Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801)

Gary Smith

               Cimarosa was the son of an unemployed stonemason, was born on 17 December 1749 in Aversa, near Naples. His father died early on, and his mother, to make ends meet, became a laundress to a monastery, with Domenico being taken into their school as part of the work agreement. His abilities soon brought him recognition and he started taking music lessons.

He progressed well under the monks and was recommended and admitted to the Conservatorio di San Loreto, where he undertook the study of counterpoint, harmony and composition. As well, he became a skilled violinist, keyboard player and a gifted singer. After about 11 years at the Conservatory, composing mostly sacred works, he received a commission for a two act opera buffa, Le Stravaganze del conte, which premiered during Carnival season in Naples 1771-72, about a year after Mozart composed Mitridate, re' di Ponto for the theater in Milan.

Cimarosa's early works, while good ones, were not yet good enough to make his name. However, Italy was the hotbed for opera at the time and with a constant need for material to supply the theaters, he soon was kept busy helping to fill the demand. Paisiello and Piccinni were both supplying the market here as well, but in 1776 the first left for a post in St. Petersburg and the second for offers from Paris, and with their departures Cimarosa's work became increasingly more performed and popular. Between 1776 and 1786, he composed some 24 operas for the Neapolitan theaters, nearly 5 every two years. Most of these were comic works, but several opera seria were commissioned as well.

As well, his growing reputation garnered commissions from other Italian cities as well. The Teatro Valle in Rome offered one, soon followed by two other Roman theaters. In Rome, only men were allowed to sing on stage, so all the female roles were sung by castrati. As well, by edict each opera was to have 5 characters only. Cimarosa's L'italiana in Londra (The Italian Girl in London) during the Carnival season of 1778-79 was a great success and enhanced his reputation. He eventually was commissioned for 9 operas for Roman theaters over the next decade as well as receiving offers from nearly a dozen other court theaters across Europe, from Lisbon to St. Petersburg.

He became the second court organist in Naples by 1785 at a pay of approximately 432 gulden a year ($18,000), paid even when he was not in Naples to perform his job. Hence, this appears to be more of a stipend reward as opposed to a true posting, perhaps to keep the door open so as to receive priority when multiple opera commissions were due in around the same time. Cimarosa's work was much in demand across Europe, both for it's musical charm and style as well as it's availability; by this time over 30 operas were available to the managers of Europe’s various opera houses.

Catherine the Great of Russia, with a vacancy in her court for a maestro di cappella in 1787, offered the post to Cimarosa, knowing his international reputation. He accepted a three year contract and left on an almost triumphant tour from Italy, across Austria, Poland and finally to St. Petersburg. Nearly everywhere he went, he was lavishly honored and feted for his compositions.

At the outset of this trip, he stopped in Florence at the request of the court of the Grand Duke Leopold of Tuscany to try out a new pianoforte the Italian maker Cristofori had invented and presented to the Grand Duke. It is almost certain that it was during this visit that Cimarosa composed the bulk of his keyboard sonatas. These total 27 works (that can be found).

Once arriving in St. Petersburg to take up his post, Cimarosa was met with a peculiar situation he had not reckoned with. Catherine the Great, as it turns out, did not care for Cimarosa's music and apparently decided that she did not care for Italian opera as well! The Italian opera company was allowed to shrink by attrition (by 1790 there were only 3 singers left) and, once the contract ended, he (probably rather quickly) packed and left for warmer climes. His great one-act, one-man comedy in music Il maestro di cappella, while undated, is firmly believed to have been composed in St. Petersburg, for one thing because of the title and for the other, because the theater there probably couldn't have supported much more.

Passing on his way home to Naples through Vienna in 1791, Cimarosa learned (if he didn't know already, a good chance he did) that the former Grand Duke of Tuscany was now Emperor Leopold II of Austria. Leopold, once he discovered that he had an available Cimarosa, appointed him Kappellmeister to the court at a salary exceeding Mozart's. As well, he gave him a commission for a comic opera, something he never did for Mozart.

The result of this commission was the great comic opera Il Matrimonio Segreto, which premiered in January of 1792, roughly six weeks after Mozart's death. It was a tremendous hit and is still considered one of the world's most famous and popular comic operas. Leopold, after attending the second performance, commanded that THE ENTIRE OPERA be encored that night! As well, Cimarosa received a large additional monetary reward for his efforts.

