(b Florence, 4 April 1676; d Florence, 24 Oct 1760). Italian composer. His early years appear to have been spent in Florence; oratorio librettos of 1711 and 1712 claim for him the title of maestro di cappella of Prince Giovanni Gastone of Tuscany. In 1719 he was made a member of the Accademia Filarmonica of Bologna. His name figures on the title-page of Benedetto Marcello’s Il teatro alla moda (c1720), so it must have been well known to Venetian opera audiences of that time. Between 1717 and 1731 he resided principally in Bologna. When Giovanni Gastone succeeded his father as Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1723, Orlandini continued to style himself maestro di cappella to that sovereign, although he was not confirmed in this position until April 1732. In the same month he was named maestro di cappella of Florence Cathedral. Since all his serious operas after this date were first performed in Florence, it may be assumed that Orlandini remained in his native city after that year. During the 1730s he served as resident composer at the Florentine Teatro della Pergola, functioning as impresario during the 1722 and 1751 seasons. From 1734 to 1757 he carried out, in addition, the duties of maestro at S Michele Berteldi in Florence.
The large number and wide spread of performances of his operas confirm the opinions of Burney, La Borde, Martini and Quadrio that Orlandini was highly celebrated as a composer of dramatic music. He was best known for his comic intermezzos, in which genre his importance almost certainly outweighs that of Pergolesi. Indeed, Orlandini’s Bacocco e Serpilla (under various titles and with added music by various composers) appears to have been the most frequently performed piece of musical drama in the entire 18th century. His fashionable and forward-looking operatic style can be seen as early as Antigona (1718), in which one finds light accompaniments, often with drum basses, simple, slow-moving harmony, frequent use of regular phrasing in two-bar units and reverse-dotted rhythm. Bacocco e Serpilla uses short, simple arias, with syllabic setting, wide leaps, repeated notes, lively recurring rhythms, static harmony and rudimentary accompaniments, all of which became standard in that genre during the following decades.
WORKS stage
drammi per musica, in 3 acts, unless otherwise stated
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Artaserse (P. Pariati ?and A. Zeno), Livorno, S Sebastiano, 1706; Naples, S Bartolomeo, 2 July 1708, addl music by F. Mancini
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L’amor generoso (Zeno), Florence, Cocomero, aut. 1708, collab. R. Ceruti
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L’odio e l’amore (M. Noris), Genoa, S Agostino, 1709
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La fede tradita e vendicata (F. Silvani), Genoa, S Agostino, aut. 1709; Bologna, Marsigli-Rossi, 15 Aug 1712, addl music by F. Gasparini
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Ataulfo re de’ Goti, ovvero La forza della virtù (after D. David), Rome, Capranica, carn. 1712
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Teuzzone (Zeno), Ferrara, Bonacossi, spr. 1712, with addl music
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Madama Dulcinea e il cuoco del Marchese del Bosco (int, Marchese Trotti), Rome, Capranica, carn. 1712; as La preziosa ridicola, Naples, S Bartolomeo, carn. 1716; A-Wn
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L’innocenza difesa (Silvani), ? Ferrara, Bonacossi, spr. 1712; as Carlo re d’Alemagna, Bologna, Formagliari, 28 Oct 1713; as L’innocenza giustificata, Fano, Fortuna, sum. 1731
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L’amor tirannico (D. Lalli), Rome, Capranica, carn. 1713; as Il Farasmane (5), Bologna, Formagliari, 20 Oct 1720; Pesaro, Pubblico, carn. 1721, addl music by A. Tinazzoli
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Lisetta e Delfo (int), Rome, Capranica, carn. 1713
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Bacocco [Bajocco] e Serpilla (int, A. Salvi), Verona, May 1715; as Il marito giocatore e la moglie bacchettona, Venice, S Angelo, carn. 1719; as The Gamester, London, King’s, 1 Jan 1737; as Serpilla e Bacocco, Venice, S Angelo, 1741; with addl music as Il giocatore, Paris, Opéra, 22 Aug 1752, Les ariettes du Joueur (Paris, c1752) [attrib. Doletti]; A-Wn (facs. in IOB, lxviii, 1984), B-Bc (facs. in IOB, lxviii, 1984), D-MÜs, ROu, W (2 copies, one attrib. Vinci), F-Pc, I-Fc, S-Skma
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Amore e maestà (tragedia per musica, Salvi), Florence, Cocomero, 30 June 1715; as Arsace (rev. P.A. Rolli), London, King’s, 1 Feb 1721, addl music by F. Amadei; as Der ehrsüchtige Arsaces, Hamburg, 18 May 1722, arr. J. Mattheson, D-Bsb; rev., Florence, Pergola, carn. 1739, A-Wn, Act 2 GB-Lbl
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La pastorella al soglio (G.C. Corradi), Mantua, Arciducale, carn. 1717
