Leonardo Leo
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Leonardo Leo (5 August 1694 – 31 October 1744), more correctly Leonardo Ortensio Salvatore de Leo, was a
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...
.


Biography

Leo was born in San Vito degli Schiavoni (currently known as
San Vito dei Normanni San Vito dei Normanni ( Sanvitese: ) is an Italian town of 19,947 inhabitants of the province of Brindisi in Apulia. The inhabitants are called Sanvitesi (or Santuvitisi in dialect) and the town is sometimes referred to as San Vito. Physical geog ...
,
province of Brindisi The Province of Brindisi ( it, Provincia di Brindisi) is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Brindisi. It has an area of and a total population of 401,652 (2013). Geography The Province of Brindisi is situated in ...
) in the
Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...
region, then part of the
Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...
. He became a student at the Conservatorio della Pietà dei Turchini at
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
in 1703, and was a pupil first of
Francesco Provenzale Francesco Provenzale (25 September 1632 – 6 September 1704) was an Italian Baroque composer and teacher. He is considered the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. Notably Provenzale was the teacher of famed castrato 'il cavaliere ...
and later of Nicola Fago. It has been supposed that he was a pupil of
Pitoni Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni ( Rieti, 18 March 1657 – Rome, 1 February 1743) was an Italian organist and composer. He became one of the leading musicians in Rome during the late Baroque era, the first half of the 18th century. Life Taken to Rome as ...
and
Alessandro Scarlatti Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti (2 May 1660 – 22 October 1725) was an Italian Baroque composer, known especially for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the most important representative of the Neapolitan school of opera. ...
, but he could not possibly have studied with either of these composers, although he was undoubtedly influenced by their compositions. His earliest known work was a sacred drama, ''L'infedelta abbattuta'', performed by his fellow-students in 1712. In 1714 he produced, at the court theatre, an
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
, ''Pisistrato'', which was much admired. He held various posts at the royal chapel, and continued to write for the stage, besides teaching at the conservatory. After adding comic scenes to
Francesco Gasparini Francesco Gasparini (19 March 1661 – 22 March 1727) was an Italian Baroque composer and teacher whose works were performed throughout Italy, and also on occasion in Germany and England. Biography Born in Camaiore, near Lucca, he studied in ...
's ''Bajazette'' in 1722 for performance at Naples, he composed comic operas in
Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: Geography and history * Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city * Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...
such as ''La'mpeca scoperta'' in 1723, and '' L'Alidoro'' in 1740. His most famous comic opera was ''
Amor vuol sofferenza ''Amor vuol sofferenza'' is a 1739 commedia per musica in three acts by Leonardo Leo Leonardo Leo (5 August 1694 – 31 October 1744), more correctly Leonardo Ortensio Salvatore de Leo, was a Baroque composer. Biography Leo was born in San Vit ...
'' (1739), better known as '' La Finta Frascatana'', highly praised by De Brosses. He was equally distinguished as a composer of serious opera, ''
Demofoonte ''Demofonte'' (also ''Demofoonte''; ''Il Demofoonte''; ''Demofoonte, ré di Tracia'' ing of Thrace ''Démophon''; ''Demophontes''; or ''Dirce, L'usurpatore innocente'' irce, the Innocent Usurper is an opera seria libretto by Metastasio. The lib ...
'' (1735), ''Farnace'' (1737) and ''
L'Olimpiade ''L'Olimpiade'' is an opera libretto in three acts by Metastasio originally written for an operatic setting by Antonio Caldara of 1733. Metastasio’s plot vaguely draws upon the narrative of "The Trial of the Suitors" provided from Book 6 of ...
'' (1737) being his most famous works in this branch, and is still better known as a composer of sacred music. He died of a stroke while engaged in the composition of new arias for a revival of ''La Finta Frascatana''. Leo was the first of the
Neapolitan school In music history, the Neapolitan School is a group, associated with opera, of 17th and 18th-century composers who studied or worked in Naples, Italy,Don Michael Randel (2003). ''The Harvard Dictionary of Music'', p. 549. . the best known of whom ...
to obtain a complete mastery over modern
harmonic A harmonic is a wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'', the frequency of the original periodic signal, such as a sinusoidal wave. The original signal is also called the ''1st harmonic'', the ...
counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...
. His sacred music is masterly and dignified, logical rather than passionate, and free from the sentimentality which is present in the work of
Francesco Durante Francesco Durante (31 March 1684 – 30 September 1755) was a Neapolitan composer. Biography He was born at Frattamaggiore, in the Kingdom of Naples, and at an early age he entered the '' Conservatorio dei poveri di Gesù Cristo'', in Naples, ...
and
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi Giovanni Battista Draghi (; 4 January 1710 – 16 or 17 March 1736), often referred to as Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (), was an Italian Baroque composer, violinist, and organist. His best-known works include his Stabat Mater and the opera ''L ...
. His serious operas suffer from a coldness and severity of style, but in his comic operas he shows a keen sense of humour. His ensemble movements are spirited, but never worked up to a strong climax. A fine and characteristic example of his sacred music is the ''Dixit Dominus in C'', edited by CV Stanford and published by Novello. A number of songs from operas are accessible in modern editions.


