Tommaso Traetta facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tommaso Traetta
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| Born |
Tommaso Michele Francesco Saverio Traetta
30 March 1727 Bitonto, Kingdom of Naples
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| Died | 6 April 1779 (aged 52) |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Occupation | Composer |
Tommaso Traetta (born March 30, 1727 – died April 6, 1779) was an Italian composer. He was part of the Neapolitan School, a group of musicians from Naples. Tommaso helped change opera by making the music less fancy. He also made sure the story and music were more important than just showing off the singers.
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A Young Composer's Journey
Tommaso Traetta was born in Bitonto, a town in the Apulia region of Italy. He studied music in Naples with a famous teacher named Nicola Porpora. Tommaso quickly became successful. His opera Il Farnace was a hit in 1751.
He started getting many jobs to write music all over Italy. In 1759, he became a special composer for the court in Parma.
New Ideas in Parma
In Parma, people loved French culture, especially the grand style of Versailles. This love for French ideas helped Traetta try new things in his operas. He worked with talented people who helped him explore new musical styles.
One important person was Guillaume du Tillot. He was in charge of opera in Parma and knew a lot about French music. Traetta learned about the operas of a French composer named Rameau. Traetta then added his own special touch. He used dramatic colors in his melodies and how he used the orchestra. This mix of Italian, French, and German styles made his music very unique.
Ippolito ed Aricia
In 1759, Traetta wrote an opera called Ippolito ed Aricia. It was inspired by Rameau's French opera, Hippolyte et Aricie. But Traetta's version was not just a copy. His writer, Carlo Innocenzo Frugoni, changed the story a lot.
Frugoni kept some French ideas. The opera had five acts instead of the usual three. It also had special scenes with dances and entertainment at the end of each act. The chorus (a group of singers) was used more often than in other Italian operas of the time.
Music for Catherine the Great
Through the 1760s, Tommaso Traetta wrote a lot of music. This included serious operas and comedies. He also wrote religious music. From 1768 to 1775, Traetta worked for Catherine the Great in Russia. She was the Empress, and she wanted him to write serious operas for her.
His first operas for Catherine were often older works that he updated. But in 1772, he wrote Antigona. This opera showed new ways of expressing feelings through music that he hadn't tried before.
The Empress Catherine's opera house was inside the Winter Palace. It was designed by an Italian architect named Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. This theater was very close to the Empress's own rooms.
Traetta left Saint Petersburg in 1775. The cold, damp weather might have been why he left. He then traveled and wrote two operas for London. There's a story that he left Russia because he disagreed with the Empress about the ending of Antigona. He wanted a sad ending, but she insisted on a happy one!
Later Life and Legacy
Tommaso Traetta died in Venice in April 1779. He had a son named Filippo Traetta. Filippo later moved to America in 1800 and became a successful composer himself.
Operas
See also
In Spanish: Tommaso Traetta para niños
- Traetta Prize
