Vincenzo Calvesi ( fl. 1777–1811) was an Italian

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 libr ...

tic

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

and

impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. His ...

. A skillful

lyric tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is widel ...

, he began his career performing in

opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically fo ...

s in Italy during the 1770s. He was active in Dresden in 1782 to 1783 and then spent most of his time performing in Vienna from 1785 to 1794. He is best remembered today for creating the role of Ferrando in the world premiere of

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

's '' Così fan tutte'' in 1790. That same year the Viennese publication ''Grundsätze zur Theaterkritik'' described him as "one of the best tenors from Italy…with a voice naturally sweet, pleasant and sonorous." He was later active in Rome as an impresario up until 1811.

Life and career

Calvesi was born in Rome, the son of Bernhard Calvesi, a papal chamberlain. His date of birth, his musical education, and the details of his youth are now unknown. The first definite account of the singer was in 1777 for a series of performances in operas in Rome. He actively performed in

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

s in Italy up through 1782. From 1782 to 1783 he sang in Dresden at the newly opened Kurfürstliches Hoftheater. In 1784 he appeared at La Scala in the Milan premiere of

Domenico Cimarosa Domenico Cimarosa (; 17 December 1749 – 11 January 1801) was an Italian composer of the Neapolitan school and of the Classical period. He wrote more than eighty operas, the best known of which is '' Il matrimonio segreto'' (1792); most of h ...

's ''Chi dell'altrui si veste presto si spogli''. While performing in Italy he married the soprano Teresa Calvesi who specialized in

comprimario A comprimario is a small supporting role in an opera (or a singer who sings those roles). The word is derived from the Italian "''con primario''", or "with the primary", meaning that the ''comprimario'' role (or singer) is not a principal role (or ...

and

soubrette A soubrette is a type of operatic soprano voice ''fach'', often cast as a female stock character in opera and theatre. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means "conceited" or "coy". Theatre In theatre, a soubrette is a ...

roles.Vincenzo Calvesi at operissimo.com
/ref> In 1785 Calvesi and his wife joined the roster of singers at the Burgtheater in Vienna. Calvesi made his first appearance at that opera house as Sandrino in

Giovanni Paisiello Giovanni Paisiello (or Paesiello; 9 May 1740 – 5 June 1816) was an Italian composer of the Classical era, and was the most popular opera composer of the late 1700s. His operatic style influenced Mozart and Rossini. Life Paisiello was born in T ...

's '' Il re Teodoro'' in 1785. In July of that year he created the role of Casimiro in the premiere of

Stephen Storace Stephen John Seymour Storace (4 April 1762 – 19 March 1796) was an English composer of the Classical era, known primarily for his operas. His sister was the famous opera singer Nancy Storace. He was born in London in the Parish of St Maryleb ...

's '' Gli sposi malcontenti''. On 8 January 1788 he performed the role of Atar in the premiere of

Antonio Salieri Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian classical composer, conductor, and teacher. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subject of the Habsburg monarchy ...

's ''

Axur, re d'Ormus ''Axur, re d'Ormus'' ("Axur, king of Ormus") is an operatic dramma tragicomico in five acts by Antonio Salieri. The libretto was by Lorenzo Da Ponte. ''Axur'' is the Italian version of Salieri's 1787 French-language work ''Tarare (opera), Tarare' ...

'' opposite his wife as Fiammetta. Tesesa sang supporting roles in Vienna, often in productions with her husband, up through 1791; with Ippolito in Paisiello's ''Fedra'' being her greatest success. She was then active in theatres in London and Italy while her husband remained in Austria. Calvesi continued to perform at the Burgtheater until 1794, with the exception of the majority of 1788, when he was at the

Teatro di San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent ...

in Naples. He sang in several more world premieres at the Burgtheater, most notably portraying the role of Ferrando in the premiere of Mozart's ''Così fan tutte'' on 26 January 1790. Other roles he created in Vienna were Artemidoro in Salieri's '' La grotta di Trofonio'' (12 October 1785), Eufemio of Syracuse in Storace's '' Gli equivoci'' (27 December 1786), Prince Don Giovanni in

Vicente Martín y Soler Anastasio Martín Ignacio Vicente Tadeo Francisco Pellegrin Martín y Soler (2 May 175430 January or 10 February 1806) was a Spanish composer of opera and ballet. Although relatively obscure now, in his own day he was compared favorably with his ...

's ''

Una cosa rara ' (''A Rare Thing, or Beauty and Honesty'') is an opera by the composer Vicente Martín y Soler. It takes the form of a dramma giocoso in two acts. The libretto, by Lorenzo Da Ponte, is based on the play ' by Luis Vélez de Guevara. The opera was f ...

'' (17 November 1786), and Endimione in Soler's '' L'arbore di Diana'' (1 October 1787). On 5 November 1785 he performed the part of the Count in the world premiere of Mozart's quartet ''Dite almeno, in che mancai,'' K. 479. He also sang in the premiere of Mozart's trio ''Mandina amabile,'' K. 480 on the following 21 November, which was written by Mozart for Francesco Bianchi's '' La villanella rapita''. In 1794 Calvesi retired from the stage and returned to his native Italy. Somewhere around 1796 he began working in Rome as an impresario. He was one of the city's leading organizers of concerts and theatrical events up through 1811. After that his whereabouts and activities are unknown.

References

External links

* Michael Lorenz
"Light on Vincenzo Calvesi's Origin"
Vienna, 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Calvesi, Vincenzo 18th-century births 19th-century deaths Italian operatic tenors Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's singers Singers from Rome 18th-century Italian male opera singers