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La virtù al cimento (Zeno), Mantua, Arciducale, carn. 1717; as La costanza trionfante, Recanati, fair and carn. 1720, addl music by Tinazzoli; rev. as Griselda, Venice, S Samuele, May 1720, arias A-Wn
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La Merope (Zeno), Bologna, Formagliari, 24 Oct 1717
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Lucio Papirio (Salvi), Naples, S Bartolomeo, 11 Dec 1717, arias and buffo scenes by F. Feo, doubtful, ? by F. Gasparini (see Strohm, 1989); Bologna, Formagliari, sum. 1718; Pesaro, Pubblico, carn. 1721, addl music by Tinazzoli
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Antigona (tragedia, 5, B. Pasqualigo), Venice, S Cassiano, carn. 1718; Pesaro, Pubblico, carn. 1723, addl music by Tinazzoli; as La fedeltà coronata, Bologna, Malvezzi, 2 June 1727, GB-Lbl; as Antigona vendicata, Breslau, 1 Oct 1728
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Le amazoni vinte da Ercole (Salvi), Reggio nell’Emilia, Pubblico, April 1718
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Ifigenia in Tauride (tragedia, 5, Pasqualigo, after P.J. Martello), Venice, S Giovanni Grisostomo, carn. 1719, arias D-ROu and SHs
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Il carceriero di se stesso (Salvi), Turin, Carignano, carn. 1720
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Paride (5, F. Muazzo), Venice, S Giovanni Grisostomo, carn. 1720, arias SHs
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Melinda e Tiburzio (int), Venice, S Angelo, carn. 1721; as La donna nobile, Venice, S Cassiano, carn. 1730
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Nerone (tragedia per musica, A. Piovene), Venice, S Giovanni Grisostomo, carn. 1721, arias Mbs; as Nero, Hamburg, 17 Nov 1723, arr. Mattheson, Bsb
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Nino (I. Zanella), Rome, Capranica, 7 Jan 1722, arias F-Pc; as Semiramide, Turin, Carignano, 1722; as Nino, Pesaro, Pubblico, carn. 1723, addl music by Tinazzoli
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Ormisda (Zeno), Bologna, Malvezzi, 16 May 1722; as Artenice, Turin, Regio, carn. 1723, addl music by G.A. Giai and others
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L’artigiano gentiluomo (Larinda e Vanesio) (int, Salvi, after Molière: Le bourgeois gentilhomme), Florence, 1722; as Le bourgeois gentilhomme, Florence, Pergola, carn. 1725; London, King’s, 1737
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Alessandro Severo (Zeno), Milan, Regio Ducale, carn. 1723, GB-Lbl
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L’Oronta (C.N. Stampa), Milan, Regio Ducale, carn. 1724
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Berenice (Pasqualigo, after J. Racine), Venice, S Giovanni Grisostomo, carn. 1725, B-Bc, arias I-Vnm
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Il malato immaginario (Erighetta e Don Chilone) (int, Salvi, after Molière: Le malade imaginaire), Florence, Pergola, carn. 1725
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Un vecchio innamorato (int, D. Marchi), Florence, Pergola, carn. 1725
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Monsieur di Porsugnacchi (Grilletta e Porsugnacco) (int, after Molière: Monsieur de Pourceaugnac), Milan, Regio Ducale, carn. 1727; as Pourceaugnac and Grilletta, London, King’s, 1737
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Berenice (A.M. Lucchini: Farnace), Milan, Regio Ducale, carn. 1728
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Adelaide (Salvi), Venice, S Cassiano, carn. 1729, GB-Lam, arias I-Vqs
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L’impresario dell’isole Canarie (Dorina e Nibbio) (int, P. Metastasio), ? Venice, S Cassiano, 1729
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Massimiano (G. Boldoni, after Pariati ?and Zeno: Constantino), Venice, S Giovanni Grisostomo, carn. 1731, B-Bc
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Grullo e Moschetta (int), Venice, S Angelo, carn. 1732; London, King’s, 1737
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Ifigenia in Aulide (Zeno), Florence, Pergola, carn. 1732
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Il marito geloso (Giletta e Ombrone) (int), St Petersburg, 1734
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Il Temistocle (Metastasio), Florence, Pergola, 3 Feb 1737
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L’olimpiade (Metastasio), Florence, Pergola, sum. 1737
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Le nozze di Perseo e Andromeda (azione drammatica, 2, Marchi), Florence, Pergola, 9 April 1738, A-Wgm, Wn
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Balbo e Dalisa (int, Salvi), Rome, Capranica, carn. 1740, doubtful
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La Fiammetta (commedia per musica), Florence, Cocomero, 29 Sept 1743
