Giovanni Paisiello

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Paisiello at the clavichord, by Marie Louise Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1791. The score is Nina, o la pazza d'amore.

Giovanni Paisiello (or Paesiello) (May 9, 1740 – June 5, 1816), was an Italian composer of the Classical era.

Paisiello was born at Taranto, where he attended the Jesuit college. The beauty of his singing voice attracted so much attention that in 1754 he was sent to the Conservatorio di S. Onofrio at Naples, where he studied under Francesco Durante, and in due course became assistant master. For the theatre of the Conservatorio, which he left in 1763, he wrote some intermezzi, one of which attracted so much notice that he was invited to write two operas, La Pupilla and Il Mondo al Rovescio, for Bologna, and a third, Il Marchese di Tidipano, for Rome.

His reputation being now firmly established, he settled for some years at Naples, where, despite the popularity of Niccolò Piccinni, Domenico Cimarosa and Pietro Guglielmi, of whose triumphs he was bitterly jealous, he produced a series of highly successful operas, one of which, L'ldolo cinese, made a deep impression upon the Neapolitan public.

In 1772 Paisiello began to write church music, and composed a requiem for Gennara di Borbone, of the reigning dynasty. In the same year he married Cecilia Pallini, and the marriage was a happy one. In 1776 Paisiello was invited by the empress Catherine II of Russia to St Petersburg, where he remained for eight years, producing, among other charming works, his masterpiece, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, which soon attained a European reputation. The fate of this opera marks an epoch in the history of Italian art; for with it the gentle suavity cultivated by the masters of the 18th century died out to make room for the dazzling brilliance of a later period.

When, in 1816, Gioachino Rossini set a newly revised and updated version of the libretto to music, under the title of Almaviva, it was hissed from the stage; yet, under its changed title, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, it is now acknowledged as Rossini's greatest work, while Paisiello's opera is only infrequently produced -- a strange instance of poetical vengeance, since Paisiello himself had many years previously endeavoured to eclipse the fame of Pergolesi by resetting the libretto of his famous intermezzo, La Serva padrona.

Paisiello left Russia in 1784, and, after producing Il Re Teodoro at Vienna, entered the service of Ferdinand IV at Naples, where he composed many of his best operas, including Nina and La Molinara. After many vicissitudes, resulting from political and dynastic changes, he was invited to Paris (1802) by Napoleon, whose favor he had won five years previously by a march composed for the funeral of General Hoche. Napoleon treated him munificently, while cruelly neglecting two more famous composers, Luigi Cherubini and Etienne Méhul, to whom the new favorite transferred the hatred he had formerly borne to Cimarosa, Guglielmi and Piccinni.

Paisiello conducted the music of the court in the Tuileries with a stipend of 10,000 francs and 4800 for lodging, but he entirely failed to conciliate the Parisian public, who received his opera Proserpine so coldly that, in 1803, he requested and with some difficulty obtained permission to return to Italy, upon the plea of his wife's ill health. On his arrival at Naples Paisiello was reinstated in his former appointments by Joseph Bonaparte and Joachim Murat, but he had taxed his genius beyond its strength, and was unable to meet the demands now made upon it for new ideas. His prospects, too, were precarious. The power of the Bonaparte family was tottering to its fall; and Paisiello's fortunes fell with it. The death of his wife in 1815 tried him severely. His health failed rapidly, and constitutional jealousy of the popularity of others was a source of worry and vexation.

Paisiello's operas (of which he is known to have composed 94) abound with melodies, the graceful beauty of which is still warmly appreciated. Perhaps the best known of these airs is the famous "Nel cor più non mi sento" from La Molinara, immortalized by Beethoven's variations. His church music was very voluminous, comprising eight masses, besides many smaller works; he also produced fifty-one instrumental compositions and many detached pieces. Manuscript scores of many of his operas were presented to the library of the British Museum by Domenico Dragonetti.

The library of the Gerolamini at Naples possesses an interesting manuscript compilation recording Paisiello's opinions on contemporary composers, and exhibiting him as a somewhat severe critic, especially of the work of Pergolesi.

