Ricardo Bernardes
"The Development of the Portuguese Composers Style during the Reign of Maria I (1777 – 1792)"
|  |
Abstract
|
With the death of King José I and the consequent fall of Prime Minister Pombal in 1777, a period called “Viradeira” began in Portugal, under the reign of Queen Maria I. This period is often characterized as a religiously conservative time, reflecting a strict economy in which operatic productions became much less expensive than those from the previous period, when Portuguese operatic life had strong musical relationships with the court of Württemberg with Jommelli writing operas for Portugal and his librettist Martinelli moving to Lisbon. This was the time when Portuguese opera composers came to the forefront. Drawing from the influence of Jommelli, Perez, Piccinni and Paisiello, Portuguese composers developed a considerable amount of shorter versions of the traditional three-act opera seria: the one-act drama per musica, sometimes called Serenata. Portuguese sacred music of the time also shows a late Italian baroque style that can be divided between Roman and Neapolitan influences. This project intends to analyze general dramatic structures and musical features of these one act theatrical works composed for the Lisbon court between 1777 and 1792, mostly with librettos by Martinelli and music by composers such as Leal Moreira and Cordeiro da Silva, with reference to the parallel sacred repertories of the court.
|
|
|
|
|