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Lo scialacquatore (commedia per musica, Borghesi), Florence, Cocomero, 14 Sept 1744; as Lo scialacquatore alla fiera, Venice, S Cassiano, aut. 1745, with addl music
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Probably arr. Orlandini: Arianna e Teseo (Pariati), Florence, Pergola, carn. 1739; Venceslao (Zeno), Florence, Pergola, 27 Dec 1741; Vologeso re de’ Parti (after Zeno), Florence, Pergola, Jan 1742
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Arias in A-Wgm, Wn; B-Bc, Lc; D-Bsb, Dlb, SWl; F-Pc, Pn; GB-Lbl, Lgc, Mp, Ob; I-Bc, BGi, Fc, Mc, Rc; US-BE, FAlewis, Wc
| oratorios and sacred cantatas -
Il martirio di S Sebastiano (A. Ghirizzani), Florence, 1694
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I fanciulli babilonesi, Florence, 1696
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La costanza trionfante nel martirio di S Lucia (B. Colzi), Florence, 1705
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Sara in Egitto (D. Cavanese), Florence, 1708, collab. others
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Il figliuol prodigo (B. Pamphili), Siena, 1709, arias D-Dlb
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Gli amori infelici di Ammone (Berzini), Florence, 1711
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L’Assalone ovvero l’infedeltà punita, Florence, 1713
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Dal trionfo le perdite ovvero Jefte che sagrifica la sua figlia (Cavanese), Florence, 1716, collab. others
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Componimento per musica da cantarsi la notte del SSmo Natale (G.B. Pontici), Rome, 1721, arias, F-Pc
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L’Ester (G. Melani), Bologna, 1723
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Giuditta, Castel S Pietro, 1726
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Jaele (D. Marchi), Florence, 1735
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Assuero, Florence, 1738
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Davidde trionfante (G.M. Medici), Florence, 1738
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Il Gioas re di Giuda (Metastasio), Florence, 1744
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Giuseppe riconosciuto (Metastasio), Florence, 1745
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Tobia (Zeno), Florence, 1749
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Componimento da cantarsi nel venerabile monastero di S Apollonia in Firenze (F. Casorri), Florence, 1750
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Isacco figura del redentore (Metastasio), Florence, 1752
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La deposizione dalla croce di Gesù Cristo Signor Nostro (G.C. Pasquini), Florence, 1760
| miscellaneous -
1 spiritual canzonetta, La ricreazione spirituale nella musica (Bologna, 1730)
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3 canzonettas, Raccolta di varie canzoni (Florence, 1739, 1740)
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22 sonate, a 3, B-Bc
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1 sinfonia, hpd, D-Bsb
| BIBLIOGRAPHY
BurneyH; La BordeE
F. Quadrio: Della storia e della ragione d’ogni poesia (Bologna, 1739–52)
G.B. Martini: Serie cronologica dei principi dell’Accademia de’ Filarmonici di Bologna (Bologna, 1776)
R. Strohm: Italienische Opernarien des frühen Settecento , AnMc, no.16 (1976)
R. Strohm: ‘Zu Vivaldis Opernschaffen’, Venezia e il melodramma nel Seicento, ed. M.T. Muraro (Florence, 1978), 237–48
R.L. and N.W. Weaver: A Chronology of Music in the Florentine Theater 1590–1750 (Detroit, 1978)
C.E. Troy: The Comic Intermezzo: a Study in the History of Eighteenth-Century Italian Opera (Ann Arbor, 1979)
R. Strohm: ‘Die Tragedia per Musica als Repertoirestück: zwei Hamburger Opern von Giuseppe Maria Orlandini’, HJbMw, v (1981), 37–54
W.C. Holmes: ‘An Impresario at the Teatro La Pergola in Florence: Letters of 1735–1736’, Music and Civilization: Essays in Honor of Paul Henry Lang, ed. E. Strainchamps, M.R. Maniates and C. Hatch (New York, 1984), 127–40
J.W. Hill: ‘Oratory Music in Florence, III: the Confraternities from 1655 to 1785’, AcM, lviii (1986), 127–77
F. Piperno: ‘Note sulla diffusione degli intermezzi di J.A. Hasse (1726–1741)’, Johann Adolf Hasse und die Musik seiner Zeit: Siena 1983 [AnMc, no.25 (1987)], 267–86
R. Strohm: ‘“Tragédie” into “Drama per musica”’, Informazioni e studi vivaldiani, ix (1988), 14–25; x (1989), 57–102; xi (1990), 11–26; xii (1991), 47–75
W.C. Holmes: Opera Observed: Views of a Florentine Impresario in the Early Eighteenth Century (Chicago, 1993)
W. Kirkendale: The Court Musicians in Florence during the Principate of the Medici (Florence, 1993)
JOHN WALTER HILL (work-list with FRANCESCO GIUNTINI)
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