The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music[1] notes that "Paisiello was one of the most successful and influential opera composers of his time. Most of his over 80 operas are comic and use a simple, direct and spirited style, latterly with sharper characterization, more colorful scoring and warmer melodies (features that influenced Mozart). His serious operas have less than the conventional amount of virtuoso vocal writing; those (he wrote) for Russia are the closest to Gluck's 'reform' approach."

[edit] Works

Il ciarlone (12.5.1764, Bologna)
I francesi brillanti (24.6.1764, Bologna)
Madama l'umorista, o Gli stravaganti (26.1.1765, Modena)
L'amore in ballo (carnival 1765, Venice S Moisè)
I bagni d'Abano (spring 1765, Parma)
Demetrio (Lent. 1765, Modena)
Il negligente (1765, Parma)
Le virtuose ridicole (1765, Parma)
Le nozze disturbate (carnival 1776, Venice S Moisè)
Le finte contesse (2.1766, Rome Valle) [Il Marchese di Tulissano?]
La vedova di bel genio (spring 1766, Naples, Teatro Nuovo)
L'idolo cinese (spring 1767, Naples, Teatro Nuovo)
Lucio Papirio dittatore (summer 1767, Naples, Teatro di S Carlo)
Il furbo malaccorto (winter 1767, Naples, Teatro Nuovo)
Le 'mbroglie de la Bajasse (1767 Naples, Teatro dei Fiorentini)
Alceste in Ebuda, ovvero Olimpia (20.1.1768, Naples, Teatro di S Carlo)
Festa teatrale in musica (31.5.1768, Naples PR) [Le nozze di Peleo e Tetide]
La luna abitata (summer 1768, Naples, Teatro Nuovo)
La finta maga per vendetta (autumn? 1768, Naples, Teatro dei Fiorentini)
L'osteria di Marechiaro (winter 1768, Naples, Teatro dei Fiorentini)
La serva fatta padrona (summer 1769, Naples, Teatro dei Fiorentini) [rev. Le 'mbroglie de la Bajasse]
Don Chisciotte della Mancia (summer 1769, Naples, Teatro dei Fiorentini)
L'arabo cortese (winter 1769 Naples, Teatro Nuovo)
La Zelmira, o sia La marina del Granatello (summer 1770 Naples, Teatro Nuovo)
Le trame per amore (7.10.1770 Naples, Teatro Nuovo)
Annibale in Torino (16.1.1771 Turin, Teatro Regio)
La somiglianza de' nomi (spring 1771 Naples, Teatro Nuovo)
I scherzi d'amore e di fortuna (summer 1771 Naples, Teatro Nuovo)
Artaserse (26.12.1771 Modena)
Semiramide in villa (carnival 1772 Rome, Teatro Capranico)
Motezuma (1.1772 Rome, Dame)
La Dardanè (spring 1772 Naples, Teatro Nuovo)
Gli amante comici (autumn 1772 Naples, Teatro Nuovo)
Don Anchise Campanone (1773 Venice) [rev. Gli amante comici]
L'innocente fortunata (carnival 1773 Venice S Moisè)
Sismano nel Mogol (carnival 1773 Milan Regio Ducal)
Il tamburo (spring 1773 Naples, Teatro Nuovo) [Il tamburo notturno]
Alessandro nell'Indie (26.12.1773 Modena)
Andromeda (carnival 1774 Milan, Regio Ducal)
Il duello (spring 1774 Naples, Teatro Nuovo)
Il credulo deluso (autumn 1774 Naples, Teatro Nuovo)
La frascatana (autumn 1774 Venice, S Samuele) [L'infante de Zamora]
Il divertimento dei numi (4.12.1774 Naples, Reale)
Demofoonte (carnival 1775 Venice, S Benedetto)
La discordia fortunata (carnival 1775 Venice, S Samuele) [L'avaro deluso]
L'amor ingegnoso, o sia La giovane scaltra (carnival 1775 Padua)
