Giovanna Astrua

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Scene from the 3rd act of Grauns Montezuma , 1755. Below left you can probably see Giovanna Astrua as Eupaforice

Giovanna Astrua (also Astroa ; * 1720 in Graglia with Vercelli ; † October 28, 1757 near Turin ) was an Italian opera singer ( soprano or coloratura soprano ) who worked in Naples and at the Royal Opera in Berlin , among others . She was considered "the most beautiful voice in Europe" ( Voltaire ).

Life

"[...] The opera deserves the joy price, / Where everything, court and city, as if intoxicated / Listening to the master song of Astrua ..."

- Frederick the Great

Not much is known about their youth. Giovanni Battista Mancini reports that she studied singing with Ferdinando Brivio in Milan .

Giovanna Astrua made her debut in the season 1738–1739 at the Teatro Regio in Turin , in La clemenza di Tito by Giuseppe Arena and in Il Ciro riconosciuto by Leonardo Leo , alongside celebrities such as Francesca Cuzzoni and the soprano Gioacchino Conti, known as " Gizziello " ( see repertoire list below). At this time she was in the service of Carlo Emanuele di Savoia , but also appeared at opera houses in Venice , Alessandria and Genoa , including Pietro Leone Cardenas Creusa at the Venetian Teatro San Samuele .

Gaspare Vanvitelli : View of Naples with the Palazzo Reale (1706)

According to Stählin, the Russian court composer Francesco Araja tried to bring the Astrua to the Tsar's court in 1740, but this was prevented by the Queen of Sardinia.

Instead, she went to Naples in 1741 , where she had a permanent engagement as prima donna at the Teatro San Carlo , one of the most important opera houses in Italy, until 1747 . She sang in world premieres of operas by Domenico Sarro , Leonardo Leo, Leonardo Vinci , Giuseppe de Majo and Gennaro Manna (see repertoire list below), and in a whole series of revivals of works by Johann Adolph Hasse .
Her stage partner as primo uomo during these years was Caffarelli , who was not only one of the most famous castrati of all, but also notorious for his difficult character, and with whom Astrua apparently did not always have it easy. An anecdote reports that in January 1745 in Hasses Antigono , during a joint duet, he tried to "outdo" and embarrass the Astrua in front of the audience, so outrageously that he was punished with imprisonment for it.

Friedrich II of Prussia, 1745

According to Fétis , the Prussian court composer and singer Carl Heinrich Graun heard the Astrua during a trip to Italy in 1745 and was so enthusiastic about her talent that he brought her to the royal court in Berlin , where she was employed from 1747 to 1756.

Shortly after their arrival in the Prussian capital, Frederick the Great - himself an enthusiastic music connoisseur, flute player and composer - reported to his sister Wilhelmine von Bayreuth on June 20, 1747:

«[...] Cette chanteuse est réellement surprenante; elle fait des arpeggios comme les violons, elle chante tout ce que la flûte joue avec une agilité et une vitesse infinie. Jamais la nature, depuis qu'elle se mêle de fabriquer des gosiers, n'en a fait de pareil. Cette femme, avec tous ses talents et sa belle voix, a encore le mérite d'être très-raisonnable, bonne et sage; il est bien rare de trouver tant de perfections ensemble. [...] »

“[...] This singer (the Astrua; editor's note) is really amazing; she makes arpeggios like the violins , and sings everything the flute plays with infinite agility and vivacity. Never has nature produced anything like it since it began to make throats. This woman, with all her talents and her beautiful voice, also has the merit of being very sensible, good-natured and clever; it is really rare to find so many perfections at once. [...] "

- Frederick the Great
Carl Heinrich Graun, around 1750

In Berlin, Astrua sang primarily as prima donna in operas by Carl Heinrich Graun, in Cinna (1748), Angelica e Medoro (1749), Fetonte , Mitridate (1750), Britannico (1751), Orfeo (1752), Silla (1753 ), Semiramide (1754), Montezuma and Ezio (1755). Graun put her exceptional skills in the right light in virtuoso bravura arias, such as in the then famous aria “ Mi paventi ” from Britannico (1751). In addition to the König und Graun, other musicians, such as the brothers Benda ( Georg Anton , Franz and Joseph ) and Carl Friedrich Fasch , saw Giovanna Astrua as the best singer of her time.
According to Pironti, she received an annual salary of 6,000 thalers in Berlin . According to more recent research, she did not receive quite as much, but at least in the 1750–1751 season she received the enormous sum of 4,725 Reichstalers. This made her the best-paid musician in Berlin, ahead of the famous castrato and primo uomo Felice Salimbeni , who at the same time received 4440 Reichstaler, during the secondo uomo Porporino (Antonio Uberti) 2000, Giovanna Gasparini 1800, and the tenor Antonio Romani only 1000 Earned thalers. The previous Berlin prima donna Giovanna Gasparini moved to second place through the engagement of Giovanna Astrua, so from then on she only sang roles of a seconda donna .
Astrua was also given the most splendid costumes on the stage: in 1748 in Graun's Cinna, in her role as Emilia , she wore a costume that consisted of “a golden outer garment over a richly embroidered silver undergarment”.

