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Celebrating three hundred years of music by women |
Maria Walpurgis (1724-1780)
Maria Antonia Walpurgis was a German aristocrat-musician;
as a composer, singer, harpsichordist and patron, she had notable influence over the musical life of 18th century courts. She was Electress of
Saxony by marriage, and learned music both in Munich where she was born and in Dresden. Her heyday was the mid-century period before the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) when she painted, wrote poetry, sang in her own operas and acted as patron to other artists, among them her own composition teacher Johann Hasse.To her contemporaries she was considered a “model of extraordinary scholarship” and known as “magnanimous Minerva” (Finauer (n.p.), [transl. Trevor Pichanick]). She was also exceptionally well known as a composer and writer, but also, partly through her position as electress, and as a patron for the arts and sciences. Her operas were performed on several occasions and, according to Burney, also known in England. Il trionfo della fedeltà: 1754 in Dresden and Bayreuth, 1761 in Munich and 1772 in Padua; Talestri: 1760 and 1772 in Munich as well as in Dresden in 1763; IMSLP. The empress Maria Theresia (1717-1780) read the libretto to Talestri and expressed her admiration for “la divine Talestri et ses incomparables talents”. Walpurgis wrote the libretto, the music, and sang the title role. The plot centres on Talestri's relationship with a Scythian ruler (and man), Orontes. Two other prominent characters are women: Antiope, her advisor, who also falls in love with a Scythian man, Learchus; and Tomiris, the high priestess of Diana, who is the mother of Orontes. Ultimately, the plot ends happily, with each couple united and war averted, as the Scythians and Amazons manage to peacefully co-exist. The depiction of the benevolent, thoughtful ruler Talestri's coming-of-age as a political leader suggests the possibility that the opera was a semi-autobiographical rendering of Walpurgis herself. Naturally, a portion of the tributes and accolades that appeared in the eighteenth-century were addressed to Maria Antonia as a princess and patron. Full score: manuscript. ClanNan: CN42 3 Arias from Talestri. The Originality of Maria Antonia Walpurgis, by Nastasja Gandolfo: Academia. Maria Antonia of Saxony and the Emergence of Music Analysis in Opera Criticism; 2013: CUP. Performing Sovereignity, Sounding Autonomy, Political Representation in the Operas of Maria Antonia of Saxony by Estelle Joubert, 2015. Bio & works list MUGI. Cantata Arias included in Maria Savastano. 1998: CD. Talestri Talestri, 1760 Talestri, Queen of the Amazons had its première in 1760 with the composer in the title role. It was published at the time, and reached the stage in other cities. Overture: 1. Allegro. 2. Andantino. 3. Allegro. 2 ob, 2 hn, strings; 10 mins; (music from Ambache). The Overture consist of three miniature symphonic movements, which are vigourous and concise. Hints of a large-scale scheme after the opening flourish soon disappear as the music sweeps precipitately into the next key; the middle part of the movement is equally telescoped. The Andantino relaxes more with a subtle, expressive second theme, and the Finale dances along in energetic fashion. The music was much appreciated when my orchestra, the Ambache, gave the UK première in 1995.
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