Pietro Ottoboni (Cardinal)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pietro Ottoboni as Cardinal (painting by Francesco Trevisani , c. 1689)
Pietro Ottoboni by Franciscus Trevisanus (= Francesco Trevisani )

Pietro Ottoboni (born July 2, 1667 in Venice , † February 28, 1740 in Rome ) was an Italian cardinal , patron and librettist . He is considered the last cardinal depository .

Life

Ottoboni was a great-nephew of the cardinal of the same name, who was elected Pope in 1689 as Alexander VIII . This gave him a comprehensive upbringing that aroused Ottoboni's interest in literature, art and music. At the age of 22 he was appointed cardinal by his great-uncle.

In addition to its various tasks in the service of the Church (u. A. Cardinal Deacon of the Church of San Lorenzo in Damaso , archpriest of the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and St. John in Lateran , Bishop of the Diocese of Ostia and Velletri , Sabina , Frascati and Porto-Santa Rufina , General Superintendent of the Papal States , Vice Chancellor of the Holy Church, Dean of the College of Cardinals ), Ottoboni made a name for himself as a promoter of literature, music and art, as a collector of books, paintings and coins, and as a librettist . He sponsored the two painters Francesco Trevisani and Sebastiano Conca , and the most important musicians in Rome played in his house chapel, including Arcangelo Corelli , Bernardo Pasquini , Giovanni Porta , Alessandro Scarlatti and Domenico Scarlatti as well as Georg Friedrich Handel . At least six of his librettos were set to music by Alessandro Scarlatti; the premieres mostly took place in Ottoboni's own theater in the Palazzo della Cancelleria .

The opera Il Colombo ovvero l'India scoperta , for which Ottoboni had (at least) written the libretto and which he had staged in an extravagant production in the Roman Teatro Tor di Nona in January 1691, was a terrible failure and victim of criticism and numerous " Pasquinades ". Only the famous castrato Cortona was cheered, and to make matters worse, the plague broke out and all the singers had to leave Rome after a few performances.

Ottoboni was said by various authors, including Montesquieu , an immoral way of life with numerous mistresses and illegitimate children. When he died in 1740, Charles de Brosses described him as "without morals, without credit, depraved, ruined, lover of the arts, great musician" (" Sans mœurs, sans crédit, débauché, ruiné, amateur des arts, grand musicien ").

Libretti (selection)

Web links

Commons : Pietro Ottoboni (Cardinal)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Ralph Kirkpatrick: Domenico Scarlatti , Verlag Heinrich Ellermann, Munich 1972 (English original at Princeton University Press, New Jersey 1953), p. 50
  2. ↑ " Columbus or the discovered India"
  3. ↑ a b Elena Gentile: "CECCHI, Domenico, detto il Cortona", in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Volume 23 , 1979, online on Treccani (Italian; accessed October 29, 2019)
  4. ↑ Colin Timms: Cecchi Domenico (il Cortona) , in: Grove Music online (English), accessed on October 29, 2019
predecessor Office successor
Francesco Barberini the Younger Dean of the College of Cardinals
1738–1740 		Tommaso Ruffo
Francesco Barberini the Younger Cardinal Bishop of Ostia and Velletri
1738–1740 		Tommaso Ruffo
Francesco VI. Pignatelli Cardinal Bishop of Porto-Santa Rufina
1734–1738 		Tommaso Ruffo
Lorenzo Corsini Cardinal Bishop of Frascati
1730–1734 		Pier Marcellino Corradini
Francesco Acquaviva d'Aragona Cardinal Bishop of Sabina
1725–1730 		Annibale Albani
personal data
SURNAME Ottoboni, Pietro
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian cardinal, patron and librettist
DATE OF BIRTH July 2, 1667
PLACE OF BIRTH Venice
DATE OF DEATH February 28, 1740
Place of death Rome