In 1750, with the consent of Frederick II, she was allowed to travel to Turin to appear at the wedding of Vittorio Amedeo di Savoia with the Spanish Infanta Maria Antonia Ferdinanda in the Serenata La vittoria d'Imeneo by Baldassarre Galuppi and in an opera by Giaì (see below Repertoire). In 1754 Astrua traveled to Prague to sing in front of Empress Maria Theresa , who is said to have been very friendly to her and even ignored it when Emperor Franz Stephan flirted with the singer and told her he wanted to be her " cicisbeo ". In the world premiere of Graun's most famous opera, Montezuma , on January 6, 1755, Giovanna Astrua sang the role of Eupaforice, and according to Frederick II she played her last scene “with admirable pathos” (“ L'Astrua a joué la dernière scène avec un pathétique admirable ... “) The last part that Graun composed for her was the Giocasta in I fratelli nemici (premiere: January 9, 1756).

After that she went back to Italy because of health problems, with a pension of 1000 Reichstalers a year. However, not long afterwards, at the age of only 37, she died on October 28, 1757, in her villa near Turin of a lung disease.

Voice, singing, acting

The singing teacher Giovanni Battista Mancini described Giovanna Astrua's singing skills as follows:

“[...] ... perché dotata di una voce agilissima, si applicò su questo genere con tale assiduità, che ridusse atta la sua voce a sorpassare qualunque difficoltà: cantò nondimeno a perfezione nel genere sostenuto, il quale fu da essa abbellito e ravvivato con tutti quei mezzi, che suol produrre la sensibilità, il sapore e la delicatezza di un ottimo gusto. [...] ”

"[...] ... as she was gifted with an extremely agile voice, she devoted herself to this genre with such persistence that her voice was soon able to overcome any difficulty: nevertheless she sang with perfection (also) in the traditional genre (" genere sostenuto "), which was embellished and animated by her with all those means that alone produce sensitivity, judgment (actually " sapore ") and the delicacy of excellent taste. [...] "

- Giovanni Battista Mancini

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing experienced the singer in the Berlin Opera and wrote about her:

“ Astroa , an excellent singer, and just as excellent an actress, will have few female operators like her. She thoroughly understands the music, both the melody and the harmony, and her naturally exceptionally beautiful voice, which she knows how to use thanks to her skill, gives her preference over all Berlin operists. She is already a little bit old, but besides the theatrical mystery of rejuvenating herself like a phoenix, she also has the art of attaching special value to her handsome facial structure, through her now majestic, now tender gestures and positions. She always has the leading roles under the woman, as z. E. The person of Rodelinde, Iphigenia, Angelica, etc. We have to remind you of one small mistake. It is not given to her to be serious for long. As often as she has sung out, she turns around and talks to their funny company. But you can force yourself at the time of need. "

- Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

Roles for Astrua (selection)

The following list only includes roles specifically composed for Giovanna Astrua; some of Hasse's operas, which she sang mainly in Naples, are therefore not listed here. The list is not complete.

