone Mayr | Venice, Teatro alla Fenice | |
| Ulisse | Penelope | Dramma per musica | Domenico Cimarosa | Naples, Teatro del Fondo Teatro del Fondo The Teatro del Fondo is a theatre in Naples, now known as the Teatro Mercadante. Together with the Teatro San Carlo, it was originally one of the two royal opera houses of the 18th and 19th-century city.... |
|
| Marco Orazio | Gli Orazi e i Curiazi | Tragedia per musica (1st version) | Domenico Cimarosa | Venice, Teatro alla Fenice | |
| Mentore | Telemaco nell'isola di Calipso | Dramma per musica | Giovanni Simone Mayr | Venice, Teatro Sant'Angelo | |
| Mitridate | La morte di Mitridate | Dramma per musica (opera seria) | Nicola Antonio Zingarelli | Venice, Teatro alla Fenice | |
| protagonista | Inno patriottico per la guardia civica | Anthem Anthem The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word... |
Catterino Cavos Catterino Cavos Catterino Albertovich Cavos , born Catarino Camillo Cavos, was an Italian composer, organist and conductor settled in Russia... |
Venice, Teatro alla Fenice | |
| Edipo | Edipo a Colono | Tragedia per musica (opera seria) | Nicola Antonio Zingarelli | Venice, Teatro alla Fenice | |
| Publio Scipione Africano | La caduta della nuova Cartagine | Dramma per musica | Giuseppe Farinelli Giuseppe Farinelli Giuseppe Farinelli was an Italian composer active at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century who excelled in writing opera buffas... |
Venice, Teatro alla Fenice | |
| Mercurio | Adria consolata | Festa teatrale (cantata drammatica) | Ferdinando Bertoni | Venice, Teatro alla Fenice | |