Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Rauzzini’s European Career
- 2 A Debut Season at the King’s Theatre, 1774–75
- 3 Two Further Seasons at the King’s Theatre, 1775–77
- 4 Concerts and Composing, 1774–81
- 5 A Continuing Relationship with the King’s Theatre
- 6 A Life in Bath
- 7 The Bath Concerts
- 8 Final Curtain
- Appendix A Concert Programs, 1786–1810
- Appendix B Operatic Roles Performed by Venanzio Rauzzini
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
4 - Concerts and Composing, 1774–81
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 June 2021
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Rauzzini’s European Career
- 2 A Debut Season at the King’s Theatre, 1774–75
- 3 Two Further Seasons at the King’s Theatre, 1775–77
- 4 Concerts and Composing, 1774–81
- 5 A Continuing Relationship with the King’s Theatre
- 6 A Life in Bath
- 7 The Bath Concerts
- 8 Final Curtain
- Appendix A Concert Programs, 1786–1810
- Appendix B Operatic Roles Performed by Venanzio Rauzzini
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Public concerts were presented in London some fifty years before the concept was introduced on the Continent. By the beginning of the last decade of the eighteenth century contemporary reports often speak of the passion for music that gripped the city. On April 1, 1788, the Morning Chronicle speaks of “the present increasing rage for Musick… . There are concerts in every part of the town.” A letter dated July 4, 1791, written by a Miss Iremonger, records that “at the Concerts in Hanover Square, where [Haydn] has presided, his presence seems to have awakened such a degree of enthusiasm in the audience as almost amounts to frenzy!” While Rauzzini's early days in London predate the arrival of Haydn by nearly twenty years, the passion for music-making of all types was already well established in the capital city, thereby presenting opportunities for the singer that he might not have envisioned when he first arrived.
Rauzzini quickly established himself as a concert singer, performing in both public concerts and the homes of the wealthy, where his impeccable manners charmed his hosts. On January 25, 1775, the Daily Advertiser announced that he would take part in a benefit concert on the following day to support “Decayed MUSICIANS and their FAMILIES.” This concert was held at the King's Theatre and featured the leading singers of the season, as well as instrumentalists such as Wilhelm Cramer (violin), C. F. Baumgarten (bassoon), Pietro Florio (flute), and J. C. Fischer (oboe). Rauzzini sang in both parts of the concert, including a duet with Catarina Schindlerin. Rauzzini also took part in subsequent benefit concerts for this organization: a particularly elaborate concert is recorded in the London newspapers for February 15, 1776, featuring many of the same soloists. The occasion also appears to have been the first time that Rauzzini appeared on the same stage with the violinist Franz La Motte [Lamotte] (?1751–80), a musician who was to play an important part in Rauzzini's life after 1777. Indeed, their lives were closely intertwined both musically and financially until La Motte's death in 1780.
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- Information
- Venanzio Rauzzini in BritainCastrato, Composer, and Cultural Leader, pp. 73 - 124Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2015