  • Servilia in La clemenza di Tito by Giuseppe Arena (December 26, 1738; Turin , Teatro Regio); next to Francesca Cuzzoni , Gioacchino Conti ( Gizziello ) and Francesco Tolve
  • Arpalice in Il Ciro riconosciuto by Leonardo Leo (Carnival 1739; Turin, Teatro Regio); next to Gioacchino Conti (Gizziello), Santa Santini and Francesco Tolve
  • Fulvia in Ezio by Domenico Natale Sarro (November 4, 1741; Naples , Teatro San Carlo ); with Caffarelli
  • Title role in L'Andromaca by Leonardo Leo (November 4, 1742; Naples, Teatro San Carlo); with Caffarelli
  • Giulia in Alessandro nell'Indie by Domenico Natale Sarro (January 20, 1743; Naples, Teatro San Carlo); with Caffarelli
  • Mandane in Artaserse by Leonardo Vinci (November 4, 1743; Naples, Teatro San Carlo); with Caffarelli
  • Scitalce in Semiramide riconosciuta by Johann Adolph Hasse (November 4, 1744; Naples, Teatro San Carlo); with Caffarelli as semiramide (!?)
  • Achille in Achille in Sciro by Gennaro Manna (January 20, 1745; Naples, Teatro San Carlo); with Caffarelli
  • Pallade in L'impero dell'universo diviso con Giove by Gennaro Manna (August 3, 1745; Naples, Teatro San Carlo); with Caffarelli
  • Berenice in Lucio Vero by Gennaro Manna (December 19, 1745; Naples, Teatro San Carlo); with Caffarelli and Annibale Pio Fabbri
  • Title role in Ipermestra (2nd rev. Version) by Johann Adolph Hasse (January 20, 1746; Naples, Teatro San Carlo); with Caffarelli and Annibale Pio Fabbri
  • Arianna in Arianna e Teseo by Giuseppe de Majo (January 20, 1747; Naples, Teatro San Carlo); with Caffarelli and Annibale Pio Fabbri
  • Emilia in Cinna by Carl Heinrich Graun (January 1, 1748; Berlin ); with Felice Salimbeni
  • Angelica in Angelica e Medoro by Carl Heinrich Graun (March 27, 1749; Berlin); with Felice Salimbeni
  • Libia in Fetonte by Carl Heinrich Graun (March 29, 1750; Berlin); with Felice Salimbeni
  • Urania in La vittoria d'Imeneo by Baldassare Galuppi (June 7, 1750, Turin , Teatro Regio); with Caffarelli and Anton Raaff
  • Pallade in Fetonte sulle rive del Po by Giovanni Antonio Giaì (1750, Turin, Palazzo des Emanuello de Sada e Antillon); with Caffarelli
  • Monimia in Mitridate by Carl Heinrich Graun (December 18, 1750; Berlin )
  • Agrippina in Britannico by Carl Heinrich Graun (December 17, 1751; Berlin)
  • Euridice in Orfeo by Carl Heinrich Graun (March 27, 1752; Berlin)
  • Title role in Silla by Carl Heinrich Graun (March 27, 1753; Berlin); with Porporino (Anton Hubert)
  • Title role in Cleofide by Johann Friedrich Agricola (Carnival 1754; Berlin)
  • Title role in Semiramide by Carl Heinrich Graun (March 27, 1754; Berlin)
  • Eupaforice in Montezuma by Carl Heinrich Graun (Carnival 1755; Berlin)
  • Fulvia in Ezio by Carl Heinrich Graun (March 16, 1755; Berlin)
  • Giocasta in I fratelli nemici by Carl Heinrich Graun (January 9, 1756; Berlin)

Trivia

On December 11, 2018, a pedestrian zone was opened in Turin between via Cimarosa and via Tollegno, named after the singer “Giovanna Astrua” .

