Vicente Martín y Soler facts for kids
Vicente Martín y Soler (born May 2, 1754 – died January 30 or February 10, 1806) was a Spanish composer who wrote many operas and ballets. Even though he is not very well known today, during his time, people thought he was as good as, or even better than, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart himself admired Martín y Soler's music!
People often called him "Martini lo spagnuolo" (which means "Martini the Spaniard"). Today, some call him "the Valencian Mozart" because he was from Valencia, Spain. He was famous for his beautiful Italian comic operas and for working with a writer named Lorenzo Da Ponte. One of his melodies from the opera Una cosa rara was even used by Mozart in his famous opera Don Giovanni.
Contents
The Early Life of a Composer
Vicente Martín y Soler was born in Valencia, a city in Spain. His father, Francisco Xavier Martín, was a singer at the local cathedral. Young Vicente also sang there as a chorister when he was a boy.
Around 1775, Vicente moved to Madrid. Later, he went to Bologna, Italy, to study music with a famous teacher named Giovanni Battista Martini.
His First Operas
Vicente's first opera was called Il tutore burlato (which means The Baffled Tutor). It was based on an Italian story and first performed in 1775 in Spain. A few years later, he had the story translated into Spanish. He turned it into a zarzuela, which is a Spanish musical play with spoken parts. This new version was called La madrileña, o El tutor burlado.
Success in Italy
After 1776, Martín y Soler focused on writing Italian operas. He wrote both funny (comic) and serious operas, and they were performed all over Italy.
In 1777, he traveled to Naples, a big city in Italy. There, he wrote music for the famous Teatro di San Carlo opera house. He also worked with a choreographer (someone who creates dance moves) named Charles le Picq. Together, they created several ballets d’action, which are ballets that tell a story through dance.
Around 1780, he became a court composer for Charles IV of Spain. This meant he wrote music for the Spanish royal family.
Famous in Vienna
In 1785, Martín y Soler moved to Vienna, a very important city for music. Here, he became incredibly successful! He wrote three operas with the writer Lorenzo Da Ponte. Da Ponte was also working with Mozart and another famous composer, Antonio Salieri, at the same time.
These three successful comic operas were:
- Una cosa rara (1786)
- Il burbero di buon cuore (1786)
- L'arbore di Diana (1787)
It is believed that Martín y Soler helped introduce the waltz dance to Vienna with his opera Una cosa rara. A tune from this opera was so popular that Mozart even included it in a scene in his own opera, Don Giovanni. Martín y Soler also wrote many successful operas for Emperor Joseph II's theater.
Life in Russia and London
In 1788, Martín y Soler was invited to work at the Russian court in Saint Petersburg. He became a composer and singing teacher for Catherine the Great. While there, he wrote three operas in the Russian language:
- The Unfortunate Hero Kosmetovich (1789)
- Melomania (1790)
- Fedul and his Children (1791)
He then moved to London for a short time in 1795. There, he wrote three more Italian language operas, including La capricciosa corretta. The story for this opera was again written by Lorenzo Da Ponte and was partly based on Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew.
After his time in London, he returned to Saint Petersburg. In 1796, he became the music director at the Smolny Institute, a school for noble young women. He wrote his last opera, La festa del villaggio (1798), while back in Russia.
Later Ballets and Death
During his time as Court Composer in Russia, he also wrote several serious ballets. These included Didon abandonée (1792) and Amour et Psyché (1793).
Vicente Martín y Soler passed away in Saint Petersburg in 1806. He was still working as an inspector for the Italian opera there when he died.
See also
In Spanish: Vicente Martín y Soler para niños
