Biography
Baldassare Galuppi emerged in the eighteenth century as Italy’s leading opera composer and an influential performer whose innovations helped shape the genre’s development. Born in Burano in 1706, he received his earliest training from his father, a barber who also played violin in modest theater ensembles. At roughly fifteen he completed his first opera, Gli amici ricali; its disastrous première prompted the management to lower the curtain amid audience unrest. Seeking guidance, Galuppi consulted Benedetto Marcello, who insisted the score had been overly ambitious and required the young musician to finish studies in organ and counterpoint with Antonio Lotti before attempting further operas.
Two years later Galuppi began earning his living as a harpsichordist in Venetian and Florentine theaters. By 1726 his reputation had grown sufficiently for him to secure the harpsichord post at Florence’s Teatro della Pergola, where he joined Giovanni Battista Pescetti in creating the well-received operas Gl’odi delusi del sangue and Donrinda; these successes generated new commissions and broader recognition. Late in the 1730s his works began appearing beyond Venice. In 1740 he joined the Ospedale dei Mendicanti, assuming duties as teacher, conductor, and composer of sacred music. The next year he accepted an eighteen-month engagement at London’s King’s Theatre, during which he supervised eleven productions, at least three of them his own.
Returning to Venice in 1743, Galuppi resumed his position at the Ospedale and turned increasingly to comic opera. Appointed vice maestro at St. Mark’s cathedral in 1748, he maintained a steady output of both secular and sacred pieces. Over the following decade he collaborated with librettist Carlo Goldoni on several highly successful operas, earning further esteem that led to his promotion in 1762 to the cathedral’s highest musical post, maestro di cappella. In 1764 Catherine the Great arranged for Galuppi to serve at her court in St. Petersburg, where for three years he supplied operas and sacred works, gave recitals, and directed choral and orchestral concerts. He reclaimed his post at St. Mark’s upon returning to Venice in 1768. Charles Burney, visiting in 1771, observed that Galuppi’s later compositions displayed greater “spirit, taste, and fancy” than his earlier efforts. Galuppi continued composing until a few months before his death in 1785.
Two years later Galuppi began earning his living as a harpsichordist in Venetian and Florentine theaters. By 1726 his reputation had grown sufficiently for him to secure the harpsichord post at Florence’s Teatro della Pergola, where he joined Giovanni Battista Pescetti in creating the well-received operas Gl’odi delusi del sangue and Donrinda; these successes generated new commissions and broader recognition. Late in the 1730s his works began appearing beyond Venice. In 1740 he joined the Ospedale dei Mendicanti, assuming duties as teacher, conductor, and composer of sacred music. The next year he accepted an eighteen-month engagement at London’s King’s Theatre, during which he supervised eleven productions, at least three of them his own.
Returning to Venice in 1743, Galuppi resumed his position at the Ospedale and turned increasingly to comic opera. Appointed vice maestro at St. Mark’s cathedral in 1748, he maintained a steady output of both secular and sacred pieces. Over the following decade he collaborated with librettist Carlo Goldoni on several highly successful operas, earning further esteem that led to his promotion in 1762 to the cathedral’s highest musical post, maestro di cappella. In 1764 Catherine the Great arranged for Galuppi to serve at her court in St. Petersburg, where for three years he supplied operas and sacred works, gave recitals, and directed choral and orchestral concerts. He reclaimed his post at St. Mark’s upon returning to Venice in 1768. Charles Burney, visiting in 1771, observed that Galuppi’s later compositions displayed greater “spirit, taste, and fancy” than his earlier efforts. Galuppi continued composing until a few months before his death in 1785.