Le astuzie amorose (spring 1775 Naples, Teatro Nuovo)
Socrate immaginario (autumn 1775 Naples, Teatro Nuovo)
Il gran Cid (3.11.1775 Florence, Teatro La Pergola)
Le due contesse (3.1.1776 Rome, Teatro Capranica in Palazzo alla Valle)
La disfatta di Dario (carnival 1776 Rome, Teatro Argentina)
Dal finto il vero (spring 1776 Naples, Teatro Nuovo)
Nitteti (28.1.1777 St. Petersburg)
Lucinda e Armidoro (autumn1777 St. Petersburg)
Achille in Sciro (6.2.1778 St. Petersburg)
Lo sposo burlato (24.7.1778 St. Petersburg)
Gli astrologi immaginari (14.2.1779 St. Petersburg, Hermitage) [Le philosophe imaginaire]
Il matrimonio inaspettato (1779 Kammenïy Ostrov) [La contadina di spirito]
La finta amante (5.6.1780 Mogilev) [Camiletta]
Alcide al bivio (6.12.1780 St. Petersburg, Hermitage)
La serva padrona (10?.9.1781 Tsarskoye Selo)
Il duello comico (1782 Tsarskoye Selo) [rev. Il duello]
Il barbiere di Siviglia, ovvero La precauzione inutile (26.9.1782 St. Petersburg)
Il mondo della luna (1782 Kammenïy Ostrov)
Il re Teodoro in Venezia (23.8.1784 Vienna, Burg)
Antigono (12.10.1785 Naples, Teatro di S Carlo)
La grotta di Trofonio (12.1785 Naples, Teatro dei Fiorentini)
Olimpiade (20.1.1786 Naples, Teatro di S Carlo)
Le gare generose (spring 1786 Naples, Teatro dei Fiorentini) [Gli schiavi per amore; Le bon maître, ou L'esclave par amour]
Pirro (12.1.1787 Naples, Teatro di S Carlo)
Il barbiere di Siviglia, ovvero La precauzione inutile [rev] (1787 Naples, Teatro dei Fiorentini)
La modista raggiratrice (autumn 1787 Naples, Teatro dei Fiorentini) [La scuffiara amante, o sia Il maestro di scuola napolitano; La scuffiara raggiratrice]
Giunone e Lucina (8.9.1787 Naples, Teatro di S Carlo)
Fedra (1.1.1788 Naples, Teatro di S Carlo)
L'amor contrastato (carnival 1789 Naples, Teatro dei Fiorentini) [L'amor contrastato o sia La molinarella]
Catone in Utica (5.2.1789 Naples, Teatro di S Carlo)
Nina, o sia La pazza per amore (25.6.1789 Caserta)
I zingari in fiera (21.11.1789 Naples, Teatro dei Fiorentinio)
Le vane gelosie (spring 1790 Naples, Teatro dei Fiorentini)
Zenobia in Palmira (30.5.1790 Naples, Teatro di S Carlo)
La molinara (1790 Vienna) [rev. L'amor contrastato]
Nina, o sia La pazza per amore [rev] (1790 Naples, Teatro dei Fiorentini)
Ipermestra (6.1791 Padua)
La locanda (16.6.1791 London Pantheon) [La locanda di falcone; Lo stambo in Berlina]
I giuochi d'Agrigento (16.5.1792 Venice, Fenice)
Il fanatico in Berlina (1792 Naples, Teatro dei Fiorentini) [rev. La locanda]
Il ritorno d'Idomeneo (autumn 1792 Perugia)
Elfrida (4.11.1792 Naples, Teatro di S Carlo) [Adevolto]
Elvira (12.1.1794 Naples, Teatro di S Carlo)
Didone abbandonata (4.11.1794 Naples, Teatro di S Carlo)
Nina, o sia La pazza per amore [rev 2] (1795 Naples, Teatro dei Fiorentini)
Chi la dura la vince (9.6.1797 Milan S)
La Daunia felice (26.6.1797 Foggia, Palazzo Dogana)
Andromaca (4.11.1797 Naples, Teatro di S Carlo)
L'inganno felice (1798 Naples, Teatro dei Fiorentinio)
Proserpine (28.3.1803 Paris, Opéra)
Elisa (19.3.1807 Naples, Teatro di S Carlo) [+ Mayr]
I pittagorici (19.3.1808 Naples, Teatro di S Carlo)