Marcos António da Fonseca Portugal (24 March 1762 – 17 February 1830), known as Marcos Portugal, or Marco Portogallo, was a Portuguese-born Brazilian
classical composer
This is a list of classical music composers by era. With the exception of the overview, the Modernist era has been combined with the Postmodern.
Overview
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, who achieved great international fame for his
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 ...
s.
Biography
Marcos António da Fonseca Portugal was born in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
. He studied music at the
Patriarchal Seminary in Lisbon where, as a 14-year-old student, he wrote his first work, a ''Miserere''. He later worked as composer and organist at the Patriarchal See, and was ''maestro'' at the Theatre of Salitre in Lisbon from c. 1784. He lived in Italy from late 1792 to 1800, possibly funded by the
prince regent
A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...
D. John, the later King
John VI of Portugal
, house = Braganza
, father = Peter III of Portugal
, mother = Maria I of Portugal
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Queluz Palace, Queluz, Portugal
, death_date =
, death_place = Bemposta Palace, Lisbon, Portugal
, ...
. He wrote 21 operas for various Italian theatres. The first, ''I due gobbi'' (also known as ''Confusioni della Somiglianza''), premiered in Florence in the spring of 1793. His version of ''
The Marriage of Figaro
''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...
'', titled ''La pazza giornata, ovvero Il matrimonio di Figaro'' (The Crazy Day, or The Marriage of Figaro), to a
libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
by
Gaetano Rossi, premiered in Venice in 1799. Like most theatre composers of the time, Portugal set several librettos that had proven successful for earlier operas, such as
Metastasio's ''
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 ...
'' (premièred at
La Scala
La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...
, Milan, in 1794) and ''
Artaserse''; he set many stories that had been used before, including
Serse,
Alceste,
Adrasto,
Semiramide
''Semiramide'' () is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini.
The libretto by Gaetano Rossi is based on Voltaire's tragedy ''Semiramis'', which in turn was based on the legend of Semiramis of Assyria. The opera was first performed at La Fenice ...
and
Sofonisba.
Marcos Portugal returned to Portugal in 1800. He became ''
maestro'' at the
São Carlos National Theatre
SAO or Sao may refer to:
Places
* Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD
* Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso
* Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S ...
in Lisbon and was appointed music master at the Patriarchal Seminary in Lisbon. He continued to write operas, mainly ''
opere serie
''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to abo ...
'', and a large number of religious works, until the Prince Regent summoned him to the Portuguese
colony of Brazil
Colonial Brazil ( pt, Brasil Colonial) comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to a kingdom in union with Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Dur ...
in 1811. Upon arriving, Portugal was appointed music master to the sons and daughters of the Prince Regent and became the official Royal Composer.
He wrote mainly religious music until at least 1824, the date of his last known surviving autograph. In Portugal and Brazil, his reputation rests mainly on his religious music, a genre he cultivated throughout his life. He remained in Rio de Janeiro when the Portuguese Court returned to Portugal in 1821, and continuing in the employ of his pupil, the
First Emperor of Brazil,
D. Pedro, as he had previously served his father, King John VI of Portugal. He died as a Brazilian citizen in Rio de Janeiro in 1830.
He authored the first official national anthems of Portugal (''
Hymno Patriótico
The ''Hymno Patriótico'' ( en, "Patriotic Hymn") was considered Portugal’s first national anthem. Marcos Portugal, who had remained living in Portugal, had, in 1808, initially named the piece as ‘the Prince’s Hymn’ (''D. João VI Hymn'') ...
'', 1809) and Brazil (''
Hino da Independência
The Hino da Independência (Portuguese for ''Independence Anthem'') is a Brazilian official patriotic song commemorating the country's declaration of independence from Portugal. The anthem was composed in 1822 by Emperor Pedro I, the lead figure ...
'', 1822).
In 2010,
Bampton Classical Opera
Bampton Classical Opera is an opera company based in Bampton, Oxfordshire and founded in 1993. It specialises in the production of lesser known opera from the Classical period. Performances are always sung in English. ''Opera today'' called the c ...
presented the UK première of Portugal's ''The Marriage of Figaro''.
On Site Opera
On Site Opera (OSO) is a professional opera company based in New York City that specializes in site-specific productions. The company was founded in 2012 by General and Artistic Director Eric Einhorn and Executive Director/Producer Jessica Kiger. ...
produced this work's North American premiere in 2016.
"Review: Following ''Figaro'' From Room to Room in a Townhouse"
by Anthony Tommasini
Anthony Carl Tommasini (born April 14, 1948) is an American music critic and author who specializes in classical music. Described as "a discerning critic, whose taste, knowledge and judgment have made him a must-read", Tommasini was the chief ...
, ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', 15 June 2016
References
External links
Composer's biography
excerpts of ' (1797) and overture to ''Il duca di Foix'' (1805).
*
D. João VI and Marcos Portugal: ''The Brazilian Period'', by António Jorge Marques
MarcosPortugal.com
biography, links
Musical Manuscripts Collection
at the Harry Ransom Center
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Portugal, Marcos Antonio da Fonseca
1762 births
1830 deaths
People from Lisbon
Portuguese Classical-period composers
Brazilian classical composers
Portuguese classical composers
18th-century Portuguese musicians
19th-century Brazilian people
19th-century Portuguese people
Portuguese male classical composers
19th-century male musicians