literature

  • David Cummings: Giovanna Astrua , article on Oxford Music online (full access only with subscription; English; accessed August 8, 2020)
  • Corinna Herr: 'Italian' and 'German' singing in Berlin: From Giovanna Astrua to Gertrud Elisabeth Mara , in: Simone Hohmaier (Ed.): Yearbook of the State Institute for Music Research Prussian Cultural Heritage , 2013, pp. 211–232
  • Alberto Pironti:  Astrua, Giovanna. In: Alberto M. Ghisalberti (Ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 4:  Arconati-Bacaredda. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1962.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d David Cummings: Astrua, Giovanna , article on Oxford Music online (full access only with subscription; English; accessed August 8, 2020)
  2. ↑ Fétis (and successor) gave completely wrong dates of birth and death: 1730 - 1792! Here after: Alberto Pironti: Astrua, Giovanna , in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani , Volume 4, 1962, online on Treccani (Italian; accessed on August 7, 2020)
  3. ↑ " Mlle Astrua est la plus belle voix de l'Europe…. ". Voltaire in a letter to Madame Denis, Berlin, December 26, 1750, online at Wikisource (French; accessed August 8, 2020)
  4. ↑ Poem: "To Sweerts. About the joys", from: "The works of Frederick the Great, in German translation", online (accessed August 8, 2020)
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Alberto Pironti:  Giovanna Astrua. In: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI).
  6. ^ La clemenza di Tito (Giuseppe Arena) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  7. ↑ a b c Irene Brandenburg: "Astrua, Astroa, Giovanna, Gioanna, Anna", in MGG online (full access only with subscription; access on August 8, 2020)
  8. ^ J. von Stählin: Nachrichten von der Musik in Rußland, Riga / Leipzig, 1770, p. 93. Here after Irene Brandenburg: "Astrua, Astroa, Giovanna, Gioanna, Anna", in MGG online (full access only with subscription; Accessed August 8, 2020)
  9. ↑ Leonella Grasso Caprioli: Majorano, Gaetano , in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani , Volume 67, 2006, online in Treccani (Italian; accessed August 8, 2020)
  10. ↑ From a letter from Frederick II to his sister Wilhelmine, Margravine von Bayreuth, Potsdam, June 20, 1747, online (original in French; accessed on August 8, 2020)
  11. ↑ Ann Hallenberg and Julia Lezhneva have recently made recordings of this aria.
  12. ↑ Tabular comparison of fees in the first half of the 18th century at the University of Graz (online as PDF; accessed on August 8, 2020)
  13. ↑ Giovanna Gasparini , short information on the website of the exhibition Friedrichs Montezuma , State Institute for Music Research Prussian Cultural Heritage (accessed on August 8, 2020)
  14. ↑ Günter Wagner (ed.): Yearbook of the State Institute for Music Research (SIM) Preußischer Kulturbesitz, 1997 , Springer-Verlag, p. 43, Google Book (accessed August 8, 2020)
  15. ↑ This was reported by Astrua personally to Frederick II of Prussia, who wrote it to his sister: “ L'Astrua a été à Prague, elle m'a conté que l'Impératrice avait été fort gracieuse envers elle; l'Empereur lui a dit qu'il voudrait être son cicisbeo, l'Impératrice, qui l'a entendu, a dit passe pour celle-là. Voilà de belles anecdotes sans doute et de quoi augmenter la réputation de l'Astrua d'avoir su adoucir la personne la plus jalouse de l'univers en sa faveur. “Letter from Frederick II to his sister Wilhelmine, Margravine of Bayreuth, (Potsdam) September 28, 1754, online (original in French; accessed on August 8, 2020)
  16. ↑ Giovanna Astrua , brief information on the website of the exhibition Friedrichs Montezuma , State Institute for Music Research Prussian Cultural Heritage (accessed on August 8, 2020)
  17. ^ Letter from Frederick II to his sister Wilhelmine, Margravine von Bayreuth, Potsdam, January 11, 1755, online (in French; accessed on August 8, 2020)
  18. ^ I fratelli nemici (Carl Heinrich Graun) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  19. ↑ Tabular comparison of fees in the first half of the 18th century at the University of Graz (online as PDF; accessed on August 8, 2020)
  20. ↑ Gotthold Ephraim Lessing: News of the current state of the theater in Berlin , in: Beyträger zur Historie undaufnahme des Theater, Erstes Stück , Stuttgart 1750, pp. 123-136 (excerpt: pp. 131-135), here: on the Website of the exhibition Friedrichs Montezuma - newspaper reports about the Royal Court Opera (1742-1754) , State Institute for Music Research Prussian Cultural Heritage (accessed August 8, 2020)
  21. ^ La clemenza di Tito (Giuseppe Arena) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  22. ^ Ciro riconosciuto (Leonardo Leo) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  23. ^ Ezio (Domenico Natale Sarro) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  24. ^ L 'Andromaca (Leonardo Leo) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  25. ↑ Alessandro nell'Indie (Domenico Natale Sarro) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  26. ^ Artaserse (Leonardo Vinci) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  27. ^ Semiramide riconosciuta (Johann Adolf Hasse) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  28. ^ Achille in Sciro (Gennaro Manna) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  29. ↑ L 'impero dell'universo diviso con Giove (Gennaro Manna) in Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  30. ↑ Lucio Vero (Gennaro Manna) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  31. ^ Ipermestra (Johann Adolf Hasse) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  32. ^ Arianna e Teseo (Giuseppe di Majo) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  33. ^ Cinna (Carl Heinrich Graun) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  34. ^ Angelica e Medoro (Carl Heinrich Graun) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  35. ^ Fetonte (Carl Heinrich Graun) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  36. ^ La vittoria d'Imeneo (Galuppi) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  37. ^ Fetonte sulle rive del Po (Giovanni Antonio Giaì) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  38. ^ Mitridate (Carl Heinrich Graun) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  39. ^ Britannico (Carl Heinrich Graun) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  40. ^ Orfeo (Carl Heinrich Graun) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  41. ^ Silla (Carl Heinrich Graun) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  42. ^ Cleofide (Johann Friedrich Agricola) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  43. ^ Semiramide (Carl Heinrich Graun) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  44. ^ Montezuma (Carl Heinrich Graun) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  45. ^ Ezio (Carl Heinrich Graun) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  46. ^ I fratelli nemici (Carl Heinrich Graun) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  47. ↑ Simona Cocola: Un angolo di Torino dedicato alla grande cantante lirica Giovanna Astrua , December 20, 2018, article in: Piemonte Topnews (Italian; accessed August 8, 2020)
personal data
SURNAME Astrua, Giovanna
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Astroa, Giovanna
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian opera singer (soprano)
DATE OF BIRTH 1720
PLACE OF BIRTH Graglia near Vercelli ( Piedmont )
DATE OF DEATH October 28, 1757
Place of death near Turin