Life
His training took place at a fertile cultural crossroads where Arcadia, Rococo, and the Enlightenment intersected, while his maturity saw him operating in the heart of the eighteenth-century debate, between the elegance of the Rococo style and the critical and reforming spirit of the Enlightenment.
Rinaldo di Capua was born around 1705 in Capua. After private music studies, he debuted as an opera composer in 1737 in Rome with Ciro riconosciuto, which was a great success and was also performed in Florence, London, Venice, and Munich. His most famous opera remained Vologeso, re de' Parti (1739), praised by Charles Burney as an example of dramatic music.
A composer of both opera buffa and opera seria, he conducted his own music in various European cities. He brought La donna superba (1752) and La zingara (1753) to Paris, performed by Eustachio Bambini's company. In 1758 he wrote the opera seria Adriano in Siria, and in 1778 his last comic opera La Giocondina.
His comic operas played a role in the famous Parisian Querelle des Bouffons, asserting the Neapolitan tradition in France. In addition to theater, he wrote symphonies and overtures that contributed to the development of the classical symphony-sonata. He died around 1780, probably in Rome.
Aneddoto
A Famous Caricature
In 1739 the artist Pier Leone Ghezzi portrayed Rinaldo di Capua in a caricature, a sign of the notoriety the composer enjoyed in musical Rome.Works
Among his most well-known works: Ciro riconosciuto (1737, Rome), Vologeso, re de' Parti (1739), La libertà nociva, La donna superba (1752, Paris), La zingara (1753, Paris), Adriano in Siria (1758), La Giocondina (1778). He wrote about 40 operas, of which only a few have survived in their entirety, in addition to numerous arias. His music was influential in the European debate on musical theater and circulated widely even outside Italy.
Briciole di storia
The Vices of Italians
In the heart of the eighteenth century, Pietro Calepio wrote a Letter on Italian Customs which was translated into French and published in 1728 in the prestigious Bibliothèque Italique. In this text, which became very well known, Calepio did not limit himself to describing Italy in general, but clearly and sincerely denounced various vices of Italian society. Among his sharpest criticisms was the poor functioning of educational institutions and, in particular, the idleness in which most of the nobility lived, considered the cause of their dissoluteness. He also denounced the low consideration given to the female role.
Pubblico dominio (Commons)
