Conference Presentations by Alessandra Palidda
The revolutionary spectacle: public feasts and celebrations in Jacobin Milan (1796-1799).
Following the rapidly unfolding events related to the Italian campaign led by Napoleon, Northern ... more Following the rapidly unfolding events related to the Italian campaign led by Napoleon, Northern Italy saw its political and social layout entering a quick and deep transitional phase. While supposedly republican forms of government replaced former monarchical or oligarchical states, the new French governors also aimed at gradually wiping out every trace of the past through a carefully regulated plan of control and propaganda. Performing arts such as theatre, opera and music played a major role within this project, rapidly becoming more and more politicized and generating new genres and occasions of performance which represents exquisite historical and aesthetical case studies.
In this context, republican feasts, based on the successful model imported from early-1790s Paris, acquired a great importance: carefully planned and staged with the help of dedicated governmental commissions, these public celebrations took place with increasing frequency and required huge expenditures of time, money and labour. Moreover, these occasions contributed to introducing a whole new concept of performance, stage and audience. Outside dedicated buildings, the revolutionary feast took place en plein air, making an innovative use of the city’s spaces which were cleverly exploited; the very own division between performers and audience was revisited, the performance essentially constituting a prelude to the common celebration of shared republican values. Finally, these complex and multi-layered events revised and combined elements coming from different fields such as popular entertainment, operatic, choral and instrumental music, military manoeuvres, etc. thus creating a truly revolutionary form of spectacle.
The paper will describe in detail the organization, the actualization and the characteristics of the republican feasts through the example offered by the city of Milan during the so-called ‘Jacobin triennium’ (1796-99), when the republican propaganda reached its climax. An important administrative and cultural centre since the beginning of the Italian campaign and, later on, capital city of all the states created by Napoleon in Northern and central Italy, Milan naturally became a major centre both for propagandist events and for the dissemination of politically informed cultural products. Republican feasts and occasions for public celebration in Milan will be extensively described mainly through the analysis of varied and prestigious archival sources coming from different Milanese institutions such as the Archivio di Stato, the library of the Conservatoire ‘Giuseppe Verdi’, the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, etc.
Finally, the paper will trace a comparison between the Milanese republican celebrations and their more renowned French counterparts, underlining similarities and innovations and thus casting new light on a phenomenon of considerable cultural and historical significance.
Between the end of XVIII century and the beginning of XIX century the city of Milan experienced a... more Between the end of XVIII century and the beginning of XIX century the city of Milan experienced a rapidly changing political environment. Over a time span of barely ten years, from 1796 to 1805, Lombardy, following the unexpected and unstable outcomes of the Napoleonic wars, saw its governmental regime change several times, from the absolute monarchy of the Hapsburgs to the republican occupation of the Armée d’Italie. Milan, a capital city throughout the XVIII century, had gradually become a major centre for operatic performance, developing a celebrated repertory; as the bond between local society and the opera house was traditionally strong, musical theatre and La Scala opera house were immediately identified by the Republican authorities as effective tools of control, influence and propaganda. Nevertheless, the traditional and conservative operatic repertoire underwent fewer changes than might be expected; the Napoleonic authorities thus introduced new occasions, inside and outside the opera house, for the production and performance of new pieces composed ad hoc for republican celebration.
This period of intense political change traversed the career of the mediocre yet opportunistic musician and composer Ambrogio Minoja; following moderate success as an opera composer, Minoja was appointed maestro al cembalo in La Scala and moved permanently to Milan in 1784. After the French occupation, Minoja experienced a revived and successful career, being nominated by the Napoleonic authorities to compose music for public celebrations, particularly patriotic symphonies and cantatas; at the same time, thanks to his supposed patriotism, Minoja became a member of the Commission entrusted with the monitoring of the correct (i.e. democratic) use of theatre. Yet Minoja allied himself and his musical output alternately to opposing political regimes, losing no status during the short Austrian interregnum (1700-1800), when he produced patriotic music expressively dedicated to the victorious Austro-Russian troops. With Napoleon re-conquering Milan in 1800, he was once again able to turn his coat, subsequently becoming one of the most active and celebrated composers of the Kingdom of Italy, a member of the prestigious Società italiana di scienze, lettere ed arti and of the newly founded Conservatoire of Milan.
The paper will proceed from a detailed description of the historical and musical context (using several documents coming from Milanese archives) to the analysis of musical works composed by Minoja for different occasions and venues. Each piece, examined through its primary sources, will elucidate a different relation between music and government throughout various political phases, thus providing a precious insight into this complex and still widely unexplored context.
Patriotic Theatre: La Scala and the new operatic experience in Napoleonic Milan.
Following the Napoleonic occupation in 1796, Lombardy, a Hapsburg province throughout the eightee... more Following the Napoleonic occupation in 1796, Lombardy, a Hapsburg province throughout the eighteenth century, became a Republican State for the first time in its history. Its capital Milan, a major and celebrated venue for operatic performances, had seen a particularly strong bond being established between local society and the opera house; subsequently, musical theatre and opera houses were immediately identified by the Republican authorities as effective tools and venues of control, influence and propaganda.
La Scala had established and maintained a very classical repertory; similarly, operatic performances and practices of theatre attendance were highly standardized and codified. Under the pressure of the new regime, the operatic repertory showed fewer changes than expected, partly for its conservative character, partly because the Napoleonic authorities could hardly match their republican propaganda with the radical transformation of such a celebrated tradition. Nevertheless, the broader musical repertory performed in La Scala and the very experience of the opera house attendance were effectively transformed by introducing new occasions for musical performances and new works specifically commissioned and composed for republican celebration.
