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Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Bell & Howell Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 NOTE TO USERS This reproduction is the best copy available. UMI OPERATIC REFORM IN TURIN: ASPECTS OF PRODUCTION AND STYLISTIC CHANGE INTHEI760S DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Margaret Ruth Butler, MA. ***** The Ohio State University 2000 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Lois Rosow, Adviser Professor Charles Atkinson Adviser Professor Charles Klopp School of Music UMI Number 9971520 Copyright 2000 by Butler, Margaret Ruth All rights reserved. UMI* UMI Mrcroform9971520 Copyright 2000 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. Alt rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Leaming Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Mi 46106-1346 C opyright by M argaret Ruth B utler 2000 ABSTRACT Turin was among the most powerful and culturally vibrant cities in Europe in the eighteenth century, and its royal theater, the Teatro Regio, was renowned for its lavish productions of opere serie. While the operatic reform movement that began elsewhere in Europe at mid-century has generally been assumed not to have influenced opera in the Italian states, Turin was in fact an active participant in the French-inspired stylistic experimentation that transformed opera seria. Evidence for this assertion may be found in archival documents pertaining to the administration of the theater, printed libretti, and manuscript musical materials. This study explores the circumstances under which innovation at Turin began and flourished. The theater was run by the Nobile Società del Cavalieri, and Chapter 1 reveals the impact of the decisions of this administrative body on reform. Innovations in the librettos o f the theater’s official poet, Vittorio Amedeo Cigna-Santi, shaped style at the theater as well; a survey of his background and training that influenced his works concludes the chapter. Chapter 2 treats manuscript production and music copying at the theater. By comparing examples of the hands o f the theater’s official copyists, this discussion identifles and establishes likely date, provenance, and purpose of sources fl>r operas at the Regio copied by theater’s official copyists. It also explores the working processes of the ii copyists as shown m archival documents that reveal their responsibilities. Establishing the connection between extant sources and productions at the Regio makes possible stylistic analysis of the music for those productions that informs subsequent chapters. Chapters 3,4, and 5 explore four operas produced at the Regio in the 1760s: Enea n el Lazio (1760), Ifigenia in Aulide (1762), Sofonisba (1764), and Oreste{\166). The French-inspired innovations in these works reveal that Turin was profoundly influenced by experimentation occurring in Parma, Mannheim, Stuttgart, and Vienna—the major centers for operatic reform. The influence of Francesco Algarotti, Mattia Verazi, and other reform-minded figures is strongly evident. The conclusion considers other operas and recognizes the extent to which practical circumstances involved in the production of reform-inspired innovations shaped the possibilities for experimentation in Turin. m In Loving Memory of Dr. Kamilla E. Shulman IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project reflects the benevolence of many people. Sincere gratitude is extended to my adviser, Lois Rosow, whose attention, guidance, and encouragement has enhanced this study from the formative stages to completion. It has also benefited from the insightful suggestions o f my advisory committee members, Charles Atkinson and Charles Klopp. I am especially appreciative of Professor Klopp’s valuable assistance with my English translations of Italian archival documents and libretti. The staff at the Music Library of The Ohio State University, particularly Tom Heck and Alan Green, has always been prompt and generous in their responses to my needs at every stage of this project. I am indebted to the Fulbright Foundation, and to the School of Music and the Graduate School at The Ohio State University for their generous support. A Summer Dissertation Fellowship from the School o f Music allowed me to concentrate fully on preliminary dissertation research. Subsequently a Fulbright Graduate Student Fellowship permitted me to spend nine months in Turin, where I conducted most of the archival research upon which this project is based. I was able to return to Turin to conclude my research by vfrtue of a Graduate Student Alumni Research Award from the Graduate School, and a Presidential Fellowship from the Graduate School provided invaluable assistance that has facilitated my completion o f the dissertation. Numerous individuals in Turin with whom I have had contact have enriched, this study in countless ways. Marie-Thérèse Bouquet Boyer and Mercedes Viale Ferrero both provided helpful suggestions at an early stage that helped me shape my topic and become familiar with the rich collections in Turin’s archives and libraries. I have also benefited greatly fix)m the responses of these scholars to my ideas in later stages of writing. The obliging staff at the Archivio storico della città, especially Rosanna Roccia, Stefano Benedetto, and Enzo Ferraro, helped me to learn my way around the archives and has continued to offer invaluable support and warm encouragement I am also grateful to Maria Letizia Sebastiani and the staff at the Biblioteca nazionale, and to Paola Reverdini and Flavia Pessione at the Biblioteca civica musicale “Andrea Della Corte,” for their courteousness and patient attention. Access to the collections of musical manuscripts at the Accademia filarmonica greatly enhanced my work; sincere gratitude is expressed to Niccolo Palici di Sum', Vittorio Della Croce, and Ernesto Testa of the Accademia for the kind and generous assistance they extended to me. I would also like to thank each of the aforementioned libraries and archives for permission to reproduce primary source material in this dissertation. Thanks are also offered to Giorgio Fanan and Sigja Strona-Cravero for permission to consult their privately-held collections of opera librettos, and to Giorgio Pestelli, Giangiacomo Fissore, Giorgio Gualerzi, Rosy Moffa, Alberto Rizzuti, Clelia Parvopassu, and Anna Rita Colturato for constructive foedback and assistance. Finally, I cannot express my appreciation strongly enough to Alberto Basso for his hospitality, encouragement, insights, and direction as this project has unfolded. VI Along the way my work has greatly benefited firam contributions, great and small, by many other scholars; gratitude is expressed to Dale Monson, Bruce Alan Brown, Paul Comeilson, Laurel Zeiss, Jon Glixon, Beth GIbcon, and Francesco Cotticelli for helpful comments and suggestions. Special thanks go to Marita McClymonds for conscientiously reading drafts of chapters and offering substantial feedback that has significantly enriched this project. To my many dear fiiends in Turin and in the States, and to my family—especially my parents, Pat and Dick—I offer my heartfelt thanks. 1 will never find words to adequately express the depth of my appreciation for the continuous support, patience, and help that each of them has provided throughout the many challenges and rewards of this project. Finally, to my husband Dennis, 1 offer my unbounded gratitude for his unflagging commitment, understanding, supportiveness, and love. vn VTTA September 28, 1966 ........................ ^om - Brooklyn, New York 1987-88 ............................................ Undergraduate Study at the Mannes College of Music, New Yoric, New York 1990................................................. 3 A ., The State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, New York 1990-91............................................ Graduate Study at the State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, New York 1994................................................. A lA ., The Ohio State University FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Music vm TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................................