- Franz von Suppé
Franz von Suppé (Francesco Suppé Demelli) (April 18, 1819 – dda|1895|5|21|1819|4|18) was a
composer and conductor of the Romantic period notable for his four dozenoperetta s.Life and education
Suppé was born Francesco Ezechiele Ermenegildo Cavaliere Suppé Demelli in 1819 in
Split ,Dalmatia , a descendant of a Belgian family that probably emigrated there in the 18th century.cite web |url=http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy-um.researchport.umd.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/27130?q=suppe&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit |title=Suppe, Franz in Oxford Music Online |accessdate=2008-10-02|publisher=Oxford Music Online] He was a distant relative ofGaetano Donizetti . He simplified and Germanized his name when inVienna , and changed "cavaliere" to "von". Outside Germanic circles, his name may appear on programs as Francesco Suppé-Demelli.He spent his childhood in
Zadar , where he had his first music lessons and began to compose at an early age. As a teenager inCremona , Suppé studiedflute and harmony. His first extant composition is aRoman Catholic Mass, which premiered at a Franciscan church in Zadar in 1832. He moved toPadua to study law, a field of study not chosen by him, but continued to study music. Suppé was also a singer, making his debut in the role of Dulcamara inDonizetti 's "L'Elisir d'Amore " at theSopron Theater in 1842.He was invited to Vienna by Franz Pokorny, the director of the
Theater in der Josefstadt . In Vienna, after studying withIgnaz von Seyfried andSimon Sechter , he conducted in the theater, without pay at first, but with the opportunity to present his own operas there. Eventually, Suppé wrote music for over a hundred productions at the "Theater in der Josefstadt" as well as theCarltheater inLeopoldstadt , at theTheater an der Wien , and a theater at Baden. He also put on some landmark opera productions, such as the 1846 production ofMeyerbeer 'sLes Huguenots withJenny Lind .Franz von Suppé died in
Vienna on May 21, 1895.Works
Two of Suppé's comic operas have been performed at the
Metropolitan Opera in New York, "Boccaccio" and "Donna Juanita", but they failed to become repertoire works. He composed about 30 operettas and 180 farces, ballets, and other stage works. Though the bulk of Suppé's operas have nearly sunken to oblivion, theoverture s, particularlyLeichte Kavallerie (Light Cavalry) and "Dichter und Bauer" (Poet & Peasant), have survived and some of them have been used in all sorts of soundtracks for movies,cartoon s,advertisement s, and so on, in addition to being frequently played at symphonic "pops" concerts. Some of Suppé's operas are still regularly performed in Europe; Peter Branscombe, writing in the "New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ," characterizes Suppé's song "Das ist mein Österreich" as "Austria's second national song".Suppé retained links with his native Dalmatia, occasionally visiting
Split , Zadar, and Šibenik. Some of his works are linked with Dalmatia, in particular his operetta "The Mariner's Return", the action of which takes place in Hvar. After retiring from conducting, Suppé continued to write operas, but shifted his focus to sacred music. He also wrote aRequiem for theater director Franz Pokorny, three Masses, songs, symphonies, and concert overtures.List of works
Some of Suppé's more well-known works are listed here, listed with date of first performance. All are operettas unless indicated:
*"Das Pensionat" - November 24, 1860,Vienna
*"Die Kartenschlägerin" - April 26, 1862, Kai-Theatre Vienna
*"Zehn Mädchen und kein Mann" - October 25, 1862, Kai-Theatre Vienna
*"Flotte Burschen" - April 18, 1863, Kai-Theater Vienna
*Die schöne Galathee (The Beautiful Galatea) - September 9, 1865,Carltheater Vienna
*Leichte Kavallerie (Light Cavalry) ( [http://www.marineband.usmc.mil/downloads/audio/overture_to_light_cavalry.MP3 MP3] ) ( [http://www.midicenter.com/midi/midi_files/classical/lcavalry.mid MIDI] ) - March 21, 1866, Carltheater Vienna
*"Banditenstreiche" - April 27, 1867, Carltheater Vienna
*"Die Frau Meisterin" - January 20, 1868, Carltheater Vienna
*"Fatinitza" - January 5, 1876, Carltheater Vienna [http://www.oldandsold.com/opera/opera-37.shtml]
*Boccaccio - Opera - February 1, 1879, Carltheater Vienna
*"Donna Juanita" - February 21, 1880, Carltheater Vienna
*"Der Gascogner" - March 22, 1881, Carltheater Vienna
*"Pique Dame" - Opera - June 22, 1864, Graz (Revision of "Die Kartenschlägerin")
*"Bellmann" - February 26, 1887,Theater an der Wien , Vienna
*"Die Jagd nach dem Glück" - October 27, 1888, Carltheater Vienna
*March "Oh Du mein Österreich"
*Overture "Ein Morgen, ein Mittag und ein Abend in Wien" (Morning, Noon, and Night in Vienna)
*Overture "Dichter und Bauer" (Poet and Peasant)
*Overture "Tantalusqualen"References
*Ganzl, Kurt. "The Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre" (3 Volumes). New York: Schirmer Books, 2001.
*Traubner, Richard. "Operetta: A Theatrical History". Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1983External links
* [http://opera.stanford.edu/composers/S.html List of stage works by Franz von Suppé (with other composers)]
* [http://musicaltheatreguide.com/composers/vonsuppe/franz_von_suppe.htm List of 50 stage works by Franz von Suppé]
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