The Conclave of MDCCLXXIV

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"The Conclave of MDCCLXXIV" is the German title of the libretto for the fictional dramma per musica in three acts " Il Conclave dell 'anno MDCCLXXIV ", for which Niccolò Piccinni supposedly composed the music. As a librettist is Pietro Metastasio faked, the real author is, however, Sigismondo Chigi Albani della Rovere .

action

Rome, in the Vatican Palace the cardinals have been gathered for the conclave since October 1774 .

1st act

Cardinal Negroni wants to become Pope through intrigues and with the help of the French Cardinal de Bernis , but has a large opposing party in the Cardinals Albani and their candidate Cardinal Serbelloni. Cardinal Zelada desperately wants to become Secretary of State and supports the most promising candidate, if necessary several at the same time.

2nd act

Cardinal Negroni is no longer a favorite for the papacy due to the intrigues of the Albani party. Cardinal de Bernis is angry about this and there is a violent argument between DeBernis, the Albanis and the respective party members, from which Cardinal de Bernis emerges defeated. He now wants to use new intrigues to ensure that every other candidate is not elected and therefore also vetoed Cardinal Serbelloni's election.

3rd act

All parties have now agreed on Cardinal Fantuzzi. Cardinal Zelada found out about it, seriously injured in his stormy search for this one other cardinal and is therefore taken into custody where he dies. Cardinal Fantuzzi is crowned the new Pope.

The conclave as the object of satire

The attraction of this fictitious "Dramma per Musica" lies in the satirical description of the conditions in the conclave: the cardinals dance a minuet with each other on occasion , the cardinals sing a song of praise to the pleasant aspects of the conclave during gluttony , the fights are played out with breviaries, Sandpots and inkwells carried, a cardinal appears insane, the medical care of the injured cardinal is exaggerated, the sly Cardinal Zelada is almost always shown looking for the respective favorite. The electoral agreements and intrigues, which were dealt with and carried out quite openly, are also prominent components of the drama text. One of the satirical features of this “Dramma per musica” is the final chorus, which is not sung by cheering cardinals, as expected, but with a crude text by the conclave's valet.

In addition to the actual libretto text, the introductory pages of the libretto also bear the satirical and mocking intentions. The cardinals and other dignitaries of the papal court are listed as stage painters, ballet masters, costume designers, stage masters and ballet dancers.

Sources of the plot, origin of the aria texts, authorship

The aria texts are mainly taken from Metastasio's “ L'olimpiade ” (the piece is also opened with the quotation from the first movement of the first act), but also from his “ Artaserse ”, “ La clemenza di Tito ”, “ Demofoonte ”, “ Adriano in Siria "; also from “ La finta giardiniera ” by Calzabigi and Coltellini , “ Innocenza giustificata ” by Gianantonio Madonis , “ Montezuma ” by Vittorio Amedeo Cigna-Santi , “ La vittoria d'Imeneo ” by Giuseppe Bartoli and “ La serva amorosa ” by Carlo Goldoni . The narrative recitatives are from Chigi himself. Contemporary newspapers are given in the preface as the source of the events described.

Publication and fate of the alleged author

The play was written during the ongoing conclave and very fast very known (it mentions Joseph Francis of Seinsheim in a letter of 7 December 1774 his brother) and caused such a big stir that a copy of the public on the Piazza Colonna by the executioner was burned. The fictitious libretto represents a unique exception in the long series of pamphlets, satires and reports on "true events" during the conclave (as reported by the "Augspurgische Ordinari Postzeitung" during the conclave on November 7th and December 7th, 1774) Rumors and reports, and the "Secret and Reliable Story of the Conclave [...]" explicitly mentions these "usual" concomitants) and was reprinted and edited many times over the years (also under other titles) and targeted as a propaganda tool in Italy during the French Revolution used against the papal state.

Not long after the initially anonymous and handwritten publication of the piece, the Florentine clergyman, man of letters and occasional librettist Abbate Gaetano Sertor presented himself to the College of Cardinals as the alleged author and had to face considerable consequences.He was first detained in a monastery and later expelled from the Papal States. where Sertor's travel expenses to Florence were allegedly borne by Cardinal Zelada, who was portrayed as particularly disloyal. However, documents found in 1953 clearly show that the anti-clerical and Masonic-minded Prince Sigismondo Chigi Albani della Rovere was the actual author. Since the Piazza Colonna is in front of the Palazzo Chigi , the actual authorship seems to have been recognized even then.

Literature and Sources

supporting documents

  1. ^ Sigismondo Chigi della Rovere, IV Principe di Farnese. Entry in the Italian Wikipedia.
  2. ↑ Note del Mondo No. 121, Foglietti di Cracas No. 8 and Gazzetta di Foligno.
  3. ↑ digitized version
  4. ↑ digitized version
  5. ↑ date of birth unknown; according to a handwritten note in the copy of the piece in the Anna Amalia Library : "[...] died on April 4, 1805 in Cento".
  6. ^ Reichspostreuter of March 23, 1776.
  7. ↑ CHIGI, Sigismondo. At: treccani.it. Biography.