Antonia Campi, ''née'' Antonina Miklasiewicz (10 December 1773 – 1 October 1822) was a Polish operatic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

Life

Born in Lublin, she began her career in 1785 in Lublin. In 1788, she became a singer at the court of

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarch ...

in Warsaw. In 1789, she studied at the Royal School of Singing. She quickly became a celebrity in Poland as well as abroad for her unusual voice: she could sing three octaves. She was invited to perform in Warsaw and also in concerts around Prague, where she settled in 1791, in the company of the impresario Guardoni. There she married the first singer of the opera, the bass Gaetano Campi.. 2 February 1791. They had 17 children, with 4 pairs of twins and once triplets. At the opening of the new theatre built by

Emanuel Schikaneder Emanuel Schikaneder (born Johann Joseph Schickeneder; 1 September 1751 – 21 September 1812) was a German impresario, dramatist, actor, singer, and composer. He wrote the libretto of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera ''The Magic Flute'' and was t ...

in Vienna on 13 June 1801, she came to sing the role of Clara in

Franz Teyber Franz Teyber (bapt. 25 August 1758, Viennadied 21 October 1810, Wien-Josefstadt, today 8. Bezirk) was an Austrian Kapellmeister, organist and composer of orchestral and chamber music. Studying under Georg Christoph Wagenseil, from 1786 he was direc ...

's opera ''Alessandro''. The Italian composer

Ferdinando Paer Ferdinando Paer (1 July 1771 – 3 May 1839) was an Italian composer known for his operas. He was of Austrian descent and used the German spelling Pär in application for printing in Venice, and later in France the spelling Paër. Life and career ...

wrote especially for her the opera ''Sargino, ossia l'allievo d'amore'' (Vienna, 1803). From 1818 to 1822 she was engaged as prima donna at the court theatre in Vienna. In 1818, she was appointed first imperial singer (''ersten kaiserlichen Sängerin''). In 1817 and 1820, Campi made an artistic trip to Europe: to Italy, Germany (

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

in September 1818,

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

and

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

in October 1818) and Poland (Warsaw in September 1820).. She was particularly appreciated for her interpretations of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's operas. She died on 1 October 1822 at the age of 48 of

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

during a tour in Munich.

Interpretations

In premieres

* Servilia in Mozart's '' La clemenza di Tito'', 6 September 1791 at the National Theatre Prague (under the name Signora Antonini).

Other

* La Contessa in '' Le nozze di Figaro'', * Donna Anna in '' Don Juan'', * Constanza in '' Die Entführung aus dem Serail'', * The Queen of the Night in ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...

'',. * Vitellia in '' La clemenza di Tito''..

References

External links