Salvadore Cammarano

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Salvadore Cammarano

Salvadore Cammarano (born March 19, 1801 in Naples , † July 17, 1852 ibid) was an Italian writer, librettist and director at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.

Life

Salvadore Cammarano, scion of an old theater family, was initially a theater painter. Fortunately for him and Gaetano Donizetti , in May 1835, he was able to deliver a libretto for a new opera in Naples very quickly, the rehearsals of which were to begin in August: Lucia di Lammermoor . After the overwhelming success of the premiere (September 26th), Cammarano wrote him six more librettos, all of the opere serie , as well as five for Saverio Mercadante and four for Giuseppe Verdi (see selection of works). Cammarano died suddenly after a brief illness on July 17, 1852, shortly before completing the libretto for Il trovatore .

Cammarano's libretti vacillate between two poles without seeking a synthesis between them: On the one hand, he turned libretti into classicist materials based on familiar models from the 18th century, such as Belisario and Poliuto for Donizetti, La vestale and Orazi e Curiazi for Mercadante, Alzira for Verdi. On the other hand - and for that he is much better known - he opened up the material world of the romantic romanticism for the Italian opera of the time. He tried to increase its dramatic effect by means of abrupt turns of the plot, which should evoke outbursts of extreme expressiveness. This enabled him to create the stereotypical alternation between lyrical cantabile and eruptive cabaletta (or, in terms of scenery, between tableau and shock) in the Italian opera of the time without actually having to motivate him. For this he deliberately renounced logical stringency in the character drawing and in the course of action. He almost loved to let the plot begin shortly before its culmination point and to reveal a long and mysterious prehistory only gradually, for example in Lucia di Lammermoor , very extreme in Maria de Rudenz and Il trovatore . For Luisa Miller (based on Friedrich Schiller's Kabale und Liebe ) he even invented a prehistory that does not exist in the original. He also accepts breaks with the characters. In this way he creates a new type of villain: he appears less and less as a person who is guilty because of his bad character and moral deficits, but rather as an unhappy man driven by his passions (e.g. Count Luna in Il trovatore ) .

Instead of condemning Cammarano for his seemingly illogical libretti, it is far more worthwhile to analyze the dramaturgical goals he set and how these met the needs of the composers (and those of the Neapolitan audience). It was not for nothing that Verdi always met him with the greatest respect and trusted the judgment of the experienced theater man almost blindly. It is therefore no coincidence that Verdi first thought of Cammarano for the realization of his heart's desire, an opera Re Lear (based on William Shakespeare's King Lear ).

Works (selection)

Listed are the libretti for Gaetano Donizetti , Saverio Mercadante and Giuseppe Verdi , a full list can be found in the Italian version of this article.

literature

  • Piper's Encyclopedia of Music Theater (Ed .: C. Dahlhaus et al.), Under the headings "Donizetti, Gaetano", "Mercadante, Saverio" and "Verdi, Giuseppe", as well as in the register under "Cammarano, Salvatore", Munich: Piper 1986– 1997.
  • More in the various biographies on Gaetano Donizetti and Giuseppe Verdi

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Cammarano, Salvadore
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian writer, librettist and director at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples
DATE OF BIRTH March 19, 1801
PLACE OF BIRTH Naples
DATE OF DEATH July 17, 1852
Place of death Naples