After describing the historical and musical context in depth (also using original documents from Milanese archives), I move to the analysis of different elements impacting upon both the musical repertory and the opera house attendance in Napoleonic Milan. Descriptions of innovative phenomena (e.g. new genres, musical occasions etc.) will be supported by dedicated case studies also employing primary musical/archival sources, thus offering a precious insight into a very complex and still widely unexplored context
The city of Milan, thanks to its widely recognized importance in operatic performance, has been t... more The city of Milan, thanks to its widely recognized importance in operatic performance, has been the object of several studies, traditionally focused on the musical and social role played by the operas, but it has almost never been studied in the period in between XVIII and XIX centuries. Ironically, this period has been a particularly intense one for Milan, conquered by Napoleon after being subjected to the Hapsburgs of Austria for more than a century, and constantly changing its government within a rather short period of time. My research aims at describing the effects of this extraordinary historical circumstance on the operatic repertoire performed in La Scala theatre, seen not only as a major venue for opera performances, but also as an effective mirror of coeval society. In this presentation we will see how my research is structured, which sources are mainly used and which can be the possible outcomes.
Papers by Alessandra Palidda
by Ana Llorens, Fernando L C Pereira, Lena Duchesne, ANA RODRIGO DE LA CASA, Francisco Manuel López Gómez, MARIA VICTORIA ARJONA GONZÁLEZ, Rosa Pampillo, Elsa Calero-Carramolino, Juan Carlos Justiniano, António Ventura, Olimpia García López, Alessandra Palidda, Eduardo Chávarri Alonso, Pablo Tejedor-Gutiérrez, Iñigo de Peque, Enrique Mejías Rivero, Ruth Abellán Alzallú, and Fernando Tamayo Proceedings of the VIII Jornadas de Jóvenes Musicólogos, 2015. Edited by Ana Llorens
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Conference Presentations by Alessandra Palidda
In this context, republican feasts, based on the successful model imported from early-1790s Paris, acquired a great importance: carefully planned and staged with the help of dedicated governmental commissions, these public celebrations took place with increasing frequency and required huge expenditures of time, money and labour. Moreover, these occasions contributed to introducing a whole new concept of performance, stage and audience. Outside dedicated buildings, the revolutionary feast took place en plein air, making an innovative use of the city’s spaces which were cleverly exploited; the very own division between performers and audience was revisited, the performance essentially constituting a prelude to the common celebration of shared republican values. Finally, these complex and multi-layered events revised and combined elements coming from different fields such as popular entertainment, operatic, choral and instrumental music, military manoeuvres, etc. thus creating a truly revolutionary form of spectacle.
The paper will describe in detail the organization, the actualization and the characteristics of the republican feasts through the example offered by the city of Milan during the so-called ‘Jacobin triennium’ (1796-99), when the republican propaganda reached its climax. An important administrative and cultural centre since the beginning of the Italian campaign and, later on, capital city of all the states created by Napoleon in Northern and central Italy, Milan naturally became a major centre both for propagandist events and for the dissemination of politically informed cultural products. Republican feasts and occasions for public celebration in Milan will be extensively described mainly through the analysis of varied and prestigious archival sources coming from different Milanese institutions such as the Archivio di Stato, the library of the Conservatoire ‘Giuseppe Verdi’, the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, etc.
Finally, the paper will trace a comparison between the Milanese republican celebrations and their more renowned French counterparts, underlining similarities and innovations and thus casting new light on a phenomenon of considerable cultural and historical significance.
This period of intense political change traversed the career of the mediocre yet opportunistic musician and composer Ambrogio Minoja; following moderate success as an opera composer, Minoja was appointed maestro al cembalo in La Scala and moved permanently to Milan in 1784. After the French occupation, Minoja experienced a revived and successful career, being nominated by the Napoleonic authorities to compose music for public celebrations, particularly patriotic symphonies and cantatas; at the same time, thanks to his supposed patriotism, Minoja became a member of the Commission entrusted with the monitoring of the correct (i.e. democratic) use of theatre. Yet Minoja allied himself and his musical output alternately to opposing political regimes, losing no status during the short Austrian interregnum (1700-1800), when he produced patriotic music expressively dedicated to the victorious Austro-Russian troops. With Napoleon re-conquering Milan in 1800, he was once again able to turn his coat, subsequently becoming one of the most active and celebrated composers of the Kingdom of Italy, a member of the prestigious Società italiana di scienze, lettere ed arti and of the newly founded Conservatoire of Milan.
The paper will proceed from a detailed description of the historical and musical context (using several documents coming from Milanese archives) to the analysis of musical works composed by Minoja for different occasions and venues. Each piece, examined through its primary sources, will elucidate a different relation between music and government throughout various political phases, thus providing a precious insight into this complex and still widely unexplored context.
La Scala had established and maintained a very classical repertory; similarly, operatic performances and practices of theatre attendance were highly standardized and codified. Under the pressure of the new regime, the operatic repertory showed fewer changes than expected, partly for its conservative character, partly because the Napoleonic authorities could hardly match their republican propaganda with the radical transformation of such a celebrated tradition. Nevertheless, the broader musical repertory performed in La Scala and the very experience of the opera house attendance were effectively transformed by introducing new occasions for musical performances and new works specifically commissioned and composed for republican celebration.
After describing the historical and musical context in depth (also using original documents from Milanese archives), I move to the analysis of different elements impacting upon both the musical repertory and the opera house attendance in Napoleonic Milan. Descriptions of innovative phenomena (e.g. new genres, musical occasions etc.) will be supported by dedicated case studies also employing primary musical/archival sources, thus offering a precious insight into a very complex and still widely unexplored context
Papers by Alessandra Palidda