Operas


Drammi per musica

#''Sofonisba'' (
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
,
Teatro San Bartolomeo Theatres for diverse musical and dramatic presentations began to open in Naples, Italy, in the mid-16th century as part of the general Spanish cultural and political expansion into the kingdom of Naples, which had just become a vicerealm of Spain. ...
, 1719) #''Cajo Gracco'' (Teatro San Bartolomeo, 1720) #''Bajazette'' (1722) #''Tamerlano'' (Rome, 1722) #''Timocrate'' (Venice, 1723) #''Zenobia in Palmira'' (Naples, Teatro San Bartolomeo, 1725) #''Astianatte'' (1725) #''La somiglianza'' (Naples,
Teatro dei Fiorentini Theatres for diverse musical and dramatic presentations began to open in Naples, Italy, in the mid-16th century as part of the general Spanish cultural and political expansion into the kingdom of Naples, which had just become a vicerealm of Spain. ...
, 1726) #''L'Orismene, overo dagli sdegni gli amori'' (Naples, Teatro Nuovo, 1726) #''Ciro riconosciuto'' (1727) #''Argene'' (1728) #''La zingara'' (intermezzo, 1731) #''Intermezzi per l'Argene'' (1731) #'' Catone'' (Venice, 1732) #'' Demetrio'' (Maples, Teatro San Bartolomeo, 1732) #''Amore dà senno'' (Naples, Teatro Nuovo, 1733) #''Emira'' (with intermezzi by Ignazio Prota, 1735) #''La clemenza di Tito'' (1735) #''Onore vince amore'' (Naples, Teatro dei Fiorentini, 1736) #''La simpatia del sangue'' (1737) #''Siface'' (1737) #
Amor vuol sofferenza ''Amor vuol sofferenza'' is a 1739 commedia per musica in three acts by Leonardo Leo Leonardo Leo (5 August 1694 – 31 October 1744), more correctly Leonardo Ortensio Salvatore de Leo, was a Baroque composer. Biography Leo was born in San Vit ...
1739 #''Festa teatrale'' (1739) #''La contesa dell'Amore e della virtù'' (1740) #''Scipione nelle Spagne'' (1740) #'' L'Alidoro'' (1740) #''Alessandro'' (1741) #''Demoofonte'' (1741) #''
L'impresario delle Isole Canarie ' (The impresario from the Canary Islands), also known as ''L'impresario delle Canarie'' or ''Dorina e Nibbio'', is a satirical opera intermezzo libretto attributed to Metastasio (Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi), written in 1724 to be performe ...
'' (1741) #''Andromaca'' (1742) # L'ambizione delusa (Leo) 1742 (opera seria) # Decebalo (Leo) 1743 #''Vologeso'' (1744) #''La finta Frascatana'' (1744) Undated operas: #''Artaserse'' #''Lucio Papirio'' #''Arianna e Teseo'' (cantata teatrale) #''
L'Olimpiade ''L'Olimpiade'' is an opera libretto in three acts by Metastasio originally written for an operatic setting by Antonio Caldara of 1733. Metastasio’s plot vaguely draws upon the narrative of "The Trial of the Suitors" provided from Book 6 of ...
'' #''Evergete'' #''Il matrimonio anascoso'' #''Alessandro nell'Indie'' #''Il Medo'' #''Nitocri, regina di egitto'' #''Il Pisistrate'' #''Il trionfo di Camillo'' #''Le nozze di Psiche'' #''Achille in Sciro''


Selected recordings

*2002 Concerto for 4 Violins and Strings in D -Conductor: Reinhard Goebel, Orchestra: Cologne Musica Antiqua Label: Archiv Masters (Disc Title: Italian Violin Concertos) *2001 Concerto 4 violins and Strings in D - Performers: Elizabeth Wallfisch, Nicholas Kraemer Orchestra: The Raglan Baroque Players Label: Hyperion (Disc Title: The Neapolitans - Pergolesi, Durante, Leo) *2001: 6 Cello Concertos-Performer: Hidemi Suzuki, Makoto Akatsu Orchestra: Orchestra Van Wassenaer Label: BIS (Disc Title: Leo-Six Cello Concertos) *2000: Così del vostro suono (Il Tionfo della Gloria), cantata Sorge Lidia la notte, cantata with violins, più dell'usato, cantata for solo voice & strings- Conductor: Cosimo Prontera Performer: Cristina Miatello, Emanuele Bianchi Orchestra: La Confraternita de' Musici Label: Tactus (Disc Title: Leonardo Leo: Serenate e Cantate) For a more complete discography of Leo, see http://www.leonardoleo.com/discography.htm


See also

*


References

*Peter van Tour: Counterpoint and Partimento: Methods of Teaching Composition in Late Eighteenth-Century Naples. 2015. 318p. (Studia musicologica Upsaliensia, 0081-6744 ; 25)


Sources

*


External links

* * *
Istituto Internazionale per lo studio del '700 musicale napoletano
* from Pula, Croatia chant Libera me {{DEFAULTSORT:Leo, Leonardo 1694 births 1744 deaths 18th-century Italian male musicians 18th-century Italian composers Neapolitan school composers Italian Baroque composers Italian opera composers Italian male classical composers Male opera composers People from the Province of Brindisi