Gaetano Orsini
Gaetano Orsini | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gaetano Felice Orsini ca. 1667 Bologna |
| Died | October 21, 1750 (aged 82–83) Vienna |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 1694 or earlier until 1739 or later[1] |
Gaetano Felice Orsini (c. 1667 ‐ 1750), often only named Gaetano, was a castrato singer.
Life and Career
Born in Bologna, his path took him to Milan and Vienna. At the court of Vienna, he was one of the busiest singers; his career at the Hofkapelle lasted more than 50 years in which he performed in many oratorios and operas. As the Österreichisches Musiklexikon notes, his voice was often accompanied by a violoncello or chalumeau obligato, not a very frequent choice, which helps us to make assumptions about the character of Orsini's voice that it complemented the cello or the chalumeau ‐ a single-reed woodwind instrument, the predecessor to the modern carinet ‐ so well.
An incomplete list of works where Orsini's part was paired with the violoncello:
- Antonio Caldara: Andromaca 1724,
- Antonio Caldara: La Clemenza di Cesare, 1727
- Antonio Caldara: Telesilla 1729
- Georg Reutter der Jüngere (Georg Reutter the younger): Il Tempo, e la Verità, Dialogo, 1731
- Antonio Caldara: Enone, 1734,
Works where Orsini's voice was matched with the chalumeau:
- Giovanni Bononcini: Turno Aricino, 1707
- Francesco Bartolomeo Conti: Teseo in Creta, 1715
- Johann Joseph Fux: Orfeo ed Euridice, 1715, 1728
- Johann Georg Reinhardt: La Più Bella, 1715
- Antonio Lotti : Il Costantino, 1716
- Francesco Bartolomeo Conti: Sesostri Rè d'Egitto, 1716
- Antonio Caldara: Ormisda, 1721
- Antonio Caldara: Il Re del Dolore, 1722 (oratorio)
Orsini was among Johann Joseph Fux' preferred singers. With the exception of his opera Psiche (1720), Orsini appeared in all of Fux's operas, as well as in the coronation opera Costanza e Fortezza (1723) in Prague.
Towards the end of Karl VI's reign, Orsini's performances became rarer, especially after Caldara's death in 1736. However, he appears in the singers' lists of Viennese opera scores until at least 1739. (abridged from the Österreichisches Musiklexikon)[1]
Voice and qualities
A book from 1773 says in retrospect about his voice, art and style:
"Gaetano Orsini war einer der grössesten Sänger, die jemals gelebt; hatte einer schöne, egale und rührende Contraltstimme von einem nicht geringen Umfange; eine reine Intonation, schönen Triller und ungemein reizenden Vortrag. Im Allegro artikulirte er die Passagien, besonders die Triolen mit der Brust, sehr schön; und im Adagio wußte er, auf eine meisterhafte Art, das Schmeichelnde und Rührende so anzuwenden, daß er sich dadurch der Herzen der Zuhörer im höchsten Grade bemeisterte. Seine Aktion war leidlich, und seine Figur hatte nichts Widriges. Er ist lange Zeit in Kayserl. Diensten gewesen; und hat bey seinem beträchtlichen Alter seine schöne Stimme erhalten. Er starb zu wien ums Jahr 1750."[2]
"Gaetano Orsini was one of the greatest singers who ever lived; he had a beautiful, even and touching contralto voice of no small range, a pure intonation, beautiful trills and immensely charming delivery. In the Allegro, he articulated the passages, especially the triplets with the chest, very beautifully, and in the Adagio, he knew, in a masterly manner, how to flatter and to touch in such a way that he thereby masterfully conquered the hearts of the listeners to the highest degree. His acting was tolerable, and his figure had nothing disagreeable about it. For a long time, he was in imperial service and, even at his considerable age, preserved his beautiful voice. He died in Vienna around the year 1750."
Gaetano Orsini in Philippe Jaroussky's discography
Solo Albums/Recital albums
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 2020 | La Vanità del Mondo |
Complete list of musical numbers originally sung by Gaetano Orsini
This listing only contains the musical pieces performed and/or recorded by Philippe Jaroussky.
| Year published or performed | Title | Work | Lyricist | Composer | Album, Video or Concert Program | Year first published/performed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | "Bacio l'ombre e le catene" | La decollazione di San Giovanni Battista | Giovanni Domenico Filippeschi | Antonio Maria Bononcini | La Vanità del Mondo (Album) | 1709[3] |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Glüxam, Dagmar. "Orsini, Gaetano Felice". Österreichisches Musiklexikon Online. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
- ↑ Charles Burney, Christoph Daniel Ebeling (1773). "Tagebuch seiner Musikalischen Reisen Durch Böhmen, Sachsen, Brandenburg, Hamburg und Holland". Google Books; At the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. p. 132. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
- ↑ "Antonio Maria BONONCINI (1677-1726), La decollazione di San Giovanni Battista (1709)". Musicweb International. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
Further Reading
- Glüxam, Dagmar. "Orsini, Gaetano Felice". Österreichisches Musiklexikon Online. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.