THE ITALIAN WEDDINGS OF THE ARCHDUKES OF GRAZ AND THE BEGINNINGS OF OPERA IN POLAND

• Authors: Przybyszewska-Jarminska B.
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

The paper presents the beginnings of opera in Poland in the context of the dynastic connections of the Polish Vasa kings, Zygmunt III Vasa and his son Wladyslaw IV, with the Habsburg house of the archdukes of Graz (the imperial house from 1619), and the marriage links between the children of Charles II of the Habsburg family and Maria von Wittelsbach, and the Italian families Medici and Gonzaga. It concentrates on the marriages of the archduchesses Anna, Constantia, Margaret and Maria Magdalena, Emperor Ferdinand II and Archduke Leopold, and recalls the celebrations in Florence in 1625, organized by Maria Magdalena in honour of Wladyslaw in the hope of bringing about the prince's marriage to her daughter Margherita. The paper puts forward the suggestion that the preparation of the first confirmed staging of an opera in Poland - 'Gli amori di Aci e Galatea' (Warsaw 27 February 1628) - may have involved the wife of Ferdinand II, Empress Eleonora Gonzaga from the Mantuan house, who wanted the Prince to be favourably disposed towards marrying the Emperor's daughter. Attention is drawn to the participation of the Austrian side in organizing the theatrical aspect of the celebrations at the wedding of Wladyslaw IV and Princess Cecilia Renata, which took place in Warsaw in September 1637, and to the fact that the subject of the work was suggested by the Archduchess Claudia née Medici, the widow of Archduke Leopold. Another significant aspect is the arrival from Vienna of Italian musicians with previous links to Empress Eleonora's native Mantuan court. These included: Margherita Basile Cattanea, Lucia Rubini and her husband Giovanni Battista Rubini, and Johann Nauwach; Archduchess Claudia may have also been accompanied by Vincenzo Scapitta da Valenza, her previous maestro di cappella. It is almost certain that the person responsible for the ballets was the Italian balletmaster and choreographer Santi Ventura, who was employed at the imperial court.

Keywords

EN

COURT IN VIENNA; DRAMMA PER MUSICA; POLISH VASA KINGS; WEDDING CELEBRATIONS

Discipline

• ARTS_&_ARCHITECTURE: ARTS & ARCHITECTURE

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Sztuki PAN
• Journal: Muzyka
• Year: 2005
• Volume: 50
• Issue: 3(198)
• Pages: 3-27
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Przybyszewska-Jarminska B.

• B. Przybyszewska-Jarminska, Instytut Sztuki PAN, Zaklad Historii Muzyki, ul. Dluga 26/28, 00-238 Warszawa, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

06PLAAAA01052419