Chapter Six Berlin Reviews II: Standing up for Spontini A Parisian in Berlin Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini (born in Maiolati, 1774) received his early musical education at the conservatory in Naples, where he composed various opere buffe. Before moving to Paris in 1803, he had written operas for the major Italian opera stages of Rome, Venice, Naples, Florence, and Palermo. In Paris, he soon came under the patronage of Empress Joséphine, whose influence was instrumental in bringing about the première of Spontini’s first tragédie lyrique La Vestale (1807). Apart from Milton (1804; dedicated to Joséphine), he had had little success with his French and Italian comic operas for Paris, but with the enormous triumph of La Vestale, Spontini was soon celebrated as the leading opera composer in Paris and was commissioned to write a propaganda opera, entitled Fernand Cortez. This work was to glorify Napoleon’s upcoming Spanish campaign. Much like the conquistadores had brought civilization to the Aztecs, the French now envisioned civilizing backward Spain. The opera’s première on 28 November 1809 represented another great success, and was attended by Napoleon himself. After the Emperor’s fall, Spontini continued to write operas for King Louis XVIII during the Bourbon Restoration and became a naturalized French citizen in 1817. With La Vestale and Fernand Cortez, Spontini had established his international fame, and his operas became part of the repertory of many European opera houses. When King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia visited Paris in April and May of 1814, he was deeply impressed by Spontini’s works and ordered a performance of Cortez in Berlin, which took place on 15 October 1814. The King’s suggestion to engage Spontini at the Berlin opera met with great opposition from Count Brühl. Although it would be beneficial to attract a renowned composer, Brühl argued, Spontini had only written two internationally-famous operas thus far. Moreover, the composer lacked experience as an orchestral conductor, a task that would be further complicated by the fact that he didn’t know any German. It was of great importance to engage an experienced conductor, however, since Kapellmeister B. A. Weber was suffering from worsening health problems, and music directors Joseph Gürlich and Friedrich Ludwig Seidel showed no great 330 Hoffmann, Cosmopolitanism, and German Opera talent for conducting. He did suggest appointing a famous composer as an honorary first Kapellmeister, mentioning Spontini, Cherubini, or Paer as possible candidates.1 The King, however, was even more impressed by the revised version of Cortez when he heard its première during his visit to Paris in the summer of 1817, and subsequently bestowed the title of Premier Maître de Chapelle Honoraire upon Spontini. In 1818, he ordered La Vestale to be performed in Berlin annually and granted Spontini permission to dedicate his Preußischer Volksgesang to him, which premièred in Berlin on 18 October and would be performed in the opera house on the King’s birthday each year until his death in 1840. Although negotiations with Spontini had begun as early as 1814, it was not until August 1819 that Spontini signed a contract with Generalmajor Jost von Witzleben, who was acting on behalf of the King. Spontini was appointed General-Musik-Direktor at the Berlin opera for a period of ten years. Among his duties were the composition of two great operas every three years, or smaller works once a year, and the rehearsal of all opera productions. Furthermore, he was to conduct the first performances of his own compositions as well as music performed on festive occasions. Count Brühl’s signature was not on the contract; in fact, he had been kept in the dark about Spontini’s appointment and was only informed after its conclusion. Brühl protested in a letter to the King and stressed again why, in his view, Spontini was unfit for this position: ‘[…] er versteht unsere Sprache und Litteratur nicht, kann daher nicht in derselben komponieren, ebenso wenig auch die Details des Theater- und Orchester-Dienstes besorgen’. (‘He is not familiar with our language and literature, and will thus not be able to compose in it. Nor will it be possible for him to take care of matters concerning the theater or the orchestra’.)2 Brühl, who would have liked to see more original works composed in German, saw the opportunity for this slip away with Spontini’s appointment. He also pointed out once more that Spontini lacked the necessary experience as a conductor and warned about rumors he had heard from Paris about Spontini’s false and malicious character. In short, he would have liked to see ‘[…] wenn auch nicht so große Komponisten, doch nützlichere Subjekte’. (‘perhaps not so great and famous composers, but rather more useful subjects’.)3 As a theater 1 Altmann, ‘Spontini an der Berliner Oper’, pp.246-247. Negotiations with Cherubini did not materialize for financial reasons. Hübscher, Die königlichen Schauspiele zu Berlin, p.31. 2 Altmann, ‘Spontini an der Berliner Oper’, p.253. 3 Altmann, ‘Spontini an der Berliner Oper’, p.253. .