Francesco Corselli: master of the Royal Chapel in Madrid

Life

Trained at the height of Arcadia, his artistic maturity was expressed in a context of great stylistic richness, in which the solid Arcadian structure confronted and merged with the elegance of Rococo and the new ideas of the Enlightenment.

Born in Piacenza in 1705 to a family linked to the Farnese court, he completed his studies between his hometown and Parma. His first known trials, in the sacred sphere, reveal an author already attentive to the construction of voices and the expressive rendering of text.

Works

His first theatrical works were La Venere placata (Venice, Teatro San Samuele, 1731) and Nino (Venice, Teatro Sant’Angelo, 1732), works that already show clarity of design and control of forms.

Upon arriving in Madrid, he composed La cautela nell’amore e il robo de las Sabinas (1735), a drama in two acts that reflects his Italian experience fused with the needs and tastes of the Spanish court.

For the marriage of Charles of Bourbon to Maria Amalia of Saxony (May 9, 1738), he staged Alessandro nelle Indie at the Real Coliseo del Buen Retiro, a memorable spectacle for its richness of scenes and music.

In 1739 he achieved a notable success with Farnace, written for the wedding of Infante Philip of Parma to Louise Élisabeth of Bourbon, which was revived several times for court ceremonies.

On the occasion of the wedding of Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela to Louis Ferdinand of Bourbon (December 8, 1744), he gave Achille a Sciro at the Coliseo del Buen Retiro; he also participated in the creation of pasticcios such as La clemenza di Tito (Metastasio libretto) and Le Polifemo (Rolli libretto), in addition to the serenata L’Asilo d’amore for royal weddings and the intermezzo Il cuoco o sia Il marchese.

Alongside theater, his Messa nelle Cinque Voci (1729) and the oratorio Sainte Clotilde (1732) are recalled, as well as a vast corpus of cantatas, psalms, hymns, and motets destined for the royal chapels. His entire production attests to an author capable of combining elegance of song, formal measure, and a sense of the stage.