While two more operas were premiered in Vienna for the 1792 season, Cimarosa went back to Naples by 1793, the death of Leopold a month after Il Matrimonio's triumph probably the compelling reason. He apparently longed for Italy and home, and with his popularity high, probably knew he could compose for any court theater in Europe from the familiar surroundings of Naples. The Neapolitan court welcomed him back and made him the First Organist as a salary/stipend of approximately $27,000 per year. Once back, he composed a Symphonie Concertante in C for two flutes for an ambassador to the Naples court, S. E. Esterhazy, whose family Joseph Haydn was kapellmeister to for many decades.

Which leads to his crossing paths with the forces of Napoleon Bonaparte. In May of 1799, French revolutionary forces occupied the Kingdom of Naples during the struggle for the control of northern Italy. One Luigi Rossi composed a patriotic “hymn” for the occasion of the ceremony of burning the ex-Royal flag. Cimarosa, apparently (at that time) in agreement and sympathetic with the revolutionary cause, supplied the music. Apparently, this was a popular ceremony and word spread quickly of the events of the "liberation" of the people from the yoke of tyranny.

So, when Royal forces RE-OCCUPIED Naples in June of 1799 (fortunes of war, no doubt), the returning King was non-too-pleased (to say the least!) with his now ex-Court Organist. Cimarosa, attempting to dig his way out of this hole, composed a cantata in praise of Ferdinand by September, and followed that with several other works of appeasement. However, the king, believing this to be a classic case of insincerity, only got angrier. Cimarosa was arrested and incarcerated on treason charges. Rossi, the poet, was beheaded to atone for his actions, and it can be strongly inferred that Cimarosa was to get the da capa treatment as well. Only by the intervention of many, many notables in high places (including that of Lady Hamilton, consort to Admiral Sir Horacio Nelson, England's greatest fighting admiral) was his life saved. He was begrudgingly spared and banished from Naples forever.

Cimarosa, ill from the entire preceding events, went to Venice in December 1800 to recoup his fortunes. He received a commission for a new opera seria (which had been flourishing in Italy) entitled Artemista, but he never recovered his strength enough to finish it. He died 11 January 1801. It was rumored that the rulers of the Kingdom of Naples had had him poisoned (hmmmmm) and due to his international reputation and popularity, the authorities in Venice were forced to publish a report showing the true cause of death (stomach cancer). The Pope's personal physician signed off on this report and the rumors subsided (but have never gone fully away. This seems to happen every now and then!).

Cimarosa's funeral was a magnificent staging, with all the eminent citizens of Venice in attendance and the musicians and singers donating their efforts gratis. As well, a similar send-off in Rome was created, with a marble bust of Cimarosa, when completed, being placed in the Gallery of the Campidoglio.

Cimarosa's unfinished opera seria Artemisia was given its first performance in the Teatro La Fenice on 17 January 1801, just seven days after his death. At that premiere, the audience requested that the curtain be lowered at the point at which Cimarosa had written his last note, a very flattering posthumous compliment, and a fitting conclusion to his opera career, which saw approximately 76 operatic works composed in 30 some-odd years.

Works: 76 operas, 7 symphonies, 3 concerto-style works, 2 oratorios, several cantatas, many masses and sacred works.
Recordings:

Opera: Il Matrimonio segreto Bellini/Orch. of Eastern Netherlands. 3 CD's on the Arts Music label ARZ 47117

Orchestral: Symphonie Concertante in C for Two Flutes, Concerto in B flay for Harpsichord, Il Maestro di cappella Frontalini/Moldavia S.O. 1 CD on the Bongiovanni label BGV-2184

Sacred: Requiem Mass Frontalini/Warnia N.O. 1 CD on the Bongiovanni label BGV-2088

Piano: Piano Sonatas Vol 1 & 2 (27 total) by Andrea Coen, piano. 2 CD's on the Stradivarious label SVS-33414/33415

The Sinfonia Concertante for 2 Flutes can also be found on a collection of 2-flute concerti by Devienne, Doppler and Viotti, performed by Rampal, Scimone and I Solisti Veneti on the ERATO label, #2292-45836-2.

And a Concertante for Flute & Oboe may be found on a collection of flute & oboe concerti by Salieri and Karl Stamitz, performed by Nicolet, Holliger, and the Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields led by Ken Sillito on the PHILLIPS label, #416-359-2, (a very nice disk!)

Sources:

 Sadie, Stanley (Ed.)  The New Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians 2^nd Edition   Groves Dictionaries, New York  2000    

Artaria Composers section article

Liner notes from the various CDs noted above.

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