Anton Raaff
Anton Raaff (also Antonius Raaf ; born May 6, 1714 in Gelsdorf near Bonn , † May 28, 1797 in Munich ) was a German opera singer ( tenor ).
Life
There are many stories and legends surrounding Anton Raaff's life . For example, he is said to have been born the son of a poor shepherd.
It has been proven that he was born in Gelsdorf near Bonn in 1714 as the son of Johannes Raaff and Anna Margarethe born. Kochs was born. After the birth, it is unclear when exactly, the family moved to Holzem , where the father may have been estate manager at Gudenau Castle .
Anton Raaff received his training at the renowned Jesuit high school in Bonn . For the year 1726 his participation in a performance of the high school is documented. It was there that Elector Clemens August heard him for the first time, who took him on after graduating from school and employed him as court and chamber musician in 1736.
Raaff trained in Munich with Antonio Bernacchi and in Bologna with Padre Giambattista Martini . As early as 1742 Raaff sang in Florence and Venice as well as at the coronation of Charles VII in Frankfurt Cathedral. In the same year he returned to the court of Clemens August in Bonn and became an electoral court singer. The elector refused his request to become a clergyman.
Raaff stayed at the Bonn court until 1749 and then followed an engagement at the Viennese court of Empress Maria Theresa . This was followed by appearances at the most important courts in Europe such as Bologna , Livorno , Madrid and Lisbon .
In 1755 he met the castrato Farinelli , with whom he soon became close friends. In 1760 Raaff sang at the court of the King of Naples , where he became the leading tenor of the Neapolitan opera . He stayed there for nine years before arriving at the Mannheim Opera via Florence , where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart heard him sing in 1777. Anton Raaff was already a celebrated stage star who was at the zenith of his art. Two years later Mozart wrote the title role of " Idomeneo " for him .
This opera also became Raaff's last title role. After 1781 he no longer sang on a stage, but only in churches and also gave singing lessons. The last few years before his death he lived in Munich in a household with his long-time friend, the clergyman and numismatist Franz Ignaz von Streber , both of whom led a markedly religious life, but were also active in the arts and science.
Anton Raaff was probably the most famous tenor of the 18th century. In his book "Das Europäische Mannheim" (1940) Ernst Leopold Stahl wrote about him:
“Four decades of tremendous international fame had not robbed him of his personal simplicity, nor of his religiousness, which at that time was hardly to be found in the singing world, which even at the peak of his successes made him want to enter the spiritual class. When he was still in his seventies, like no other, standing his husband on the stage, it was not only because he had learned to sing thoroughly and cultivated it all the time, but because behind the singing there was a person with warmth of heart ... "
literature
- KJ Kutsch , Leo Riemens : Large singer lexicon . Unchanged edition. KG Saur, Bern 1993, second volume M – Z, Sp. 2387 f., ISBN 3-907820-70-3
- Felix Joseph Lipowsky : Baierisches Musik-Lexikon. Munich 1811, pp. 261 to 264
- Ernst Leopold Stahl: Das Europäische Mannheim , Mannheim, 1940, pp. 137 to 140, with a full-page art print portrait
- Barbara Hausmanns, Festschrift for the 200th year of Anton Raaff's death: Anton Raaff, 18th century tenor "ex Holtzheim". In: Wachtberger Hefte 1/1997, Heimatverein Villip.
- Article Raaff, Anton. In: Josef Niesen : Bonner Personenlexikon. 3rd, improved and enlarged edition. Bouvier, Bonn 2011, ISBN 978-3-416-03352-7 .
- Heinz Freiberger: Anton Raaff (1714–1797). His life and work as a contribution to the history of music in the 18th century. Bonn 1929.
- Hildegard Heister-Möltgen: Anton Raaff - famous singer of the 18th century. Euskirchen 1994.
Web links
- Anton Raaff in the Bavarian Musicians' Lexicon Online (BMLO)
- Anton Raaff at Operissimo on the basis of the Great Singer Lexicon
- Anton Raaff in the portal Rheinische Geschichte
- Website about sights in Holzem; the chapel donated by Anton Raaff in 3rd place with photo
Individual evidence
- ^ Ernst Leopold Stahl: Das Europäische Mannheim , Mannheim 1940, p. 140
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Raaff, Anton |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Raaf, Antonius |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German opera singer (tenor) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 6, 1714 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Gelsdorf near Bonn |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 28, 1797 |
| Place of death | Munich |